Books

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Almost at the end of the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There author Marshall Goldsmith writes, “If you want to change anything about yourself, the best time to start is now. Ask yourself, ‘What am I willing to change now?’ ”

His point is that we’re always putting off experiences or new habits waiting for a time that we think is better suited to our life. I read the book, at the recommendation of my business coach. I’m growing as a leader, but there is so much to learn.

This book is a tough read because it forces you to look at various habits (Goldsmith lists 20) that may hold you back. A few that

To be successful, you’ll need to break some workplace habits. (Photo courtesy of bschool.pepperdine.edu)

resonated with me – either because I have that habit or because I’ve experienced it – include:

  • The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
  • Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However,” which says to others, “I’m right; you’re wrong.”
  • Telling the world how smart we are.
  • Failing to express gratitude.

Once you have identified your bad habits, Goldsmith provides ways to change for the better, whether it’s through feedback, listening, thanking or following up. The listening section resonated with me. I’ve been working on that for a while. If someone comes into my office, I stop what I’m doing to hear what they have to say. I try not to offer a solution, but rather ask for their recommendation. During monthly meetings with team members, they drive the conversation. I listen and hear what team members have to say. They almost always touch on everything I would have asked about it, but because they drive the conversation I gain a better understanding of what’s most important to them and what might be causing concern for them.

One way to practice listening, Goldsmith says, is to count to 50 and not let other thoughts intrude. As he notes, “If you can’t listen to yourself as you count to 50, how will you ever be able to listen to another person?”

If you want to get to the next level and you aren’t afraid of being brutally honest about your habits, this book will help you. It’s not an easy journey, but it’s worth taking.

Business Book Club Increases Earning Potential

I recently helped start a business book club – The 230 Club.

The name derives from a U.S. Labor Department statistic that says business people who read at least seven books per year earn more than 230 percent more than people who read just one book per year. The statistic was part of the first book we read, Tuesday Morning Coaching by David Cottrell.

I may not be earning 230 percent more, but I am confident that the business books I am reading are keeping my skills sharp. I’m also aware of trends and new ways of approaching issues. I try to share some of the books and articles through this blog. For example, one article we read focused on the value of checklists. Another book, Switch, focused on managing change.

The book club, which meets during the noon hour, is small. We discuss the book or article and then we connect it to our work environment. I’ve had several good ideas for improving work processes come out of the discussions. Even if I don’t have enough time to finish the book, the other members fill me in on the key aspects of the book.

Do you have any recommendations? Have you ever thought of starting a business book club?

Embracing Change

I used to not like change. But then a new boss came to town and shared his philosophy: “If you aren’t changing, you’re standing still.”

The philosophy was not unique to him, but when he said it, it finally resonated with me and now I fully embrace change.

The problem with change, isn’t the change. It’s making sure that it can happen, and in a way that is beneficial. My company has undergone significant change in the short time I’ve been with it – from a name change to a new website to a new brand. As president of the National Federation of Press Women, I’ve seen change. In fact, my presidency was a change – I didn’t go through the ranks to become president. I ran on a platform of change.

If you aren’t comfortable with change, what do you do?

I’m the type that has to read a book. I just finished Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. In the book, they share how our minds are ruled by two different systems – the rational mind and the emotional mind – that compete for control.

The book works on many levels. I found insights to help me professionally but while reading it I also set behavioral goals to help me with my fitness efforts. As the authors noted, “If you are leading a change effort, you need to remove the ambiguity from your vision of change.”

In the end, change works when people have clear direction, ample motivation and a supportive environment.

Are you ready to make a change?

Ellen Brown Swept Away By ‘Gone with the Wind’

Ellen F. Brown was not a Gone with the Wind fan until about three years ago when she interviewed John Wiley Jr. about his collection of GWTW memorabilia. “He regaled me with stories,” she said of Wiley who had been collecting since he was 9.

Gone with the WindThe more they talked, the more Ellen fell in love with the book. They decided they wanted to tell the story of the creation and marketing of the book. The two quickly found an agent and a publisher and realized that 2011 would be the 75th anniversary of GWTW and so they researched and wrote, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller’s Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood.

“It’s been a whirlwind couple of years,” Ellen noted during a book talk. “Fortunately, people saw the value to telling the story.”

GWTW was an overnight international bestseller when published 75 years ago, and one million copies sold in the first six months. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

Ellen shares in the book how fame swept over Margaret Mitchell and her husband. They came to terms with it by deciding not to move or change their phone number. The mail came in shifts to their home because there was so much.

The book also explores how Mitchell balanced her obligations as a woman. “You have so many obligations no matter how famous you are,” Ellen observed. “You are still someone’s daughter, someone’s wife.”

Mitchell was the first American author that Europeans embraced since Mark Twain. Because of that, Ellen said, Mitchell had to fight to protect the rights to her book. “Thanks to Margaret, copyright protection is worldwide.”

Although the book was an overnight success, it took Mitchell 10 years of work. “You can’t just dash off a bestseller,” Ellen said. “[Margaret] preached that writing was hard work and requires relentless editing.”

Ellen’s book covers so much of the history because she and her co-author had unprecedented access to thousands of Mitchell’s papers. They found answers to questions that gone unanswered for decades, including what Rhett Butler’s middle name was.

When Ellen moved on to another topic, the audience clamored to know what the “K” stood for in Rhett’s name. Ellen teased, “If you want the answer, you’ll have to read the book.” 

Note: Yes, I bought the book. And no, I’m not telling you the answer.

Donna Andrews Revises Books into Hits

Between Thanksgiving and the New Year I read a mystery series by Donna Andrews. The books, starring Meg Lanslow, were a fun, quick read. Imagine my delight when I discovered Donna would be speaking to the Sisters in Crime Richmond chapter.

Donna Andrews

Donna Andrews, photo by Joe Hensen Photography

She is always asked how she goes about writing but before she shared her process she stressed that it differs from author to author. Donna uses an outline as a starting point. “Then I challenge myself to write something even better,” she said.

She begins with a seed. “It could be a unique way of killing or someone who needs to be killed.” From there she looks for humorous situations that also have tension.

An outline enables Donna to not write sequentially. That way if she is ready to write a particular section or has the dialogue ready to go, she can work on that.

She moves from the outline stage to draft mode when one of two things happens:

1)      The outline is great

2)      She is nervous about the pending deadline.

Sometimes she gets stuck and on those days she will read something on craft, such as Robert McKee’s “Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting,” which is often referred to as the screenwriters’ bible.

Donna also creates a spreadsheet determining how many words she needs and how many days she has to write it. Then she’ll figure out how many words she needs to write each day. She’ll discover that she has to write 1,000 words each day for the next three months, for example. “That’s doable,” she said.

She does this because at the end of every day, she said, “You can spend so much doing things that feel like writing but aren’t.” This includes research or finding the right word.

Her goal is to finish her book two months in advance of when it is due to the publisher so she can share it with her critique group. “I write okay books and I revise them into good books.”