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Some Books Are Just Good "Fishing" Books

I read books for pleasure, information and application. Two books I have recently read meet this criterion. One book is non-fiction and deals with the 2006 disastrous climb of Mt. Everest. The other book is fiction and tells the story of a shepherd boy who leaves his home in Spain to search for a treasure supposedly buried in the Pyramids in Egypt, only to find that the treasure is located back where he started his journey

I would classify both books, Into Thin Air and The Alchemist as “fishing” books. I am not talking about outdoors fishing, deep sea fishing or even ice fishing. What I refer to is these books have a fishing hook that catches the reader, hook line and sinker. Read the first page of either book and you have taken the bait, you’re hooked.

Both books have been in print for some time now, but it took the recommendation by two friends for me to travel to the book store and purchase the books. Without their suggestions that I might enjoy reading each of the books, I may have missed being blessed by Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist.

People read books for enjoyment. But the content of a book, when applied to our everyday life, should make us a better person. The Alchemist provides two excellent examples of ideas, that have the power to make us a better person and therefore more successful. In the book, a camel driver tells the Sheppard boy why he is not concerned with the threat of war that surrounds them: “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.” The moral: live the moment. Later the Sheppard boy explains what alchemists do. “They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us become better, too.” The better sales person has the better customers and works for the better company; the better company has the better employees; the better doctor heals people quicker and saves more lives; the better entertainer provides better enjoyment; the better teacher graduates better students and the better neighbor lives in a better neighborhood.

Through this posting, I am recommending a number of “fishing” books that you may want to consider in addition to the above two mentioned books. I believe you will be a better person for having read any of the following books:

1. The Greatest Salesman In The World, by Og Mandino — The story of a camel boy who is given ten ancient scrolls which contain the wisdom necessary for the boy—or anyone— to achieve all his ambitions.
2. The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason — Using parables to teach simple lesson in timeless financial wisdom aka how to get rich.
3. Hope Is Not A Method, by Gordon R. Sullivan & Michael V. Harper. Practical lessons on leadership, acting strategically, and human behavior for business leaders from America’s Army.
4. Execution the Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan — Sound, practical advice about how to get things done. “The absence of execution,” the authors write, “is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to others causes.”
5. The Effective Executive, by Peter F. Drucker — The practices the executive must master in order to be truly effective. Drucker writes, “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done. He or she is to work on truly important things.”
6. A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard — A very short book that delivers. The story of Colonel Andrew S. Rowan, who when called on by the President to delivery a message of importance to Garcia, delivered. (See Hawg Blawg, Feb. 1, 2009).
7. Patton on Leadership, by Alan Axelrod — Strategic lessons for corporate warfare.
8. Selling the Invisible, by Harry Beckwith — A field guide to modern marketing for those in a service business. How markets work and prospects think.
9. Now, Discover Your Strengths— by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton — Shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths — and those of the people you manage.
10. Positioning the Battle for the Mind — by Al Ries & Jack Trout. A classic in using positioning as a communication tool to reach target customers in an over communicated marketplace.
11. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell — Discusses what separates the high achievers from the rest of us. (Gladwell is the author of two other outstanding books: The Tipping Point and Blink)
12. Talent Is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin — The premise is that great performance isn’t reserved for a preordained few. The price may be high—but it is available to us all.

There are a lot more “fishing” books, but here is a fishing trip a month for twelve months. So, cast out your line, set your hook and don’t let the “big” one get away.

HOG THOUGHT: There are all kinds of books on all kinds of subjects. Invest in yourself and purchase a book on a subject that you enjoy and want to know more about. Read for pleasure and information, but always for application. You can buy a “fishing” book today at a book store, order online or check out at your local library.

HOG QUOTE: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." —Joseph Addison

HOG ACTION: Live in the moment. Read and digest a good book this month. Set your goal to read every day. Look for good ideas that you can put to practice in your life, professional and/or personal. Information plus execution will help make you a better person.

Note. I post every two weeks. This is posting number 36.

Six Steps for Digging America and Your Company Out Of a Hole

I read in the paper today (November 8) that the economy lost over 240,000 jobs in October bringing the total decline since August to 651,000. Clearly, these are very bad numbers. The unemployment rate climbed to 6.5 percent, the highest level since 1994. Nineteen ninety four, that seems so long ago, almost like a century away.

The new president-elect acknowledges that it isn’t going to be easy to dig ourselves out of this hole we are in. One day after his election, President-elect Obama, while acknowledging this great economic challenge said, “But, America is a strong and resilient country.”

It isn’t “America” that is going to change the economic situation. It’s Americans—people like you and me—that when faced with difficult choices and tough decisions decide to excel and perform above our limit.

First, confront reality or as George Kohlrieser, a professor at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland calls it: “Put the fish on the table. It’s smelly, and cleaning it is messy work, but you get a good meal in the end." We must face facts squarely. Understand what is and then begin to take action that contributes to improving the situation. Don’t be quick to say, “What is, is.” Go the extra mile. Keep in mind best-selling author and professional speaker Wayne Dryer’s words, “It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” It’s the travelers on the extra mile that will dig us out of the current economic hole and bring about the needed changes.

Second, know that 20 percent of the workforce produces 80 percent of the results. Therefore, commit yourself to be in this 20 percent. Have focus, a plan, a sense of mission and most importantly, execute! As we know, becoming great at anything requires commitment and action. Good intentions are not good enough. When we execute, we exceed expectations.

Third, acknowledge that you have inner resources that have never been tapped. Bad times drive good people to dig deep. Committing to achieving goals forces you to make use of your inner resources. In the final analysis, achievement often requires the ability to get more out of yourself than you think you have. Most people would be amazed at how little of their talent and resources they actually use.

Fourth, encourage and support those around you. It is acknowledged that a team of players committed to each other can beat another team made up of superstars that are seeking their own individual glory. In these times our country and our companies are looking for team players because team players are the right players for the time. Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team that beat the Soviets at Lake Placid captures this truth: “I’m not lookin’ for the best players; I’m lookin’ for the right players.” Are you one of the “right” players? If so, you will remain employed and help defeat the bad economy.

Fifth, serve. True greatness and a key to achieving success is to apply the Golden Hog Rule: You serve yourself best when you best serve someone else. Serving your customers, clients, patients and fellow team members takes the focus off of, “What’s in it for me” and spotlights, “What’s in it for you.” Remember, your side of the economic equation is only costs; revenue is produced on the other side of the equation.

Sixth, take responsibility for your attitude. Assign a number to each of the letters in the word “attitude” i.e. A= 1, T=20, I= 9, U=21, D=4, and E=5. Add these numbers up and the sum is 100. And 100% is how much of your attitude you are responsible for. Therefore, the attitude you bring to your job is your attitude, not someone else’s. Bring a good attitude and you do a good job; bring less than a good attitude and you may soon be one of the statistics in the unemployment figures. “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the season, or the wind, but you can change yourself.” —Jim Rohn

These are six steps a country, a company or a person can take to dig themselves out of a hole. The lesson to learn is that by starting with the individual and his or her commitment to the six steps, the company can dig itself out of the hole and, when enough companies apply the six steps, the country can dig itself out of the hole.

HOG THOUGHT:
America and American companies have economic problems, the competition is fierce and the economy unmerciful, but how we respond reveals a lot about us and our character. Remember, Hogs got character.

HOG QUOTE:
“Whatever I have tried to do in this life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.” —Charles Dickens

HOG ACTION:
Dig deep and do more of what you are good at and less of what you are not good at. Ignore the unimportant and avoid distractions. You have only so much time and energy. You control your actions and your attitude. A great attitude and your best actions are good enough.

Eliminate Self-imposed Mental Barriers with Creativity and Execution

“There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand.” —Charles F. Kettering

There are times when we read in a newspaper or see on TV products or services being promoted that are “rip offs” of an idea we previously had. Our initial reaction is, “That’s my idea!”

I remember being in a book store years ago and being fascinated by the number of books that dealt with vocabulary expansion. There were 10 to 12 books on the subject and most of the titles began with “How To…”

A creative spark ignited in my brain. Why not produce a Word-A-Day Calendar? There would be 365 tear off pages and each page would contain a word, its definition, part of speech, etymology, a pronunciation guide, usage in a sentence and a synonym. Using my Word-A-Day Calendar, people could easily learn 365 new words in only one year.

I took my idea to a printer to get an estimate for printing and production. I liked the idea of putting ink on paper and the potential profit projection. But, somewhere in the experience the creative spark fizzled. Maybe I didn’t have enough money to make a production run, or I failed to devise a marketing or distribution plan. I may have questioned the buying market for the product. But the real reason for not capitalizing on my idea was that I limited myself by what I believed was possible. I did not break the bonds of my self-imposed limited success. I did not see thousands of people buying my Word Calendar.

Several years later, much to my surprise, I discovered someone had “stolen” my idea. There in the same book store where I had my “Ah Ha” moment, I saw “my” Word Calendar. Someone was successful by following through on their idea. I failed to move my idea from incubation to development to market because I did not believe it possible.

Success is often limited by what a person believes is possible. Opening yourself to creative thinking—thinking outside the box—is one way to break the bonds of self-imposed limited success.

Creative ideas are not the result of luck, as many people believe them to be. They are the product of an active human brain. Sometimes ideas do seem to come out of the blue, but certainly they do come more frequently when you’re searching for them.

Creative thinking is like acknowledging, while the accepted belief is that the earth is flat, you go ahead and ask Queen Isabella for three ships; you know Newton’s Law of Gravity and yet you begin the countdown: “10, 9, 8…” and you rocket beyond earth’s gravity.

Creativity thinking isn’t deterred by reality. While the medical world was saying, “Men will never run a mile in less than four minutes,” British medial student Roger Bannister was lacing up his running shoes. Someone wrote, “Had Thomas Edison used accepted thinking he would have developed a larger candle, not the light bulb.”

There are several principles about ideas: We all have them. They quickly vanish, unless captured on paper and most of the time we do nothing with them. Don’t let your million dollar idea get away. Hogdacious Hogs don’t let “reasoning” or other peoples’ negative comments talk them out of taking action on an idea. Once you have evaluated an idea and determine it has merit, act upon it. Hogs convert ideas into action.

Hog Thought: A Short Pencil Is Better Than A Long Memory
You should always carry a note pad and pencil with you. When an idea strikes you capture it on paper. Solutions to problems often imitate lightning; they strike quickly and are quickly gone. Don’t trust your memory. Daymon Aiken has said, “Ideas are flighty things. That which now seems perfectly clear may later get away from you. Make a habit of jotting down ideas as they occur to you. Although many of them will not work out they may suggest other thought.”

Hog Quote: “The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret of outward success.” —Henry Ward Beecher.