This comes from a dear friend, who asked me to share it with others.


<a href="http://www.iamsecond.com/">www.iamsecond.com</a>


&nbsp;


Happy Holidays.

I Am Second

Earlier this week, I had dinner with a Dane and learned a great deal more about Copenhagen and Christmas.
Bottom-line: Christmas is SUPER-BIG in Denmark.&nbsp; Much bigger than it is in the United States, and that's saying something.
<a href="https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/activities/christmas-copenhagen">https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/activities/christmas-copenhagen</a>
My wife and I spent one of our loveliest Christmases in London many years ago, and I'm assured that London and Paris "pale&nbsp;by comparison" to how Copenhagen celebrates the holiday.&nbsp; That's also saying something.
Alas, one of the main traditions I learned about that struck my fancy was the&nbsp;importance of elves.&nbsp; Who doesn't love elves?&nbsp; What's not to love?&nbsp; Are you an elf-hater?&nbsp; Surely not... presumably most if not all of us are elf-o-philes!
Anyway, one of the roles of elves in Denmark is to provide&nbsp;periodic, tiny treats and surprises prior to Christmas Day.&nbsp; Little 'breadcrumbs,' if you will -- to help children endure the countdown, which begins...&nbsp;get ready for it... in July!
So anyway, I'm listening to stories about the&nbsp;machinations involved in the 'countdown to Christmas,' and it&nbsp;occurs to me, "I gotta get me an&nbsp;elf!"
And so, I return from my trip, walk in the door, and what do you think my wife has purchased?&nbsp;&nbsp;Entirely without my having said A WORD about this... get ready for it... AN ELF!
I am not kidding you.&nbsp; Not one iota.
In a gleaming white box, she possesses an "Elf on the Shelf."
<a href="http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home">http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home</a>
She explains to me how we are to move him around at night, place him here and there in the remaining days to Christmas.&nbsp; Wow; that's perfect.&nbsp; Adorable.&nbsp; He's about 8" tall and all garb'd out in red and white.&nbsp; Pointy hat, the whole deal.
(bear with me; yes -- this has to do with work.)
So, that night, my wife and I tag-team&nbsp;bedtime and explain to our six-year-old daughter how this ELF has arrived at our home to observe and see if Lauren is being naughty or nice.&nbsp; The elf, whom we name Peter, is to return to the North Pole each&nbsp;night, along with all elves, to report back to Santa.
It's adorable, though my daughter is&nbsp;initially creeped-out by it all.&nbsp; "Really?&nbsp; He's going&nbsp;to be&nbsp;WATCHING me?"&nbsp; (Yeah, sort of like&nbsp;Anthony Hopkins' ventriloquist's doll in Magic <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077889/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077889/</a>).
&nbsp;
<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="../../blogging/image.axd?picture=2008%2f12%2fMagicDoll.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="280" /></div>
Well, eventually she recovers from the potential-paranoia, and&nbsp;really gets into it.&nbsp; Now, each morning, she awakes to find him all over the house... by the window, on a shelf, behind the advent calendar, in a drawer.... you name it, Peter's there.
&nbsp;
<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="../../blogging/image.axd?picture=2008%2f12%2fElf.jpg" alt="" width="204" height="201" /></div>
And it&nbsp;occurs to me, as things do when I'm still and quiet and pondering, "What we&nbsp;BELIEVE so&nbsp;profoundly affects how we behave."
I've&nbsp;expressed this for years, that our BELIEFS precede most everything that follows: values, behaviors, organizational design, management philosophy and bias, treatment of others, etc.&nbsp;
For example,&nbsp;some people treat "those whom they believe can benefit them" well.&nbsp;&nbsp; Conversely, they treat "everyone else" poorly.&nbsp; That's why shows like Secret Millionaire are so fun to watch: we're in on the secret, and thrill to see how people embrace or miss opportunities because of their suppositions and predispositions and biases about others.
This notion of WHAT WE BELIEVE AFFECTS WHAT FOLLOWS touches on self-fulfilling prophecy (which I've written about before), on our marketplace, and of course -- on relationships.&nbsp;
Once Lauren got past the initial skepticism and doubt and fear, and came to see Peter doing silly and encouraging things (like eating M&amp;M's while pointing at dirty clothes on the floor that needed to be picked up), she really got into it, and now she awakes each morning, eager to find where Peter is and what he's up to.&nbsp; It's an adorable kick.
As leaders, as managers, as employees, as citizens, as parents, as people... what we believe has such a powerful determinacy to it.&nbsp; Like the Danes, we see months of energy put toward a celebration that generates pride and joy by millions.&nbsp; Like the elf, we see how something so tiny -- like the trimtab on a sailboat -- can create such dramatic effects on the behavior and attitude of a family.
I encourage you to always remember the importance of beliefs, whatever they are.&nbsp; "We can solve this."&nbsp; "This cannot be solved."&nbsp; "This will get better."&nbsp; "This will never heal."&nbsp; "I am worthy."&nbsp; "I am inadequate."&nbsp; "I am okay."&nbsp; "I am a miserable failure."&nbsp; "I am loved."&nbsp; "I am unlovable."&nbsp; "Peter is creepy."&nbsp; "Peter is cute."
I believe in you, I believe that people can change (and have seen it countless times over the years), I believe that ordinary people can accomplish&nbsp;extraordinary things (and moreover, that no one is ordinary), I believe that most people can lead, and I believe in Christmas.
I also believe in the potential of humankind to make this a better world; fallible, fallen, and flawed, yes.&nbsp; But worth fighting for.
May you, too, possess beliefs that enable you to bound from bed each morning and tackle the day with joy.
Rock on; have a stellar weekend.

The Dane and The Elf on the Shelf

I won't mischaracterize this as a 'book review,' because it's not.
But I&nbsp;encourage you to read The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb.&nbsp; Not because you'll particularly agree with it, or&nbsp;enjoy his obvious though constantly denied hubris, but because the book is required reading for anyone involved in&nbsp;triaging the recent economic&nbsp;hemorrhages that have occurred on Wall &amp; Main Streets.
The Black Swan is indeed provocative and fun, however, and you'll enjoy a number of Taleb's stories and metaphors, not the least of which involves an over-confident turkey.
Here is Taleb's home page:
<a href="http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/">http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/</a>&nbsp;
And here he is on my beloved Charlie Rose:
<a href="https://charlierose.com/videos/15268">https://charlierose.com/videos/15268</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<img src="../../blogging/image.axd?picture=2008%2f12%2fTheBlackSwan%2cbookthumbnail.jpg" alt="" width="332" height="500" />

The Black Swan

Continuing then, from my prior post --- HERE&#39;S A TINY EXAMPLE of what it means to live in a possibility mindset.


You MUST watch this; it&#39;s only 00:03:37, and you&#39;ll enjoy every second:


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLF9iEXnBRo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLF9iEXnBRo</a>


Have a stellar weekend; sing your lungs out.&nbsp;

Feel Good Friday

Here&#39;s a fable you&#39;ve read before...&nbsp; 


A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back.&nbsp; The frog asks, &ldquo;How do I know you won&#39;t sting me?&rdquo; 


The scorpion says, &ldquo;Because if I do, I will die too.&rdquo;&nbsp; The frog is satisfied and they set out but, midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. 


The frog &ndash; now paralyzed &ndash; starts to sink and gasps, &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; 


The scorpion replies, &ldquo;It&#39;s my nature.&rdquo;1 








...Michael Jordan, generally regarded as the finest basketball player to ever grace the court once commented, &quot;Tough times don&#39;t build character; they&nbsp; R E V E A L&nbsp; it.&quot;&nbsp; 


...Lately, I hear and observe a lot of people who are very nervous, paranoid, panicky.&nbsp; &quot;Surely, the sky has fallen,&quot; they whisper.&nbsp; And they call their bank,&nbsp;they pat down their pockets, they prepare for the worst. 


...For 18 years, Abraham Maslow researched, wrote, and taught at Brandeis University.&nbsp; At the beginning and end of each semester, he would challenge his students by asking the simple questions, &quot;If not you, then who?&nbsp; If not now, when?&quot; 








I am reminded tonight of how we become self-fulfilling prophecies.&nbsp; The scorpion stings; difficulties REVEAL character; Chicken Littles abound with their doomsday&#39;ing. 





But Maslow challenged eager / young minds to BE the answer... rather than&nbsp;WAIT for it. 





Years from now, when &#39;the current&#39; is &#39;history,&#39; I wonder what others will write and say about us.&nbsp; About our times.&nbsp; About our generation(s). 


Did we worry and fret and PULL THE SKY DOWNWARD UPON OURSELVES, or did we RISE TO THE OCCASION and IMPROVE OUR TIMES for all time? 


Please, please, please -- do not succumb to the hysteria that grips too many; to those who permit themselves to become driftwood circling in the commode.&nbsp;&nbsp;Victims of circumstance.&nbsp; Instead, as Gandhi encouraged, we must &quot;be the change we wish to see in the world.&quot; 


The choices are ours to collectively make... we can either will ourselves into failure and despair, or we can work ourselves out of it and begin co-authoring the future together. 





Ask deep questions, surround yourself with solutions, and you will attract hope and victories. 


Worry, blame, fret, complain, curl into a fetal position... and we&nbsp;could very well&nbsp;reap a maelstrom that absorbs all our energies into itself.&nbsp; A black hole&nbsp;unparalleled in the history of humankind. 


Times are tough; yes indeedy.&nbsp; But the sky&nbsp;remains fixed in the heavens.&nbsp; Do not succumb to the hyperbolic myths, lest ye wish them to come true.&nbsp; 


&nbsp;






&quot;The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.&quot; 


&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John F. Kennedy 


&nbsp;


&nbsp;








1Though sometimes attributed to Aesop, The Frog and the Scorpion is essentially a derivative of Aesop&rsquo;s The Frog and the Mouse.

Scorpion, Frog, Jordan, Maslow, Market

I spoke with a dear client this morning who commented, &quot;Blake -- our people have lost their way.&nbsp; Business is tough, we&#39;re pounding for more sales where there are none, and I don&#39;t know how much longer we can hold our breath.&quot; 


Ah,&nbsp;yes, that sounds very familiar.&nbsp; I&#39;ve heard something similar for several weeks now from many corners of the world. 


The greatest panacea is perspective, so I offer that in large doses: 


1. First, remember the Paradox of Change: During difficult times, when we need people the MOST focused, they are generally the LEAST.&nbsp; Keep things simple; don&#39;t chase rabbits.&nbsp; Pick an attainable lighthouse and focus on it.&nbsp; &quot;The vital few always trump the compelling many.&quot; 


2. Attend to Energy: Remember, people&#39;s energy tends to drift and dilute during change.&nbsp; Again... focus. 


3. Encourage Others: A kind word goes a long way... intrinsic often trumps extrinsic. 


4. Be Thankful: Someone has ALWAYS got it worse.&nbsp; Count your blessings, and explore making lemonade from lemons. 


Times will get drastically worse before they get any better -- and probably not for a few years yet... so rather than holding one&#39;s breath, learn to find eddies of comfort within the tsunami. 


&quot;He is richest who is content with the least, for contentment is the wealth of nature.&quot; 


&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Socrates 


Now go hug your family.

Four Suggestions for Difficult Times

The day after Thanksgiving, I located my cell phone (which I had stuffed in a sock drawer) to find a half-dozen kind &quot;Thank You&quot;&nbsp;texts from several friends, colleagues, and clients.&nbsp; Back in my saddle this week, I find the same is true of my email inbox. 


To these, I can only say, &quot;No.&nbsp; Thank YOU.&quot; 


<img src="/blogging/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" width="18" height="18" />&nbsp; 


I am a part of all whom I have known, as well as &quot;all the better for it.&quot; 


Blessings to&nbsp;each of you&nbsp;as we&nbsp;teeter into&nbsp;December 2008.

Thank You for the Thank You's

and <img src="../../blogging/image.axd?picture=2008%2f12%2fMillionaire's+Secret%2cbookthumbnail.jpg" alt="" width="70" height="110" />are both fine reads.&nbsp;
Make it Plain and The Millionaire's Secret are&nbsp;great reminders of what mighty things come from humble beginnings.

2 Brief Book Reviews: "Make it Plain" and "The Millionaire's Secret"

I shudder to share this&nbsp;unwieldy &ldquo;book list&rdquo; &ndash; this bibliography of sorts &ndash; in its current state of disrepair.&nbsp; But time is our collective enemy, and if I wait until it&rsquo;s &ldquo;edited,&rdquo; it will likely never see the light of day.&nbsp; 


And people are waiting!&nbsp; 


I am frequently asked, &ldquo;What books do you recommend I read?&rdquo;&nbsp; &quot;What magazines do you read?&quot;&nbsp; &quot;What television shows and movies do you watch?&quot;&nbsp; 


And I cobble together lists of books (and articles and shows and movies)&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve read or even enjoyed (!) only to lose the lists months later.&nbsp; 


Alas, I have spent the better part of the past hour cutting and pasting my various, located lists into one document.&nbsp; 


Yes, it is a rat&rsquo;s nest, but at least &ldquo;here it is.&rdquo;&nbsp; (PLEASE forgive any errors, key omissions, or outright unattractiveness of this list.&nbsp; It is redundant, unformatted, and outright ugly.)&nbsp; 


Maybe one day, someone will Pay it Forward by boomeranging it back to me &ndash; neatly organized, academically formatted,&nbsp;and much beautified!&nbsp; &nbsp;Hint, hint.&nbsp; (Don&#39;t worry, I won&#39;t hold my breath.) 


But until then, here it is &ndash; a messy, but quite thorough accounting of some of the books (and articles) I&rsquo;ve read&nbsp;or skimmed and referenced and recommended since the early and mid-90s.&nbsp;&nbsp; 








I have excluded nearly all HBR articles I have read, because they are simply too many and it&#39;s easier to say, &quot;Subscribe to HBR.&quot;&nbsp; <a href="http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/">http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; 








It occurs to me already that I have also forgotten the pleasurable Mental Floss (<a href="http://www.mentalfloss.com/">www.mentalfloss.com</a>) magazine.&nbsp; See there; the list is already outdated and I haven&#39;t even uploaded it yet.&nbsp; Please help me... send&nbsp;us your recommendations and we&#39;ll try to include them in v2.0 several months from now! 


I hope these books serve you as they have served me but, moreover, that you enjoy them and find them both &ldquo;educational and implementable.&rdquo;&nbsp; 


Read on.&nbsp; 


<a href="/blogging/file.axd?file=2008%2f12%2fTBLG_Monograph_BookList_12-01-2008.pdf">TBLG_Monograph_BookList_12-01-2008.pdf (461.75 kb)</a>

Monograph: Book List

With Gladwell's third book, he is officially "2 for 3" in my book.
I give Outliers a solid, solid A.
With the exception of the Chapter Five and the Epilogue, which comprise the&nbsp;least engaging&nbsp;sections in the book, Outliers&nbsp;is one of the most remarkable books I've read in the past six months.
Gladwell's first published book, The Tipping Point, was simply outstanding.&nbsp; Blink, however,&nbsp;was a real snooze.&nbsp; (My own personal opinion is that he was rushing to cash-in on the success of The Tipping Point, but there was hardly a kernel worth writing about in Blink.&nbsp; "Thin-slicing?"&nbsp; Come on... much ado about nothing.&nbsp; Thin-slicing, indeed.)
But this latest contribution, Outliers, is a real treat.&nbsp; Candy for the brain.&nbsp; It reminds me of all the great, wonderful, intriguing ideas that led me to study the human and social sciences in the first place.&nbsp; To learn more about Outliers from Gladwell himself, check out <a href="http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html">http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html</a>.&nbsp; But the reasons I enjoyed it can be captured in the following representative list of&nbsp;topics that reminded me of undergraduate coursework in psychology, anthropology, and sociology that&nbsp;spurred me to continue studying and reading until... well... this very day:
1. patterns
2. selection, streaming, and differentiated experience
3. accumulative advantage
4. the 10,000 hour rule
5. divergent vs. convergent intelligence
6. general and practical intelligence
7. concerted cultivation vs. accomplishment of natural growth
8. the culture of honor
9. mitigated speech
10. the ubiquitous and unparalleled work of Geert Hofstede
&nbsp;
So, why don't I give Gladwell an A+?&nbsp; Well, setting aside Chapter Five and the Epilogue, my greatest concern is more substantive, of course, and it has to do with "too much cultural determinism."&nbsp; By Gladwell's way of thinking, we achieve what we achieve, in large part -- in fact, practically predominantly -- because of the culture in which we are raised.&nbsp; He strives to prove this through a series of stories and examples that are, indeed, fascinating.&nbsp; But they are not quite enough to fully convince.
In the particulate, his anecdotes are super.&nbsp; But in the aggregate, they border on stereotypical and ring somewhat hollow in today's increasingly 'post-racial and post-cultural' world.&nbsp; Indeed, differences remain among and between people of various backgrounds, but as a dear friend of mine from Portugal once said, "We are not all that different.&nbsp; There is TOO MUCH STEREOTYPING and GENERALIZING."
As Morris Massey articulated in his infamous, What You Are Is Where You Were When, some mild generalizations can be helpful, but they are inadequate.&nbsp; Indeed, with any taxonomy or typology, generalizations give us what Robert&nbsp;Cialdini (Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion) would describe as 'a shorthand way of interacting with each other,' but beyond that... generalizations and stereotypes can be dangerous and&nbsp;altogether misleading.
I am certain, as are countless others, that MANY individuals achieve a great deal on their own, as well as overcome and transcend the shackles of their culture, background, history, and surroundings.&nbsp; I know that Gladwell does not believe, 100%, that who we are and what we accomplish is solely because of those around us, but he works himself into a corner of sorts by&nbsp;arguing so strongly&nbsp;that we do.
But, my goodness, out of 309 pages (all of which you will, indeed, read in a B-L-I-N-K)... if this is my only concern, then color me IMPRESSED and DELIGHTED and AMONG HIS BIGGEST ADVOCATES.
This book will prove to be enormously successful, and millions of people will soak it up like a sponge.&nbsp;
Here's hoping they do... and wishing Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded could have achieved the stickiness of Outliers.
<img src="../../blogging/image.axd?picture=2008%2f12%2fOutliers%2cbookthumbnail.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="254" />

Book Review: "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

This past week I was in Savannah, GA.
While eating at The Gryphon Tea Room, I observed an interesting exchange between a waiter and a hostess. The hostess asked the waiter, "Would you please serve the table against the window?" To which the waiter replied exceedingly ironically, "Sure. I have nothing else to do right now. Are YOU working today?"
Harumphhhh.
And then, a day later, as I waddled through the security checkpoint at the quaint Savannah "International" Airport, I witnessed a very 'put out' TSA agent harumph behind the x-ray machine (carrying more than his fair share of 'curious items') shouting, "Man Working Here! Step aside, step aside!" He was bellowing, not at me mind you, but at his co-workers.
I found it&nbsp;interesting that within a&nbsp;twenty-four hour timespan, I had witnessed two very put-out&nbsp;employees 'harumphing' about their colleagues!
You know, times are tough. I get that. We all get that. We are that.
But I'm ceaselessly flabbergasted when employees vent and harumph in front of customers.&nbsp;The very, ahem, customers they are meant to be serving.
I remember, several years ago, working with an airline to help it restore its reputation. (Long story short: the airline remains its own worst enemy.) As my colleagues and I flew dozens and dozens of trips to ride jumpseat and observe Flight Attendants in the air, we were literally dumbfounded by the negative, disruptive chatter that consumed them and which was all overheard by paying customers within earshot. When we reported our findings, the airline acted somewhat SURPRISED. Surprised? Are you kidding me? Who's not paying attention here?
As leaders and co-workers, let's remember&nbsp;the Golden Rule of&nbsp;Customer Service: "Keep your miseries to yourself."
Customers are paying for a service, not for the sidebars that distract and diminish what could otherwise be an acceptable or stellar experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
p.s. If you are ever in Savannah, be sure to visit The Gryphon Tea Room. Despite my dismay at the single blip I described above, the food is phenomenal and the experience is worth the wait.

"Man Working Here!"

Given the amount of change occurring around us, I have noticed a marked &#39;uptick&#39; in the number of requests to facilitate &#39;re-organization.&#39;&nbsp; In short, many companies and organizations are forced &#39;to do more with less.&#39; 


In light of this need, I submit a brief White Paper that may help.&nbsp; It is merely one of many required &#39;stakes in the ground,&#39; but it is indeed one. 


Happy Reading. 


<a href="/blogging/file.axd?file=2008%2f12%2fTBLG_WhitePaper_OrganizationalDesignElements_12-01-2008.pdf">TBLG_WhitePaper_OrganizationalDesignElements_12-01-2008.pdf (256.63 kb)</a>