March Read/2

Title: Fish! : A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Author: Lundin, Stephen C.

Subjects: Employee Motivation; Customer Services

Call Number: 658.314 L962F 2000

ISBN: 9780786866021

Number of Pages: 110

Book Description:

            Imagine a workplace where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude to the job every day. Imagine an environment in which people are truly connected to their work, to their colleagues, and to their customers. In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is charged with the responsibility to turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department into an effective team down the street from her office is Seattle’s very real Pike Place Fish, a world famous market that is wildly successful thanks to its fun, bustling, joyful atmosphere and great customer service. By applying ingeniously simple lessons learned from the actual Pike Place fishmongers, our manager discovers how to energize those who report to her and effect an astonishing transformation in her workplace.

            Addressing today’s most pressing work issues with an engaging metaphor and an appealing message that applies to anyone in any sector of any organization, Fish! Offers wisdom that is easy to grasp, instantly applicable, and profound-the hallmarks of a true business classic (from the inside of book cover).

My Read:

            “Life is too precious just to be passing through to retirement.” (p57) Upon reading this the word “through” kept on talking to me as if asking me to do something about it. The phrase reminds me of some people I have known over the years at work. How I wish I had had a magic wand to lead those people to read books like this to embrace life in a more joyful and passionate way. Everyone has influence, small as well as big, positive as well as negative, upon people we encounter on a daily basis. Do you ever ask yourself what kind of impact you have had on people around you, acquaintances as well as strangers? It’s a good question that helps a person to discover paths to happiness and fulfillment.

            “I don’t believe that companies are necessarily prisons, but sometimes we make prisons of them by the way we choose to work there. I have created a prison and the walls are my own lack of faith in myself” (p46). The keys I found in this are prison and choose. Mindset is about who you are and what you can become. Owning a positive attitude and supportive spirit at work allows a person to play at the playground whose name is workplace. You go to play at the playground you choose. Are you a sigher or a smiler at work, at home, anywhere you step in?

            “There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself” (p37). Again, the key is “choice.” Choice is about who is the host or hostess; are you the one makes choices or do you allow anyone or situation to dominate your life? Sometimes, it’s the case that there is no one “home.” A person simply breathes and lives; there is nothing inside. No one is “home” to make connection to the outside world. Passing through and getting by are the defaults and autopilot is in charge. Knock! Knock! Anyone home?

            There are four steps listed and described in this fictional and informative book: choose your attitude, play, make their day, and be present.

--Choose your attitude: what’s on your attitude menu choices today? In the book there are two drawings: one was a smiling face and the other was a frowning face (p60). On my menu, I imagine there are “fun,” “playful,” “supportive,” “energetic,” “creative,” and “passionate.” Imagination is powerful for it creates a vision and a picture for me to aim, to aspire. I wonder what’s on your menu today.

--Play: the workplace could be a playground and we, the employees, are children adults. Of course we have to be serious about business for there are customers, internal as well as external, and works to be taken care of and to be accomplished. It’s our attitude toward how we proceed and do our jobs. To play or to work, you decide.

--Make their day: you make someone’s day by a job well done. Not only do you make someone’s day, the well-done job brings in joy and sense of achievement no monetary can buy or compensate.

-Be present: you have to be aware of the people and surrounded places to have a job well done. Keeping eye contact is a good way to make sure you have someone’s attention and let that someone knows it. Overall, you are home and the host/hostess in charge.

            I came across this book by checking it in the other day at work. It’s the title, Fish!, that caught my attention. My colleagues would know why.

            The imaginations this book provides are wonderland and aspiration I have been searching for. The library in which I am currently employed is a playground to me. Is your workplace also a playground to you? Yes, or no, it’s your choice.    

Reference:

Lundin, S. C., H. Paul, and J. Christensen. Fish!, a remarkable way to boost morale and improve results. 1. New York, NY: Hyperion Books, 2000. Print

A Wonderful Month

       This month is very special; we celebrated the Chinese New Year, Chinese style, we are honored to meet Michael who came to visit his family on his vacation, and we have a new member, Otoor, whose English is impressive. The most important thing is everyone did her best to enrich each other's life by reading, writing, speaking, and sharing. I am so proud and honored to witness such progress and be one of the WOW Reading Family members.
       A life without hardship and struggle is black and white. Each encounter is an opportunity to learn more about the self and our fellow human brothers and sisters. Reading, to me, is a sure way to develop and grow the self for words are invention of the human beings and collections of people's wisdom and precious human histories. Writing, on the other hand, serves as a helpful tool and handy means for a person to express the self. Even an error or a mistake, the words a person composes are essence of who she is. So, be brave, and be the best salesperson for self-expression.
       I tried not to modify members' summaries; it's not the purpose of this reading club. Of course, one might find some small mistakes or errors here and there. Those small things are mirrors a person can see and check her own reflection and trains of thoughts. I, myself, did find plenty of errors hidden in my articles. And when I did sense of gratitude and achievement would surface; those mistakes actually are milestones of my growth and steps of development. Don't waste time on finding the errors. Instead, try to find more articles, or books to enrich your life and share with your family members here in the library.
       If you have any idea for us to proceed our tea time or monthly meet please contact me.
I look forward to seeing each and every family member on Wednesdays.
And you are also welcome to stay for the next program, Mah Jongg, held at 2 pm. It's a success.
       Welcome board, Otoor and thanks for everyone's effort and contribution to this budding reading club.
       Lily's summary this month was awesome and her reading aloud skill was good; everyone was engrossed in her story and had a great story time.
       Ruby's story was not finished yet. That means we are going to find out what and how the evil man, Damien Black is going to flick his revenge on the brave boy, Dave and his gecko pet. Let's be patient and wait for the story to come.

Mei-Wan

Ruby's Read/February

Title: The Gecko & Sticky: The Power Potion

Author: Van Draanen, Wendelin

Ruby’s Read

            Dave went to a remote area called “Gypsy Town” to pick up his last package of the day. As he rode his bike through a maze of twists and turns for searching the address he encountered chickens and goats…lots of goats with pointy horns. After he found this delivery pick-up address, he was surprised that the location was a Gypsy wagon. A man who lives in the wagon handed Dave a strange looking tube sealed with wax and told him to deliver the package to Mr. Damien Black on Raven Ridge.

            Damien Black was an evil man who wanted to gain power and wealth, and especially wanted to recover a magic ingot in Dave’s possession. Raven Ridge was a spooky mansion filled with danger, so Dave didn’t go there directly. He went home to discuss with Sticky, the gecko. Sticky persuaded Dave to open the package and change the magic potion with a strange concoction of their own.

            Dave delivered the package to Damien’s mansion. When Damien realized it doesn’t contain his magic potion he was very angry and outed for revenge.

To be continued….

Otoor's Read/February

Title: RUTH AND THE GREEN BOOK

Author: Ramsey, Calvin A.

Otoor’s Read 

This story combines fiction and real events that happened in 1950, it showed discrimination of that period, and how African American suffered through what was called (Jim Crow).

The story events about Ruth, a small girl lived with her parent in Chicago, they were so happy to visit grandma in Alabama by their beautiful green car, after Ruth mother prepared food for their trip and advised Ruth to take her brown bear with her for company. Her father told a lot stories about Alabama, they were laughing then after taking their food they needed to fill up gas and going to restroom and that was so surprise for them when the worker in the gas station forbid them,so they went into the wood other thing made them so sad that no one allowed them to inter restaurant or stay in hotel.

The girl felt homesick and she hugged her bear close all-day, when they crossed into Tennessee they went to friend’s house his name Eddy was so happy to see them his wife Alice cooked them meal and spent night with them.

Ruth was worried when she heard Eddy told her father about dangerous thing might happened when he said (Jim crow), the girl asked her father about Jim crow, her father explained that (Jim crow) was a bunch of ugly laws forbidding blacks and whites from mixing in any way .The girl asked many questions but her ma told her its better to look for an Esso station that Eddy told them about.

The girl spotted it and sang out to her father to stop, Esso ,station was near the Georgia border, After her father filled the car up ,asked the worker if he knew any place they could sleep in for the night.

The worker showed them small green and said” This book was started by a postman, Mr. Victor H. Green, to help black people travelling”.

It listed place in lots of states where they could be welcomed to sleep, eat, shop and they can get any other information. Ruth’s father bought copy for seventy five cents. Before reaching grandmas house, they looked in the green book and picked out places that said welcome to black people.

That was a big house with many rooms, and they saw many businessmen. Ruth also met a little boy how was travelling with his mom. He was scared because he had left his home. Ruth gave him her brown bear and told his mother about the green book trying to help them to show that good people all over the country and how the green book was so useful for them.

 Reference:

http://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/the-green-book/

Librarian's Comment:

It's the librarian's personal believe that greatness and influential accomplishments come from Great Minds, great people whose commitment, talents, and efforts are made, discovered, and delivered by hardship and challenges. Difficult times actually serve those great people as wakeup calls and invite them to bring out their potentials and compassionate passions to make a big difference in human's history. Those great people are capable of making a risk and challenge into an opportunity and making themself a catalyst for change.

I am so honored to hear and listen to Otoor's book review. Otoor is our new member.

Welcome to the Renner Reading Family, Otoor.

Lily's Read/February

Title: Alice in Wonderland

Author: Retold by Tomalin, Mary

Lily’s Read

            This story talks about Alice had a dream. One hot summer day Alice and her sister are sitting under a tree. She slept and had a strange dream.

            She dreamed she went down the rabbit hole and everything is different and strange. She saw small door about 40 centimeters high. The little key opened it. She saw a beautiful garden. She was too big; she can’t get in. Alice thought: why can’t I get smaller?

            She looked at the table. There was a little bottle on it. The bottle had “drink me” on it in large letters. After she read she drank a little. Within short time she was only 25 centimeters high. She thought she can open the door but she was too short and she couldn’t get the key from the table.

            Then she saw a little box under the table. She opened it there was a cake inside, on it she saw the words “eat me.” After she finished the cake, she is getting taller in a short time. Alice was more than three meters high. She was too big and couldn’t go through it. She began to cry, her tears were very big too. She couldn’t stop the big tears and after a time there was water everywhere!

            Alice met White Rabbit and she had Rabbit’s hat and became smaller and smaller. She cried “I’m going to vanish!” She quickly took the hat off. She ran to the little door, but before she got there she fell into some water. She thought: the water was her tears.

            She looked around there and, near her, there was a mouse and a lot of animals and birds in the water. When they saved her they got out of the water.

            Alice and the birds and animals felt cold and wet. The largest bird spoke to Alice “We all want to get warm, so let’s have a race-a Caucus Race.” After the race everybody went home.

            She came to a pretty little house. Above the door were the words “W. Rabbit.” She saw a little bottle and drank from it. She became taller, but she didn’t get bigger. So she ate cake late and she was small again.

            After she came to a wood she met Caterpillar who offered her to eat brown mushroom. She became bigger; her size was 18 centimeters high. She walked to the house, opened the door and went in.

            Alice met a large, ugly woman sitting with a baby in her arms, a cook, and a smiling cat. She saw a baby changing into a pig. The woman told her she is going to see the Queen today. Alice said “I haven’t got an invitation.” The Cheshire cat told her “You will see me in the Queen’s garden.” Then it vanished.

            Alice began to walk again. She saw the March Hare’s house. She ate some of the white mushrooms. She got bigger again; she was about 60 centimeters high. She felt afraid but walked to the house. She met Mad Hatter, the March hare, and a large brown mouse. Mad Hatter was polite but March Hare wasn’t. Mad Hatter told Alice that his watch didn’t tell the time because it’s always tea time. They didn’t offer Alice tea, bread or butter. Alice got up angrily and walked away from the table, and walked back into the woods. She was back in the long room. She is small now. She got into the garden and her size was about 30 centimeters high.

            She met three gardeners by the tree. They were making the flowers red for the Queen wanted trees with red flowers on them. If the trees got white flowers the Queen would be very angry and cut off their heads. Alice thought she would see the Queen. A lot of people, the King, the Queen, and the White Rabbit entered the garden. The Queen asked Alice: What’s your name child?” She didn’t feel very afraid of the Queen; she thought “They are only cards.”

            The Queen looked at the gardeners. They were on the ground and she couldn’t see their faces. “Who are these men?” she asked. “Don’t ask me; I don’t know,” answered Alice, not very politely. The Queen’s feet got redder and redder. She looked at Alice and shouted “Cut off her head!” The Queen was saying it but she never did it.

            The cards-all fifty-two of them came down on top of Alice. She felt afraid and angry and started to fight with them. Then she opened her eyes….

            She saw a tree, a big old tree. She was under it, next to her sister. She slept for a long time! She sat up and told her sister about her story. Her sister laughed and they went home.

March Read/1

Title: Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Author: Lencioni, Patrick

Subjects: Teams in the Workplace

Call Number: 658.4022 L563O 2005

ISBN: 9780787976378

Number of Pages: 156 P

Book Description:

            In the years following the publication of Patrick Lencioni’s best-seller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, fans have been clamoring for more information on how to implement the ideas outlined in the book. In Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni offers more specific, practical guidance for overcoming the Five Dysfunctions—using tools, exercises, assessments, and real-world examples. He examines questions that all teams must ask themselves: Are we really a team? How are we currently performing? Are we prepared to invest the time and energy required to be a great team? Written concisely and to the point, this guide gives leaders, line managers, and consultants alike the tools they need to get their teams up and running quickly and effectively (amazon.com book description).

My Read:

            To me, asking questions are one of the sure ways for self-improvement and making progress when a person does reflection. Lencioni did this from the beginning of the book. He said: Before embarking on a team-building effort, your team needs to answer two big questions: 1) Are we really a team? A team or a working group? He commented: Do not waste time and energy pretending you’re something you are not. This is a wakeup call and leads me to ask some important questions of my own. He also said: A smaller subset of the group that might be a real team is called sub team. This comment resonates some wisdom acquired from experiences and reflects some reality. It provokes some insightful pondering. 2) Are we ready for heavy lifting? To build up and have a true teamwork takes considerable time and emotional energy. This reminds me of a question I have had: what is a true and healthy team?

            1^st dysfunction: Absence of Trust. According to Lencioni, the key ingredient to building trust is not time. It is courage. Members of a team, starting with the leader, must be willing to take risks without a guarantee of success (p18). The real breakthrough in term of vulnerability and trust, suggested in the book, come when you introduce a behavioral profiling tool that allow team members to accurately and openly assess their strengths and weaknesses (p29). For instance, MBTI: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

            2^nd dysfunction: Fear of Conflict. The following is a collection of the author’s points. “If team members are never pushing one another outside of their emotional comfort zones during discussions, then it is extremely likely that they’re not making the best decisions for the organization” (p38). Fix: having members to think about how an outsider to the team would feel sitting in on a team meeting. “When a team recovers from an incident of destructive conflict, it builds confidence that it can survive such an event, which in turn builds trust” (p40). Plenty of history stories do support such concept. When facing threats the negative forces would bring out potentials and strengths of people involved. And the collective forces and energy could make miracles and do wonders. “The leader is going to have to be ready to not only light the fuse of good conflict but to gently fan the flames for a while too” (p45). Good conflict, similar to a healthy and productive argument in a relationship, would provoke creativity, build common grounds, and invite genuine appreciation.

            3^rd dysfunction: Lack of Commitment. “Commitment is about a group of intelligent, driven individuals buying in to a decision precisely when they don’t naturally agree. In other words, it’s the ability to defy a lack of consensus” (p51). If a group of people is able to make commitment to common goals, the positive energy and force will form some momentum needed to achieve such goals. When reading this chapter about commitment the concepts remind me of an image: a group of people onboard of a boat fighting and struggling with some overwhelming tidal waves. The common goal of these people is to survive and overcome the obstacle.

            4^th dysfunction: Avoidance of Accountability. Reading about accountability, the following words from Lencioni do touch my heart. He said: Peer pressure and the distaste for letting down a colleague will motivate a team player more than any fear of authoritative punishment or rebuke (p61). Having been working at the library for more than six years, I found myself pretty competitive and truly appreciative of winning. Once a goal was reached, it became history and another new goal automatically surfaced. The definition of accountability in this book: the willingness of team members to remind one another when they are not living up to the performance standards of the group (p61) sounds so real and true to me. High performance and accountability go hand-in-hand. The author suggests that for a culture of accountability to thrive a leader must demonstrate a willingness to confront difficult issues. Such leaders would have guts to rock the boat and ask truth and seek answers even when others are afraid to do so.

            5^th dysfunction: Inattention to Results. Talking about the issues of team success and performance Lencioni hit the bull’s eye stating that there is always that little voice in a person’s head saying, “What about me?” Sometimes that little voice drowns out the cry of the team, and the collective results of the group get left behind (p75). Ego is the ultimate killer on a team (p75). I totally agree with Lencioni when he states that anything that stands in the way of performance must be addressed openly and directly even if it is something that is sensitive to one or more members of the team. It’s like the human body and its functions. Once an illness or dysfunction of a body part is detected, one has to pay attention and seeks professional help before the sickness goes worse or becomes beyond hope of being healed.

            Building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability, and focusing on results would make a team work and work to the excellence. This makes me think of the difference between a brand name and a generic. The later one is a product without a brand. The brand name acquires its respect and reputation by working hard on building its brand-its name and what it stands for with the name attached to its products.

            A name or a brand name? A good question.

Reference:

Lencioni, P. Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team, a field guide for leaders, managers, and facilitators. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2005. Print.

February Read/5

Title: Winning with Accountability: The Secret Language of High-Performance Organizations

Author: Evans, Henry J.

Subjects: Organizational Effectiveness; Responsibility; Organizational Change; Strategic Planning

Call Number: 658.402 E92W 2008

ISBN: 9780981924205

Number of Pages: 102 P

Book Description:

            Success can’t happen without accountability. It is that simple. For over 10 years, Henry Evans has worked with hundreds of organizations around the world, teaching and building accountability. This book offers that same guidance to you, your colleagues and your team to reach new levels of excellence and success. In Winning with Accountability, Henry offers a step-by-step guide to help any organization improve performance by creating a culture of accountability. The strategies in this book are simple, easy to implement...and the results are immediate! It should be required reading for every member of every team. Read, enjoy, and win with accountability! (from amazon.com book description)

My Read:

            “When it comes to teamwork, I define accountability as the willingness of team members to remind one another when they are not living up to the performance standards of the group” (Lencioni, 2005, p 61). In Lencioni’s book: Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide, avoidance of accountability is one of the reasons why a team’s performance is not to its peak. Imagine in a group when something doesn’t work out and no one is willing to take the blame or pointing finger becomes a person’s self-defense, would trust or high productivity be found among peers or in the team?

            There are four pieces of accountability puzzle found in this book. They are: Clear expectation, specificity, ownership, and share.

Clarity, according to the author, can be assessed by Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Trackable, Ethical, and Recorded. The author uses the acronym S.M.A.R.T.E.R to emphasis the concepts of clarity.

Specificity is about being specific dates, times, and time zones. When people get a visual picture, they will better retain what is being said (Evans, 2008, p59). About the time specific, the author states the difference between datelines and timelines. Datelines are about when the work was supposed to be done. On the other hand, timelines are about when we actually do the work. By the definition one knows that datelines won’t guarantee tasks be done; when unexpected things happen one has no enough time to react if one does things at the last minute. Timelines serve as guidelines telling a person the processes of tasks done and one meets a timeline it means certain job has been done.

Ownership is when someone takes charge of a task. When things don’t go well the person in charge stands up and takes the blame. Such ownership helps people and the team focus on finding a solution instead of wasting time pointing fingers.

Sharing accountability creates and invites healthy relationships. When sharing and working on shared goals people focus on to how to get the best outcome. No one is perfect and when people are willing to check in and follow through on-hand tasks such bond and partnership strengthen and empower teamwork.

I imagine a workplace in which everyone is willing to hold each other accountable and remind each other when team performance is not as ideal as the team expect to reach. As the author teaches and advises a person to look in the mirror instead of through a glass. “When things go wrong-questions to ask: 1) Where did I fail to communicate clear expectations? 2) Who did I forget to include in initial discussions? 3) What could I have done better or differently that may have resulted in a more favorable outcome? We must first focus on a change within ourselves to create the possibility of change in others” (Evans, 2008, p26).

We can’t make people change; we have control of our mindset. Mindset drives a person to excellence and happiness.

Reference:

Evans, H. Winning with accountability: The secret language of high-performing organizations. Dallas: Cornerstone Leadership Institute, 2008. Print.

Lencioni, P. Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team, a field guide for leaders, managers, and facilitators. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2005. Print.

February Read/4

Title: Change Leader: Learning to Do What Matters Most

Author: Fullan, Michael

Subjects: Leadership; Organizational Change

Call Number: 658.4092 F965C 2011

ISBN: 9780470582138

Number of Pages: 172 p

Book Description:

            Michael Fullan says we have an increasing understanding of how to tackle complex change. This involves developing a new kind of leader: one who recognizes what is needed to bring about deep and lasting changes in living systems at all levels. These leaders need a deep understanding of what motivates us as human beings and how we tap into and influence other people’s self-motivation.

            In Change Leader Fullan has his focus to the core practices of leadership that are so vital for leading in today’s complex world. He reveals seven core practices for today’s leaders, all of which appear to be deceptively simple but actually get to the essence of what differentiates a powerful leader from one who is merely competent:

-Practice Drives Theory

-be Resolute

-Motivate the Masses

-Collaborate to Compete

-Learn Confidently

-Know Your Impact

-Sustain Simplexity

            Throughout the book Fullan argues that powerful leaders have built bedrocks of creditability, have learned how to identify the few things that matter most, and know how to leverage their skills in ways that benefit their entire organization. The author shows leaders how to avoid policies and strategies that focus on shallow and short-term goals and develop leadership skills for long-term success.

            With a wealth of illustrative examples from business, education, nonprofit, and government sectors Change Leader provides a much-needed leadership guide for today’s turbulent climate (from the inside of book cover).

My Read:

            “The most attractive and the best organization are those that have a reputation for developing people. By definition they have leaders who are good at their own development and establishing the environment whereby they help others learn and grow. Accomplishment can generate greater moral purpose than trying to increase moral purpose directly.” (p22) I found this paragraph most appealing and inspirational to me.

            -Practice Drives Theory: Doing is the crucible of change. The author believes that one learns through practice and expects to learn from mistakes. One has to believe that there is room for improvement in oneself and in others. Once a person experiences success and acquires sense of achievement the learning wheel is on the move.

            -Be Resolute: Act with purpose and empathy. Leaders with empathy do not see people’s behavior as necessarily fixed. Their empathy tells them that perhaps the behavior is situational: if you want to be change people’s behavior, change the situation. It’s important that the change be simple, or at least doable without complexity (p 44). Sun Tzu also states the importance of taking advantage of situation. Instead of going against the overwhelming situation, a wise person would go along with the condition and situation and, meanwhile, waiting for openness of opportunity.

            -Motivate the Masses: Experiencing is believing. The only thing that works is for people to own intrinsic motivation, and you have to get at this indirectly. Once a person is able to gain realized effectiveness the actual experience of being more effective spurs people (p 51-52). I am a self-motivated person. To me, autonomy is maturity of adulthood. If a person is capable of self-motivating, tasks could be transformed into fun and joy that drive a person to excellence and happiness.

            -Collaborate to Compete: Multiply Capacity and Win. Healthy internal competition is actually a way of knowledge, information, and resources sharing in an organization. Through collaboration, cooperation, and coordination, everyone is a winner; one gets the opportunity to grow and develop.

            -Learn confidently: Change Requires Confidence (but true confidence requires humility). Collaborative competition invites confidence and determination to achieve success. The right mindset is: to compete with self (we can do better than last year), to compete with each other (if they can do it, why can’t we?) (p97)

            -Know Your Impact: Drowning in data and Thirsty for Knowledge. Suggestions from the author: admit your mistakes, tighten the action-feedback loop, establish a climate of openness and critical feedback, focus on few core priorities and doing them well, develop and hone your skills for getting to know yourself, introduce and honor the humble checklist, and celebrate success after it happens, not before (p 134).

            -Sustain Simplexity: Just Right Simple. For instance, communicate your values and vision as simple as possible and do it frequently so people will remember. A learner is a person who 1) uses her brain, 2) foster a growth mindset, 3) is indispensable in the right way, and 4) is confident (p 112). Basically speaking, we learn to learn.

            I appreciate the author’s point that it is new experience that generates feelings and emotions. Change is a norm and a fact we face everyday. If we are able to transform a risk and challenge into an opportunity, then change is a sure way of self-growth and a chance to acquire sense of self-actualization.                 

Reference:

Walk the walk: The #1 rule for real leaders-Deutschman, A.

Where good ideas come from: The natural history of innovation-Johnson, S.

Four seasons: The story of a business philosophy-Sharp, I.

Power: Why some people have it-and others don’t-Pfeffer, J.

Management? It’s not what you think!-Mintzberg, H.

Off balance on purpose: Embrace uncertainty and create a life you love-Thurmon, D.

Sherri's Treat for Valentine's Day at Tea Time

Fabruary Read/3

Title: Breaking the Fear Barrier: How Fear Destroys Companies from the Inside out and What to do about It

Author: Rieger, Tom

Subjects: Management-Psychological Aspects; Organizational Effectiveness; Success in Business; Corporate Culture; Psychology, Indutrial

Call Number: 658.401 R554B 2011

ISBN: 9781595620545

Number of Pages: 151 p

Book Description:

            In companies, fear can take many forms: fear of not meeting a goal, of not getting a bonus, of losing decision rights and respect. Fear compels employees and managers to protect themselves by creating seemingly impenetrable barriers fortified by rules and practices that benefit one group while harming others.

            Left unchecked, fear driven barriers can spread at an alarming rate in a company. Workgroups start to define success not by reaching the company’s overall goal, but by fulfilling their part of the process. Restrictive policies pile up until managers start to exert extreme control over headcount and resources. Other managers feel compelled to build empires-taking over other departments’ functions to regain or enhance their self-sufficiency. In the midst of these counterproductive activities, employees suffer, success deteriorates, and efficiency dies.

            While these barriers might seem insurmountable, they are not. They were built internally, and the can be destroyed internally.

            By learning from the real-world lessons in this book, leaders, managers, and employees can overcome the barriers that plague their company. It takes courageous leadership, and it can be difficult, but the result will be nothing less than transformational (from the inside of book cover).

My Read:

            In this book the author pictures a pyramid of three levels bureaucracy: parochialism, territorialism, and empire building. Each level creates different degree of barriers rooted of fear, fear of loss. Survival instinct and fear of loss drive a manager to react and respond to situations or condition with self-defense behaviors and decisions that might benefit only to her group with a price of sabotaging the company’s overall performance.

            I agree and admire the saying in this book: to create an environment where courageous behavior can flourish and thrive, though I reserve doubt about the idea been practiced into reality. The author also states in this book that people should become managers because that’s what they do best not because it’s time for people to be promoted to a position they are lack of skills (p84).

            There are four categories of workers listed in this book that I found similar to the other four kinds of employees the other article stated existent at workplace. In this book the four kinds of workers based on their levels of empowerment and accountability are:       

Top Performers (25%), Loose Cannons (21%), Broken Spirits (5%), and Prisoners (50%). The other four kinds I found in an article are: Players, Complainer, Passengers, and Prisoners. Interesting, isn’t it?

            The other idea I found appealing to me is to have an organization to craft a vision or simple value statement of what the company can become to improve performance, improve the workplace, and strengthen customer relationship. It states that an organization can not become aligned around a unified mission by reactive. Good leaders are obsessively proactive. Leading means inspiring. Be reactive or responsive is not at the head of a tide. If one has to lead with direction, one has to be able to create a simple vision as guideline and lead with direction toward the outcome one envisions.

            If “excellence” is a value a leader envisions that will help direct and navigate her team toward success then what plans she and the team designate can make the vision into reality. The value and the vision should be simple enough for everyone in the team to understand and work on to boost performance and the expected outcome a reality.

            Leading means inspiring. And it starts from breaking the fear barriers.

Go the Extra Mile or …

Go the Extra Mile or …

            Ever since I became a public librarian, once in a while, I would hear people tell me that I would go the extra mile to serve my patrons. From the beginning, I didn’t know about the meaning of “the extra mile.” Then I got the point later on when more such comments came to me. To me, every case is the same: to meet a patron’s need and to satisfy my curiosity and my own standards.

            I have the book “L’etranger” by Albert Camus on my desk at this very moment. It’s a request I did for a young lady last week. A branch called first for a shelf check. After I found the book and had it ready at the circulation desk, the patron came. She didn’t have a library card. All she wanted was to read the book in the library. The problem was she would like to read the earliest version by a specific translator at the year of 1946. We have the book. Still she was not satisfied. According to her, these translated works are not the same as the original work. So I looked up at the catalog, found the book in French, and called the floor in which has the book.

            “I am sorry to tell you that I didn’t find the book. Still, please go ahead request the book in hope that we will locate it later.” And that’s what I did; I used my own card to place the request. The moment I got the book I email this young lady to let her that the French version is here ready for her to read in the library. The joy and excitement at the sight of the book were still with me. It is the cooperation between branches that made such mission completed.

            How do you spend your time at work and what’s your expectation from you at work? The sense of accomplishment drives me at work. Ever since I was a page whose primary task was to shelve books I enjoy working in the library. There are plenty of opportunities to exercise my brain, my head, and my heart. No one asked me to write or submit any report. Still, I designed my own format of reports and submitted to my supervisor and the branch manager to state my progress, map the areas I had done shelf reading, and share interesting finding and helpful ideas. Once in a while I even sent them articles about how to become more effective and efficient at work detailing how and what I have done. To me, autonomy is demonstration of mature adulthood; it’s a product and merit from different educations I have acquired over the years. No one needs to tell me what to do to gain excellence; excellence becomes my guideline and personal evaluation.

            Do you go the extra mile to satisfy your curiosity and, then, hopefully to fulfill a person’s need? If role switches are possible, what kind of expectation you would hold to get assistance from the other side of information counter? Questions help me think, ponder, and reflect. Do you have any question of your own? I do, plenty of them.    

           

Some thoughts

            Recently I read two articles originally published in a popular business magazine and found them inspirational and encouraging; the stories stroke a chord and reminded me why I like to be public librarian and a good one.

            The most recent one was a story about a young lady working and positioned as certain executive in a successful restaurant chain stationed in Taiwan. She describes how she has worked hard not only with both hands but also her head and heart. From the start, she was hired as a dish washer; she had to wash a variety size of dishes and did it quickly to catch up with the flow of customers and the seemingly never ending of rush hours. Based upon the demand of efficiency and effectiveness, she has learned how to sort and place the dishes in order to clean them fast and have them ready for the next customers.

            Once the experiences became successful, she challenged herself more. By observation she has learned how to get the dishes done as fast as possible and how to have the employees work to their best. Rung after another, she climbed the ladder of promotion faster than anyone else. She, herself, is a hard worker and expects the best from her colleagues and employees. She said: there is no need to become buddies with the staff to be a good manager as long as the manager treats everyone and everything right and fair. If issues are presented on the table, in the open, then it’s a fair game. To her, management is about do the right thing and do the thing right. Such philosophy matches to one old Chinese say: dealing with the issue at hand instead of the people involved.

            Another article was about a publishing owner and the way he treats his employees. At five o’clock in the afternoon, this owner would patrol his company and send everyone home. No overwork is allowed in his company. Actually the company is the first to launch the idea of working four days instead of five per week in Taiwan. In addition, joy and excitement are infectious as the company’s employees talk about their annual trip to different places around the world. So far they have been to Turkey, Egypt, Holland, other countries and continents.

            When asked about how he manages his people and business, the boss said: I would continually ask myself to see if my service to others would make their life better and happier. It’s as simple as that.

            At the public library, I have the privilege to witness life of others as they walk in the library and provide me opportunity to serve their needs. The other day I got into a conversation with a lady who was checking out some books about two European countries. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked her if she was going to have or plan a trip. Yes, she was going to spend two weeks in Europe. From there I learned about her life and her plans at present and in the future. I admire her adventurous spirit and courageous heart dealing with difficulties in her life.

            It’s my customers who inspire and encourage me to aim for excellence and expectations beyond my imagination. I love public library and what it could do in my life.

February Read/2

Title: Taking People with You: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen

Author: Novak, David

Subjects: Leadership; Employee Motivation; Organizational Change; Success in Business

Call Number: 658.4092 N935T 2012

ISBN: 9781591844549

Number of Pages: 237

Book Description:

            David Novak learned long ago that you can’t lead a great organization of any size without getting your people aligned, enthusiastic, and focused relentlessly on the mission. Over his fifteen years at Yum! Brands, Novak had developed a trademarked program he calls taking people with you. He spends several weeks each year personally teaching it to thousands of managers around the world. He convinces them that they’ll never make big things happen until they learn how to get people on their side.

            This book has specific tools at the end of each chapter that will challenge you to reflect on how you’re really doing on key aspects of leadership. And if you apply it, you’ll immediately start to improve. You’ll learn how to…

1)      Get inside the heads of your people. You can’t convince them of anything until you see the world from their perspective.

2)      Think big. If your sales growth last year was 3.5 percent, don’t aim for 4 percent this year, aim for 15 percent. Even if you fail, you’ll probably do better than you would have with a smaller goal.

3)      Practice extraordinary authenticity. Show occasional vulnerability and admit when you don’t have the answers.

4)      Look for good ideas in unexpected places. Novak’s team came up with Cool Ranch Doritos for Frito-Lay during a field trip to a grocery store’s salad dressing aisle.

5)      Choose a can-do mind-set. There’s a huge difference between a boss who says “We can try this” and one who says “We can do this!”

6)      Cheer for first downs, not just touchdowns. Publicly recognizing and rewarding small wins keep everyone motivated for the long haul.

7)      Get rid of cynics. In many teams one person will reject your values and spread negative energy. Moving that person out will show everyone else you’re serious. (from the inside of the book cover)

My Read:

            The parts I like this book the most and appreciate what it delivers are the questions the author poses. For instance, right from the beginning of the book, Novak asks: 1) What’s the single biggest thing you can imagine that will grow your business or change your life? 2) Who do you need to affect, influence, or take with you to be successful? 3) What perceptions, habits, or beliefs of this target audience do you need to build, change, or reinforce to reach your goal? (Novak, p11) To me, questions, similar to challenges or problems, make a person grow and grow with directions.

            Another appealing and attention-catching thing I found in this book is the true cases Novak shares with the readers. For example, I enjoy reading the part on “Break through the Clutter.” One of Novak’s employees stood up at his program “Taking People with You” and said the following: I’m floppy chicken number 147. I was working in LA, in the inner city. You came to my restaurant and gave me your floppy chicken award. I went home that night and told my wife, ‘Hey, David patted me on the back and said I was great. He gave me an award and a handwritten note.’ It was magical, and the experience always stuck with me.” The way Novak appreciates and rewards his employees’ excellence and hard work is full of fun, creativity with a true and sound personal touch. Though I wouldn’t be able to receive such interesting award, the image of such gift and personalized recognition makes me proud of those award receivers. Novak truly excels at speaking people’s languages and knows how to take people with him.

            There are saying I found inspirational and I list some here to share with you.

--I treat every interaction as an opportunity to inspire and coach others to provide their maximum effort (p204).

--How to keep the focus on your big goal: persistence, constant communication, and playing like you’re behind (p207).

--I regularly check my dissatisfaction with the status quo to identity new challenges (p207).

--When evaluating performance I consider both what was achieved and how it was achieved (p204).

--You shouldn’t lower your standards just because something hasn’t been done before (p199).

--Believe in people, and they’ll believe in you in return (p65).

--There is always room to grow and improve and be a better me. Ask the self: what am I today? How can I be even better tomorrow? Be your own masterpiece: be your best self (p32).

            At the end of each chapter, there is one insights and actions session            to help readers assess the self. In addition, there are tools and exercises readers would find helpful and insightful. Overall this is a good book not only for leaders or leaders to be; it also guides a person how to be a better one.            

Reference:

http://blog.tribeinc.com/2009/07/13/leadership-you-had-me-at-chicken/