Book Notes

Have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what “Resistance” is. The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work.  The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.  He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist. If tomorrow morning, every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the [...]

The Seven Principles that Fuel Success and Performance at Work Key question the book answers: Does happiness come before success or success before happiness? Answer: science & data proves; happiness before success Happiness is the precursor to success, not merely the result Happiness and optimism actually fuel performance Optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56% Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. When we are happy—when our mindset and mood are positive—we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful.  Happiness is the center, and success revolves around [...]

Discipline 1: Focus on the wildly important The more you try to do the less you actually accomplish Discipline 2: Act on Lead Measures 2 types of metrics; lag measures and lead measures Lag measures: the thing you’re ultimately trying to improve Lead measures: measures new behaviors that will drive success on the lag measures Discipline 3: Keep a Compelling Scoreboard People play different when they’re keeping score This scoreboard creates a sense of competition that drives them to focus on these measures even when other demands vie for their attention People play different when they are keeping score Discipline [...]

My definition of a startup: a human institution designed to create new products and services under conditions of extreme uncertainty. The stories in the magazines are lies: hard work and perseverance don’t lead to success. It’s the boring stuff that matters the most. Startup success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Startup success can be engineered by following the right process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught. Early adopters: we often talked to them and asked for their feedback. But we emphatically did [...]

Professor of MBA program at Harvard, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, Rhodes Scholar 12-2-12 Harvard Business professor teaches aspiring MBA’s how to apply management and innovation theories to build stronger companies.  But he also believes that these models can help people lead better lives.  He explores the following key questions: How can I be happy in my career? How can I be sure that my relationship with my family is an enduring source of happiness? How can I live my life with integrity? Over the years I’ve watched the fates of my Harvard classmates from 1979 unfold; I’ve seen more [...]

Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, while others do not? What did great companies share in common that distinguished them from their direct comparison? Comparisons are companies that were in the same industry with the same or very similar opportunities during the same era as the 10X companies, yet they did not product great performance. Chapter 2: 10xers 10Xers—companies that didn’t merely get by or just become successful.  They truly thrived.  Every 10X beat its industry index by at least 10 times. 10X cases in this study: Amgen, Biomet, Intel, Microsoft, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Stryker 10xers [...]

“The most import decisions that businesspeople make are not what decisions, but who decisions.”  Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great Your success rate as a manager is 90% the result of how good you are at hiring the [...]

The one thing you need to know about management: Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.  Managers turn one persons talents into performance.  Their key characteristic is “coaching instinct”. The one thing you need to know about leadership: Find out what is universal and capitalize on it.  Leaders rally people to a better future.  Their key characteristic is optimism. The one thing you need to know about sustained personal success: Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it.  Sustained success: making the greatest impact over the longest period of time. The one thing you [...]

Author: Gretchen Rubin HYPERLINK "http://www.happiness-project.com" www.happiness-project.com Overview: studying what makes us happy and then trying to apply it to our own lives. Theme: memoir of one year in which the author test-drives every principle, tip, theory, and research-study result she can find, from Aristotle to St. Therese to Benjamin Franklin to Martin Seligman to Oprah.  What advice actually works? Four Splendid Truths: To be happier you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth. One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best [...]

The model:  Absence of trust ◊ fear of conflict ◊ lack of commitment ◊ avoidance of accountability ◊ inattention to results. Dysfunction #1: Absence of Trust This occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes, weaknesses or needs for help. Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foundation of trust is impossible. Dysfunction #2: Fear of Conflict Teams that are lacking on trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back [...]