Half-Full Book Review

Steve Farber is quite the dreamer when it comes to defining great leadership.

What I’ve always admired about him was his willingness to aim high - like for example, in his book “The Radical Edge“, where he dared to believe that we could mix great business with personal joy and in the process, “change the world“.

It’s not often that leaders try to think that way, but Steve challenged us to do that, passionately and eloquently.

But that wasn’t quite enough - there was more for him to say about leadership, something of an even higher calling and purpose

That something was love.

Now that’s really a radical leap - linking love and leadership. More precisely, Steve sees leadership as a selfless act of love - much like a parent and child.

This constitutes the core of his latest book, “Greater Than Yourself“ - the concept that leaders should “go beyond the tenets of the Golden Rule and help others to be better than they are themselves“.

Just like a mother or father expressing their love by doing everything they can to make their child’s future better than their own, Steve sees great leadership through much the same lens- and in a much more personal way than conventional leadership wisdom usually dictates.

Through the same “business parable” style he employed in his other two books (including “The Radical Edge“),   Steve himself tells the tale of a special guitar, and how his search for one of its previous owners slowly reveals the “Greater Than Yourself” philosophy (and a framework to use it) through a cast of dedicated practitioners.

It’s a fast, enjoyable read, and the use of storytelling brings his points home very effectively.    The author’s passion for the subject clearly comes through - I didn’t doubt for a second that he truly believes that what he presented represented “true” leadership, on its highest plane of existence.

The real test however, is whether his readers will believe it, and ultimately reach for it.  He ups the ante by presenting an Epilogue to the book that shows the principles in action (by the group Up With People), and also invites us to a new website where he is taking on his own “GTY” projects.

That’s where the rubber meets the road - can we too become so selfless, so loving, and so giving as leaders, like the characters in the book? The answer lies inside our own hearts and souls.

I’m sure Steve knew the degree of difficulty he faced here,  but this didn’t stop him from putting his personal feelings on his literary sleeve and trying to penetrate those inner sanctums that rarely see the light of day between 8 and 5, Monday through Friday.

I for one am quite glad he did. Read this book and I bet you’ll feel the same way too.

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed doing on this blog is reviewing books - all kinds of books. The list is now up to 29, and they are all listed in “Starbucker’s Amazon Store“.

The reviews themselves are in my “Half-Full Book Review” category.

All of these books are recommended, but here are 10 that are especially meaningful to me:

1. “Einstein“, by Walter Isaacson. I now look at the Universe in a totally different (and magical) way.
2. “Good to Great”, by Jim Collins. Provides an essential understanding of what it takes to be a long-term business success.
3. “Citizen Soldiers“, by Stephen Ambrose. I could have picked three books by Ambrose, but this one left the most lasting mark on me about the courage and bravery of these men during WWII.
4. “Pour Your Heart Into It“, by Howard Schultz. As I said in my review, “The book serves as an excellent case study in “leadership with heart”. Schultz is an undying “inclusive optimist”.”
5. “1776″, by David McCullough. A real and gripping profile in courage (and great leadership).
6. “7 Ways To Screw Up Your Life (and how to unscrew it)” , by Marti Lawrence. I just reviewed this, and I contributed a short chapter entitled “The Roller Coaster Theory“
7. “This is Your Brain on Music“, by Daniel J. Levitin. If you ever wondered why music could have such an effect on you (as it does with me), this is a book for you. Utterly fascinating.
8. “Orbiting the Giant Hairball“, by by Gordon MacKenzie. A fun look at how courage and “genuineness” can unlock creativity within the workplace.
9. “The Radical Edge“, by Steve Farber. Wanna lead AND change the world? Dare to dream big. Read this book and find out how.
10. “Joy At Work“, by Dennis W. Bakke. Can work really be fun? Can it be joyful? This book answers “yes!”

In the spirit of the holiday season, if you visit my Amazon page and buy one of these books, (or any of the other 19 on the page) all of my commissions will be donated to one of my favorite charities, the National Park Foundation.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to visit many of our National Parks (here’s the list of my 10 favorites) - here’s what I’ve said about the experience in a previous post:

“There’s something about the sense of awe one gets when seeing these landmarks of nature that always manages to put me in a very good place - a good case in point is Grand Teton in Wyoming. Every time I visit there (which is about annually) I feel calm, renewed and revitalized. I can’t really explain exactly why - but I do think it’s spiritual.”

These places need to be tended to and preserved for future generations. Unfortunately, government funding is woefully inadequate to do everything that really needs to be done, like rebuilding roads, remodeling buildings, and hiring more park rangers.

So if you are going to buy one of these books, buy it here, so a little bit of that sale can go to our National Parks.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

Go to Starbucker’s Amazon Store

Barry Moltz has failed. More than once.

And he’s not afraid to tell you.

Of course, he’s had his share of success as well, but what makes his new book “Bounce” such an interesting and thought provoking read is his refreshing honesty.

What else would you expect from someone who’s already written a book called “You Need to be a Little Crazy”?

This honesty proves to be an effective way to present his keys to confidence building, as we “bounce” our way from one outcome, situation or event to another.

What are these keys? Barry organizes his book into 10 of them (called “building bands”), but there were 4 in particular that interested me the most:

• Developing Humility
• Channeling fear and making choices
• Less focus on events and more on process
• Using passion to keep up the good fight

As someone who is a great proponent of the role of humility in “Level 5” leadership as defined in the book “Good to Great”, Barry’s view was spot on. He writes:

“Humility reminds us to respect the power of our competitors, our customers, and how vastly complicated the business world can be. It’s like sailing on the ocean, riding the waves high, but respecting the power of nature, knowing that a storm can brew up at any moment with the power to set you off course or, worse, sink your boat”

Humility is about taking responsibility for our actions, but also realizing that our actions are taken within the context of forces that very often can be beyond our control. (the recent subprime mortgage mess is a very good example). Knowing this helps us bounce ahead when things don’t go our way as well as when they do.

As for fear, Barry believes (as I do) that it can actually be a good thing, because it’s an energy that can be channeled. The great term he uses is “teaching the butterflies to fly in formation”. Since fear can never be eliminated, why not use it? More than anything, we cannot let fear lead to paralysis. Most of the time, a deep breath and a step back will reveal that we always have choices, the “antidote to fear”, and those choices allow us to bounce once again.

Focusing on the processes that lead us to good or bad outcomes is another way to build resiliency and confidence, says Moltz. He believes we spend much too much time categorizing these events, and not enough time analyzing about how we got to those points. When I read this all I could keep thinking about was “It’s the journey, not the destination”. Because one man’s failure is another man’s success, understanding and learning from all of our past experiences is yet another way to bounce forward.

Lastly, there’s passion – the rocket fuel for fighting failure, and building lasting confidence. Barry calls it “the only thing that will bounce the businessperson off the bottom”. But we must understand where our passions come from, and if what we’re doing every day is in line with that passion. Granted this is something we’ve heard many times before, but in my view I can never hear it (or read it) enough, especially in this context.

In the end, to Barry it’s all about making better decisions – and the way to do that is to keep “bouncing”. We have to get into and stay in the game – we need to make choices, over and over again, with humility and passion, understanding and channeling our fears, and focusing on the journey instead of the destination.

I’ve always called this “a bias toward action”.

There’s certainly much more to this book than what I’ve presented here. Barry draws frequently from his own life experiences and learning, and those are the most effective passages. It is certainly not a “know it all” book, written more out of hubris than a desire to share hard earned knowledge. It’s not a bunch of happy faces wrapped around an “easy 5 step plan”.

Nope, it’s a very “grounded” approach – here’s someone who’s not afraid to admit he’s failed (and tell you why), or tell you what you might not want to hear in a self-help book. Or tell you that once you read the book, you should throw it away (yes, he really says this, but you’ll need to read the book to find out why).

In other words, it’s a book with a foundation in honest reality but yet ultimately optimistic about the human condition, and our ability to bounce.

Sounds a little like Half-Fullism Barry – welcome to the club!

Buy “Bounce” in my Amazon Store.

A few years ago (pre-blogging) I really enjoyed reading the book “John Adams” by David McCullough, so it’s been no surprise that I’ve been enthralled by the HBO miniseries of the same name that is in the middle of its seven episode run.

The courage, intelligence, eloquence, and tenacity of Adams and our founding fathers was never so vividly illustrated than in the re-enactments that have been portrayed on the screen.

I have to admit I was nearly in tears watching the final deliberations over whether or not the colonies would declare independence, stirred by the passion for freedom and liberty but balanced by the fear of what was to come from their decision.

I was particularly impressed by Adams, who again and again would remind his fellow congress attendees that the facts were speaking for themselves - the British had already essentially declared war on the colonies by their words and actions against them. There was really no choice but to stand up to the tyranny and declare independence.

It wasn’t the first time Adams publicly convinced other people that facts should rule - in 1770 he conducted the defense of the British soldiers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre, an almost impossible task given the Bostonians’ hatred of British rule.

In his summation to the jury, he said this:

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

He won that case, by the power and persuasiveness of his words, and (of course), the facts.

What a valuable lesson to take from him - it can be applied to our world of business by this maxim - “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it“. That’s what I thought of after the impact of Adams’ words sunk in.

No matter how well we THINK things are going, or we HEAR things are going, if the facts say otherwise - the facts MUST rule. So we must generate the appropriate facts in our businesses that guide our decision making, and temper any feelings or emotions that may obfuscate those facts and put us down the wrong path.

Easier said than done, but if we can stick to our principles like John Adams did so well, we have nothing to worry about.

Take my advice and read the book and watch the miniseries - you will be enriched and inspired too!

Yesterday, around 5:30 EST, Starbucks closed its 7,100 US stores for three hours so it could “retrain” its teammates on the art of making espresso drinks.

(Thankfully, I was not in need of a latte at that time.)

It’s amazing how far this company has fallen, in that it needed to do something this dramatic to revive its fortunes.

CEO Howard Schultz encouraged all of his teammates on a video message by proclaiming “This is not about training. This is about the love and compassion and commitment that we all need to have for the customer”

That’s vintage Howard – the Howard I praised and admired when I reviewed his book “Pour Your Heart Into It”. The “Starbucks experience” was something he originally treasured and nurtured. And it paid huge dividends – Starbucks became a welcoming “third place” that people could visit and linger, savoring the intoxicating smell of the roasted beans and nestling down in comfy chairs with their triple lattes, hand made by smiling baristas.

But alas, something appeared to happen somewhere along the way that fundamentally changed this equation – it seemed that the focus on growth and profit eclipsed the focus on the customer.

Or was there something else going on as well that hastened this almost desperate effort to reclaim the higher ground?

I’ve been going to Starbucks regularly for over 15 years – I too was originally attracted by that “third place” vibe, as well as the boldness of the brew. It didn’t take me long to be hooked. But as every year has gone by, I’ve been less and less focused on it as a “place” and more focused on it as simply a means get my morning latte, and as quickly as possible.

It’s like you discover something that is really best enjoyed in a leisurely and “fuller” way, but reality sets in because you just don’t have the time and so you narrow it down to its bare essential – hot espresso with steamed milk.

Perhaps Howard sensed this same change in his customers as the Starbucks empire expanded – that certainly would explain their switch to automated espresso machines. If you’ve read Howard’s book you’d be hard pressed to believe that would be something he would ever allow to happen.

But it did.

They needed to push more customers through the store. “Need more growth”, the investors and analysts said. “I need my latte quicker” said Terry Starbucker (and most likely many, many more folks like me).

It was a lethal combination. The vibe is long gone, and now Starbucks is just a coffee commodity competing with the McDonald’s and the Dunkin Donuts of the world. Espresso has been “McDonaldized” (see my recent post on that).

From a personal standpoint, I guess I’m getting from Howard what I evolved to ask for – I do indeed get my daily latte quite quickly each morning (and it still tastes pretty darn good). And so I look at this recent action quite ambivalently, since I’m long past sitting in those comfy chairs and reveling in the espresso making experience.

So be careful Howard- I certainly don’t mind a few more smiles and a great deal more competence in your staff, but it’s going to be much, much harder to “retrain” your most loyal customers like me - I still need to get in and get out of your store in 3 minutes.

It’s just too little, too late when it comes to turning the clock back 15 years. The ship has sailed.