Capitalogix

The Magic of Creating Potter

I went to see the newest Harry Potter movie this weekend.  Apparently a bunch of other people went too, because it conjured up box office records.

 

 

The movie was great.  But what left me in wonder was thinking about how it came to be.  The scope and scale of the series is literally amazing.

Even just for this movie, the number of people listed on the credits was astounding. 

Yet, think about how many people were involved in producing the movies, books, and merchandising.  And that's not including the theme parks, promotion, and the eco-system that forms to support a project of this magnitude.

When did it become real ?

• Was it when the first book came out?
• Perhaps it was when J.K. Rowling got a contract to have the book published?
• Even earlier ... how about when she finished writing the book ... or
• Did it happen when she started writing it?

It is arguable that it became real when she started thinking about it.

On some level, Rowling probably agrees.  Here is a quote she wrote from Dumbledore, in response to Harry asking whether something was real or happening in his head.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry; but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

The real magic of creation happens in the mind.

In a very real sense, there is "infinite possibility" ... because in every moment there are an infinite number of possibilities.  To a great extent, though, our automatic habits preclude seeing them.  This may seem to make it is easier to focus on the path taken; but it unconsciously limits the future.

What would have happened if, back in the early 1990s, J.K. Rowling had the idea for Harry Potter ... but thought she couldn't write a book (or even if she did, who would read it?).  Her "new world" didn't exist yet, while her "old world" didn't have a path from there-to-here.

Einstein spoke to this. He said:

“You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”

There's magic in choosing a path that energizes you.  Reality is what you bring to it, and what you hold in awareness.

If you are interested in this, pick up a copy of "Do You QuantumThink? New Thinking That Will Rock Your World" by Dianne Collins. I've been reading it and have found a bunch of interesting concepts and useful tools.

Related articles

• Life After "Deathly Hollows" (underaglassmoon.org)
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Here Are Some Links Worth Reading This Week

These are a few of the links and items that caught my eye recently.

 

Since this is Memorial Day, here is something to think about.

 

Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

• Has George Soros Signaled the End of Gold and Silver's Bull Market?  (SafeHaven)
• Sony Posts a $3.2 Billion Loss - Its Third Straight Annual Net Loss.  (Reuters)
• Silicon Valley's New Tech Bubble: Has Irrational Exuberance Returned?  (Economist)
• U.S. Falls Behind Overseas Markets as Stock Listings Down 43% Since 1997. (WSJ)
• Is the U.S. Postal Service Near Collapse?  (BusinessWeek)

Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

• Frontline Leadership: How Cadets Learn to Be "Clutch" & Succeed Under Pressure. (HBR)
• Stephen Fry on "What I Wish I'd Known When I Was 18". (Vimeo)
• Why Emotional Pain Can Feel Like a Punch in the Stomach. (BodyOdd)
• E-books Overtake Print Book Sales - Is This the Tipping Point? (CNet &CSM)
• Do You Know the States? Semi-Mindless, But Fun, Puzzles. (V1 & V2)

A Business Book Based On The Story of Passover

Passover is this week, so Jewish people are once again getting ready to teach the story of Exodus to their children.  This happens during the meal featured in DaVinci's Last Supper.

Part of the tradition is to present the information in way tailored to the audience.  For example, the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child and the child unable to ask ... each perceive the story and how it relates to them differently.

Coincidently, I just read an interesting book, written by a friend of mine, that weaves the archetypical learners in the Passover Seder into a business fable about communication and persuasion.

The book talks about how you tailor your message to those four personality types.  For example, a business might look at creating different messages for wise, cynical,  simple and disinterested buyers.

The book's title, "ROAR!", is an acronym for the persuasion model:

• Recognize the type;
• Observe from their perspective;
• Acknowledge who they are;
• Resolve their need.

The book also provides a strong approach to bringing empathy and differentiation into your value proposition.  This is equally important in an elevator pitch or tough conversation with a stakeholder.

It’s pretty good stuff and something worth thinking about.  You can check out a video and a couple free chapters here.

Related articles

• A Guide to the Passover Seder (tjantunen.com)
• Diner's Journal: A Passover Playlist From JoeDoe (dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Passover 101 (npr.org)

Humor: Generate Your Own Malcolm Gladwell Best-Seller Title

Looking for a new book to read?

Gladwell is usually a good choice.  He wrote Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. 

Somehow his books (and their titles) capture the imagination and a spot on bookshelves.

I showed this to some friends and they thought it sounded interesting. What do you think?

Now, you can generate your own New Gladwell Best Seller.  Try it out.  Yes, the 25 alternatives are fake ... but they're funny.

 

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Bill Gates recently predicted that the Internet would be a better source of education than any single university. 

The video in this post is an example of how good Internet content is getting.  Watch the "Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" from Dan Pink. It is very well done.

Don't let the cartoons fool you; you can learn a lot in a little over 10 minutes. I really like the visualization technique (of drawing what is spoken); it is surprisingly effective.

 

 

This video comes from RSA.  You can find other videos like this one at their website.

Is Money the Best Way to Motivate Performance?

In today's business environment, is it optimal to entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick?

In his book, Drive, Pink calls for a different approach ... one that is built much more around intrinsic motivation. Around the desire to do things because they matter, because we like it, because they're interesting, because they are part of something important.  The new operating system for our businesses should revolve around three elements: autonomy, mastery and purpose.

In other words, the main point is that when someone is already intrinsically motivated, applying extrinsic motivation (in the form of reward for good behavior or punishment for bad behavior) is self-defeating because it detracts from the intrinsic motivation, which is a much more powerful force.

If you like this, then click here to see his TedTalk video too.

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Great Summer Reading: Nelson DeMille's "The Charm School".

It is 106° here in Texas.  That is sit-in-the-shade (or better yet, air-condtitioning)  and read a book weather.

One of the recent news stories reminded me of a good book, worth recommending.

Spies Among Us.

The allegations were shocking: four couples living in the U.S. under assumed false identities while secretly working as covert Russian spies on long-term, "deep-cover" assignments to obtain information on nuclear weapons.

Behind the scenes, they were known as "illegals" — short for illegal Russian agents — and were believed to have fake back stories known as "legends."

U.S. authorities say they sometimes worked in pairs and pretended to be married so they could blend into American society as the couple next door. Aside from fake identities, authorities say, they used Cold War spycraft — invisible ink, coded radio transmissions, encrypted data — to avoid detection.

It sounds like a story right out of a Nelson DeMille novel.

Wait, it is the plot-line of one of his best books, The Charm School, written in 1988.

The plot is simple and compelling. Two U.S. diplomats in the Soviet Union discover that many of the U.S. pilots shot down over Vietnam (and classified as Missing-In-Action) ended-up at the KGB-run "Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School". There, the Soviets forced the pilots to teach aspiring Russian spies how to act, speak, and pass as Americans. Once discovered, the embassy and US government have to decide how to react. With Glasnost on the table and the two countries trying to work together, this revelation can destroy everything.

If you are looking for a fun book to read, this is a great story. I recommend it.

Other Links About this Topic:

• Nelson DeMille's Website.
• The Spy Next Door News Coverage.
• AP: Ten Russians Accused Of ‘Snooping’.
• The Philadelphia version of a Soviet 'American village'.

Interesting TedTalk with Nicholas Christakis About Our Modern, Connected Lives

We're all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits -- from happiness to obesity -- can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don't even know.

His work shows how phenomena as diverse as obesity, smoking, emotions, ideas, germs, and altruism can spread through our social ties, and how genes can partially underlie our creation of social ties to begin with. His work also sheds light on how we might take advantage of an understanding of social networks to make the world a better place.

Christakis explains that he and James Fowler (co-author of Connected) have become obsessed with trying to figure out how and why we form networks and how and why they affect us.

Once you start mapping these networks -- they’re so intricate and so beautiful and so interesting -- you just can’t help but wonder why we humans make them. Why does a spider weave its web? Why does the web have a particular kind of shape? It’s not a coincidence. You look at these webs and you think, “My God, what purpose do they serve? And, how do they affect us?”

Watch his TedTalk presentation, "The Hidden Influence of Social Networks".

Here is the web site for their book Connected.  And here is a link to another interview.

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Here Is a Book I Got Great Value From Reading - Rework

I just read a business book worth sharing.  It is Rework, by 37 Signals partners, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

We started using 37signals' web-based applications: Basecamp (for project management), Campfire (for work-group chat), and Backpack (for knowledge management).  These are simple, focused tools designed to help you collaborate, get organized, and to get things done.

The software is terrific, and so is the philosophy behind it.  37signals got so much positive feedback from their blog … they parlayed it into a best-selling book.

Why Is the Book Relevant?

Rework is about the business, design, programming, and marketing philosophies of a developer that makes web-based software used by millions of people.

What's In It For Me?

It is easy to find value, fresh perspectives, and inspiration in this practical book. At less than 300 pages, it's a quick read too. Each chapter is only a page or two, so it's a great airplane or nightstand book.

Also, they proudly present ideas in bold strokes; clearly favoring provocative over wishy-washy.  For example, 37signals proclaims it builds software products with the least number of features necessary. In other words, their products intentionally do less than their competition.

Here is a Partial List of the Essays in the Book.

This list will give you a sense of the book and its tone.  Click the image for a more complete list.
 

I don't agree with some of what they preach.  Yet, it is easy to get lots of value quickly from the book.  Another way I know it is good, is that it is making its way around the office; and I often hear people referencing it and referring to it.  All-in-all, it is worth reading.

Here is a video of Jason Fried on Big Think.

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Delivering Happiness

I've been reading a pretty good new book that is an interesting mix of stories, life-lessons, and business content.  It combines a behind the scenes peek into the situations, emails, checklists, sample interview questions, and "Happiness Framework" that led to some surprising results.

For example, here are Zappos' Core Values from which they develop their culture, brand, and business strategies:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Why Should You Care?

In 1999, Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO.

In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine's top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

So, you might guess that he learned a few things about what worked, and what didn't.

In his first book, Tony shares the different business lessons he learned in life, from a lemonade stand and pizza business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Ultimately, he shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life.

Here is a video of Tony Hsieh on Delivering Happiness.

Zappos is Famous For Their Culture.  Here's a Taste of It.

Here is Tony's BigThink video explaining his company's culture and belief that managers should "hang-out" with staff after work.

Other Resources.

• Here is a link to the book Delivering Happiness.
• Here is a link to the Delivering Happiness Blog site.
• Here is a link to other Delivering Happiness resources.

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A Father's Day Investment Guaranteed to Pay Dividends.

My kids are getting older.  So Father's Day looks a little different than it used to.

But as I look back, there is an investment I made that paid-off in a big way, and I want to share it with you.

Like many parents, I wanted to teach my children that, to a large extent, they control what happens to them. One of the first ways I did that was to set up a "compensation system" for them to earn video games.

Some parents try to limit the amount of time their kids spend watching TV or playing video games. I tried something different.  Instead, my kids earned their games by reading books.  Here is a photo from way back then.

Paid With Play.

Here's how it worked. When they were younger, 10 books was enough to earn a small game. When they finished a book, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the bookstore for us to pick up the next book together. Likewise, when they finished the requisite number of books, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the computer store or game store for them to choose any game they wanted.

When they finished hundred books, they got a bonus of earning the next game system. That meant if they had a Nintendo, they could now also get a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

How Can You Encourage a Jump to the Next Level?

There came a point when I wanted one of my sons to start reading grown-up books. He was comfortable reading a certain type of book, and didn't want to read the kind of books that I read.  So, I created a bonus system that counted a particular book as three books.  I didn't force him; I just let the easier path to a reward "whisper" in his ear what to read. Once he finished that, he never went back to teen fiction.

It Is a Great Way to Learn About Your Kids.

I also used the bookstore visits to get a sense of how the boys were doing. For example, I might say "I notice that you read five books in that series, maybe you'd like this book".  Or, "That sure is a lot of science fiction; what was the last biography you read?"  For the most part, though, I didn't care what they read.  The key was to get them to want to choose certain books for their own reasons.  Ultimately, their preference meant they were learning to love reading.

It Puts Them In Control of Their Destiny and Rewards.

My younger son likes competition. He also broke or misplaced many things. So, in order to earn back the Game Boy unit that he lost, I challenged him to read five books in five days. These weren't easy books either. It was designed to stretch him, and also to teach him that he could read a book a night. The bet was that he either finished all the books in the allocated time, or none of them counted towards games or Game Boys. On the other hand, if he read a book a night for two weeks, not only would he get to have his Game Boy back, the books would count towards a game too. It worked like a charm, and we were both happy.

So, Who Got the Better Bargain?

As they started to get into their teenage years, I needed to up the ante a little. So, 500 books meant they got a laptop of their choice. Both boys cashed in, and probably felt like they were taking advantage of their dad.

I got what I wanted, though; both my boys love reading, and know that they can accomplish anything they put their minds to … one step at a time.

That's an investment that will pay dividends for a long time.

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