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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ofConnected) 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?”
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.
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:
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.
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.
The iPad is a revolutionary machine. I had a chance to spend time using one this weekend.
Overall, the experience was impressive and compelling.
The screen was beautiful. Looking at a website was
better than expected. For example, reading the New
York Times online (using their iPad App) was, in many ways, a
better experience than with the actual paper. Likewise, the e-book interface was stunning, easy
to use, and also more compelling than paper.
An Incredible "Consumption" Device.
At first glance, the iPad seems like an incredible tool to
consume media.
If you like to sit on your couch and read the paper or
magazines, the iPad will clearly make that better. Why? Because you will have
a much wider range of reading material available in one place, along
with access to multimedia, streaming video and internet links.
If
you play Sudoku or crosswords, again, the iPad will clearly
make that better. You will have access to extra games, more varieties of
games, and the ability to play against other people.
If you want to do research for something you're writing, it's the
perfect platform to browse through websites, blogs, or to launch a news reader to scan RSS
feeds.
You can even use it to watch videos and browse through pictures.
Here is a video review.
So, will I buy one? Not yet; and I do have some mixed feelings about this device.
So What Was "Wrong" With It?
To be sure, it is fast and powerful enough to do many of the things I do on a laptop.
However, I don't think that it's a great "creation" device (at least for me). In other words, I don't believe that I would want to use it to do extensive
writing, spreadsheet editing, or that type of "computer" work.
Also, its big beautiful screen makes the device "too big" for me to imagine carrying around.
One of the primary benefits of my iPhone is that I have it with me everywhere. That means I use it at the grocery store, while I'm waiting for my car at the car-wash, and to look up something during a business meeting or lunch. That wouldn't happen with the iPad.
Instead, I'd want one in my briefcase, another one in the living room, and another in the bedroom.
Again, the iPad seems designed to be a "consumption" device for media. As the price point comes down, I believe that consumers will buy several of them (much the way they have
TVs in different rooms).
Even though it so impressive and compelling, I will probably wait for its next generation before buying.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=316fc233-ee35-4a4b-a801-84bfac5e82d1)
