First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 16, 2012

Today, at noon, I will present my synopsis of the truly insightful book The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage by Ellis Cose. It is a really good book. I will present this at the Urban Engagement Book Club, sponsored by CitySquare. For this twice a month event, we select [.].

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Succession Books Blog 108

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 8, 2012

You may have been mildly surprised to read the story on Sunday distributed by the Associated Press, revealing that Clifton Truman Daniel, the grandson of former President Harry S. Truman, visited Hiroshima, where he attended a memorial service for the victims killed by the August 6, 1945 bombing, and laid a wreath at the Peace [.].

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Simon Blog 107

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 20, 2012

(while I’m on vacation, you won’t see much from me. Should be back posting more often on Aug. 29. But here’s a quote to ponder). ————— “When the innovative attempt tips too far toward what has worked before, we get stagnation; when unbridled enthusiasm overrides common sense, we get emperors with no clothes – products [.].

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Innovation Tips Productivity Products 106

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 8, 2012

“Needy politicians, like Bill Clinton, recharge at political events,” says Alter. “But, for Obama, they deplete rather than create energy.” Maureen Dowd, The Ungrateful President, 8/8/12 ————— Call it what you want. The ability to schmooze. The ability to network. The ability to meet new people, hover around and have good, meaningful conversations, the ability [.].

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Definition Politics Energy Succession 106

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 25, 2012

We had lunch on the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point in Charleston a couple of days ago. There was an announcement over the speaker inviting all to lunch. It was simple: “Now hear this. Lunch is available at the CPO Galley. That is all.” I never served in our military, but I remember this phrasing from [.].

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CPO Tips Blog 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 17, 2012

A good speech (“presentation”) is always good for two reasons: you have something worthwhile to say, and then you say it very well. (Read this blog post, 2 Ways to Guarantee a Failed Presentation, for a refresher on these basics). You keep working at it, to get better. So, here is your communication tip of the day: [.].

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Tips Rogers Blog 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 9, 2012

Recently, a client said “come quick? After some less than stellar presentations, we need some presentation skills training, fast.” (actually, I paraphrase a little, but the “less than stellar” part is a direct quote. And, I suspect, the presentations were a pretty far cry from stellar). So, I started thinking. Dan Weston, business consultant par [.].

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Training Consultative Skills Blog 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 3, 2012

We had a terrific session this morning at the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas. Karl Krayer presented his synopsis of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt, and I decided to make some upgrades to the way I blog and tweet. It looks like I’ve got some research, and some work, [.].

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Books Execution Blog Covey 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 2, 2012

So, do we need labor unions? The venom in the eyes of some at the very words indicate that, among some, labor unions are despised. But, in my reading for the Urban Engagement Book Club, I keep learning more and more about the history of these unions, and the problems that created them. I just [.].

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Power Books Blog 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 1, 2012

The numbers are stark. I come home, lean back, and read my iPad. I wake up, stay in bed a while, and read my iPad. I get my news, Olympics updates, box scores, movie reviews (Ebert is always available! – worth the cost right there), my bank account, and business insights on my iPad. When [.].

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Media Banking Review Cost 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 7, 2012

Here’s an article by Ryan McCarthy that describes how Nokia could have been ahead of the game on the iPhone type phone, and then dropped the ball: Counterparties: Why big companies are bad at innovating. …as early as 2000, the Finnish phone maker had designed a proto-iPhone – complete with a color touch screen and [.].

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Innovation Ryan McCarthy Article 102

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 15, 2012

Some books just stay around on the best-seller lists. Steve Jobs, The Power of Habit, Outliers, Blink, Thinking Fast and Slow… Some of these came out quite some time ago — some even, a few years ago. They just stay on the lists, or reappear, month after month. They are that good, that important, that [.].

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Books Power Blog 99

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 10, 2012

(Thanks to Tom Pearce, from iLead, for putting me on to this. The article actually came out back in Spring, 2011. But, I suspect, we all have things to learn, to change, and then do). —————- Here’s the big mistake. Companies have bought too fully into the “leave them alone” approach. But, leaving people [.].

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Skills Article Company Blog 99

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 9, 2012

There is in fact a consensus out there. The consensus is that health care costs are too high, and rising too rapidly. But the consensus evaporates with the question of how to fix it. One man who has thought a lot about this is Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is a surgeon, he teaches surgery at [.].

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Health Care Consensus Cost How To 99

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 4, 2012

“His parents were simply early adopters of what will become an essential learning tool for the next generation.” (speaking of a three year old in Sweden working “on his music” on an iPad). – Michael Saylor, The Mobile Wave —————- Here’s a short but important thought for a Saturday. I’n in Natchitoches, LA, for our [.].

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Early Adopters Tools Blog 99

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 24, 2012

Here is an excerpt from an article written by John Coleman for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * When David Petraeus visited the Harvard Kennedy School in 2009, [.].

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Review Blog Article Resources 95

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 14, 2012

This is a simple game. ya throw the ball, ya hit the ball, ya catch the ball. (from Bull Durham) —————- Every day, every box score is the same: “runs, hits, errors.” It is amazing hom many errors professional baseball players make. It is amazing how many dropped passes there are. It is amazing how [.].

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Blog 95

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 10, 2012

Here is the August, 2012 Hardcover Business Books Best Sellers List. Steve Jobs still sits atop the list. I presented this early this year at the First Friday Book Synopsis, our monthly breakfast event in Dallas. If you have not yet read it (it is a big book!, but very much worth the read), you [.].

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Books Blog 95

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 22, 2012

(as I wrote earlier, I am on vacation. So, back to regular blog posting around Aug. 30). —————- I have read many books on leadership, but we still seem to face a real shortage of leaders. And not just individuals in leadership positions, but also “bigger arena” leaders. My book for the September First Friday [.].

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Globalization Leadership Blog Books 90

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 5, 2012

Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. Here are a few insights provided during an interview of Laurel J. Richie, president of the W.N.B.A. She says she’s learned to encourage employees to express their own points of [.].

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Execution How To CEO Books 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 26, 2012

Although he will be remembered as the first human being to walk on the surface of the moon, Neil Armstrong said something in later years that I will always think about whenever his name is mentioned. He was justifiably proud of his various achievements as an astronaut and, especially, the “moon walk” but whenever praised [.].

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Armstrong Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 25, 2012

Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. Here are a few insights provided during an interview of Mario Batali, the chef, cookbook author and television personality, has restaurants in the New York and Los Angeles areas, as [.].

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Execution How To CEO Books 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 16, 2012

I really enjoyed reading The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage by Ellis Cose. The book was a surprise in a couple of ways. I expected an excellent book dealing with the “anger” of black Americans (One of his earlier books was The Rage of a Privileged Class: Why Are Middle-Class [.].

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Class Books Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 31, 2012

Here is an article written by Mary Goodman and Rich Russakoff for CBS MoneyWatch, the CBS Interactive Business Network. To check out an abundance of valuable resources and obtain a free subscription to one or more of the website’s newsletters, please click here. * * * (MoneyWatch) If there was just one thing you could [.].

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Skills Newsletter Succession Resources 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 12, 2012

Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. Here are a few insights provided during an interview of Bill Flemming, president of Skanska USA Building Inc., who wants every meeting to end with a clear understanding of what [.].

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Execution How To CEO Books 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 9, 2012

Leapfrogging: Harness the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs Soren Kaplan Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2012) The power and value of serendipity on the other side of complexity As I began to read this book, I was reminded of an observation by Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I wouldn’t give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity but [.].

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Kaplan Books Review Power 75