January Read/3

Title: Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within

Author: Nowak, Achim

Call Number: 658.45 N946I 2013

Subjects: Leadership; Success in Business; Success; Business Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Interpersonal relations

Number of Pages: 197

ISBN: 9781581159240

Book Description (from inside of the book cover):

            Technology allows us to communicate at a furious pace. We exchange more and more emails every day. We text. We tweet. We have reduced our communications down to efficient sound bites-and at the same time, many of us seem to know less and less about how to connect. Deeply, profoundly connect.

            In Infectious, acclaimed performance coach Achim Nowak introduces the reader to his powerful Four Levels of Connection. Tested and honed through fifteen years of coaching senior-level executives around the globe, Nowak’s techniques instantly elevate the skills taught in traditional business communication and neurolinguistic programming. People who connect deeply with others connect on four levels: They shape conversations with effortless grace, and they play consciously with the unspoken elements of a connection-personal power, intent, and energy. The result? Infectious connections that accelerate personal success!

            Infectious offers clear language tools that frame any conversation. It breaks the idea of power into five tangible plugs that we can turn to-and turn on These plugs recharge the quality of our connection with anyone we meet. It identifies three distinct social intents, and how our clarification of these intents fosters a more potent connection. Finally, this book demystifies the experience of energy-the deepest of the four levels, and the root of any connection. It looks at how we access our energy. Remove energy blocks. Play with energy and own it.

            This electrifying book reshapes the hidden forces of a connection into simple, step-by-step actions. Apply the tools of Infectious and generate your own infectious connections!

My Read:

            I got curious at what the author wants to accomplish in his book right from the beginning at reading the introduction section. Here is what he shares under the statement “Connectability Is Mission Critical:” The most common request we receive goes something like this:” Marjorie is a Senior VP and one of our brightest stars. She is highly respected by all of her colleagues But Marjorie lacks executive presence. Can you help her?” Executive presence is a marvelous code word that encapsulates a lot of unspoken signals and messages. In plain English, it boils down to this: Marjorie doesn’t engage or inspire folks. Her energy doesn’t spark the imagination of others. She fails to connect (Introduction, page xii).

            As one could tell right from the introduction being able to connect with others is what the author intends to deliver in his book. There are four levels of connection according to the author. They are: Talk, Power, Intent, and Energy.

Level One-Talk: Language Is an Aphrodisiac—There are five principals in this chapter:

Principal #1: Invite Me in-Use emotional cue words and language that draw your speaking partner into a conversation with you (page 49).

Principal #2: Open the Door-Be curious. Take a risk Notice the doors. Choose to open them (page 49).

Principal #3: Have a Point of View: When you state your viewpoint, you invite me to share my viewpoint in turn. It immediately enriches our conversation (page 50).

Principal #4: Own Your Stories: Stories have impact when they are told well. There are Moment Stories, Meaning Stories, and Life Stories (page 50).

Principal #5: Reframe the Conversation: Artful reframing elegantly shifts the direction of our chat, especially when we find ourselves in a conversation that seems to be going nowhere (page 50).

Level Two-Power: Power Is Real—According to the author there are five kinds of power: position power, relationship power, expertise power, body power, and charisma power.

Five ways to better plug into your position power (page 71-72):

1)      Be comfortable saying “yes” or “no” and setting limits

2)      Trust your gut instinct when you speak

3)      Enjoy stating your point of view

4)      Invite disagreement

5)      Take charge of situations with ease

Five ways to better plug into your relationship power (page 75-76):

1)      Initiate contact with strangers

2)      Take pleasure in telling others about yourself

3)      Choose to be interested in others

4)      Make people feel good

5)      Stay in touch with people you know

Five ways to better plug into your expertise power (page80-81):

1)      Claim what you know-with humility

2)      Hang out with people who appreciate your expertise

3)      Find joy in bouncing ideas off other people

4)      Be of service

5)      Conduct an expertise power exercise

Five ways to better plug into your body power (page 87-88):

1)      Make physical fitness a true priority

2)      Eat food that energize you

3)      Have a personal sense of style

4)      Listen to your body

5)      Pay attention to how you feel about your body

Five ways to better plug into your charisma power (page 91-92)

1)      Enjoy being the center of attention

2)      Put fire into the conversation

3)      Express an impulse

4)      Choose visceral language (i.e. brilliant, dazzling, pungent, sizzling, wrenching, brimming, etc)

5)      Think 20%

Level Three: Intent Charges the Atmosphere—The author lists three core intents (page 106):

Core Intent #1: I create the impact I desire

Core Intent #2: I create the tone I desire

Core Intent #3: I choose the social roles I will play

There are three intent principals: 1) Pick an action verb. In the book the author shares 8 sample intent verbs: to motivate you; to persuade you; to inspire you; to entertain you; to move you; to challenge you; to enchant you; to provoke you; to delight you. 2) The verb needs to describe the impact you wish to have on another person. The author compiles a list of 8 common tonal polarities for the readers as reference. They are: sincere/sarcastic, warm/cold, brainy/silly, neutral/opinionated, passionate/dispassionate, kind/harsh, relaxed/tense, playful/serious. 3) Pick a verb that stimulate the heck out of you!

Level Four: Energy Conquers All-In this chapter the author introduces energy or we can call it “life force.” There are different names goes with the word energy. The Hindus call it prana, the Japanese ki, the Chinese qi or chi. Breath, and the way we breathe, is by most cultures viewed as the source of this original life force (page 127). Here the author introduces our seven chakras with each chakra’s location, functions, and what will happen when the chakra is blocked. Each chakra has its own color which matches the colors of a rainbow.

First Chakra is red and it’s the Root chakra. It’s the energy of survival and stability. When it’s blocked we tend to hold onto anger and rage in the first Chakra.

Second Chakra is orange and it’s the Sex Chakra. It’s the energy of full self-expression. When it’s blocked we may become manipulative or turn into excessive power-seekers.

Third Chakra is yellow and it’s the Power Chakra. It influences our sense of self and self-esteem. It fuels our personality, ego, and our concern with how others perceive us. When it’s blocked we may have plenty of personal inhibitions or display a pedantic, overly-intellectual approach to life.

Fourth Chakra is green and it’s the Heart Chakra. The Heart Chakra unlocks our ability to feel love, compassion, and empathy. When it’s blocked we are prone to experiencing a lot of fear and quick mood swings.

Fifth Chakra is blue and it’s the Communication Chakra. This Chakra supports our ability to communicate clearly, express ourselves well, and speak the truth. When it’s blocked we stop expressing our thought and feelings and “shut down.”

Sixth Chakra is indigo and it’s the Wisdom Chakra. This sixth Chakra connects us to our intuition and gut instincts, and it activates our psychic powers. When it’s blocked we may feel depressed, confused, or mentally clouded.

Seventh Chakra is violet and it’s called the Divine Chakra. This seventh Chakra is our connection to spiritual abundance and the divine. When it’s blocked we feel frustrated with not expressing our true nature and potential.

            To sum up what I have learned from reading this book, the part I find mostly helpful comes from the Intent Level. When one has to deliver a public speaking or do some presentation, the three core intents the author provides will serve well as the guidelines and helpful tips leading to a successful presentation. Let’s repeat the three golden rules that we have to know about an objective:

1)      The objective needs to be an action verb.

2)      It needs to describe the impact I seek to have on another person.

3)      It needs to be visceral for me.

“Thought determines how reality unfolds.”—The New Thought Movement, Niels Bohr, Konstantin Stanislavsky.

Reference:

Chakras

Chi

Ki

Prana

qi

January Read/2

Title: The Art of Thinking Clearly

Author: Dobelli, Rolf

Call Number: 153.42 D633K 2013

Subjects: Reasoning; Errors; Psychological Aspects; Decision Making; Cognition

ISBN: 9780062219688

Number of Pages: 358

Book Description (from Inside of the Book Cover):

            Have you ever…Invested time in something that, in hindsight, just wasn’t worth it?

Paid too much in an eBay auction? Continued to do something you knew was bad for you? Sold stocks too late, or too early? Taken credit for success, but blamed failure on external circumstances? Backed the wrong horse?

            These are examples of what the author calls cognitive biases, simple errors all of us make in day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to identify them, we can avoid them and make better choices: whether in dealing with personal problems or business negotiations, trying to save money or earn profits, or merely working out what we really want in life-and strategizing the best way to get it.

            Already an international bestseller, The Art of Thinking Clearly distills cutting-edge research from behavioral economics, psychology, and neuroscience into a clever, practical guide for anyone who’s ever wanted to be wiser and make better decisions. A novelist, thinker, and entrepreneur, Rolf Dobelli deftly shows that in order to lead happier, more prospective lives, we don’t need extra cunning, new ideas, shiny gadgets, or more frantic hyperactivity-all we need is less irrationality.

            Simple, clear, and always surprising this indispensable book will change the way you think and transform your decision making-at work, at home, every day. From why you shouldn’t accept a free drink to why you should walk out of a movie you don’t like, from why it’s so hard to predict the future to why you shouldn’t watch the news, The Art of Thinking Clearly helps solve the puzzle of human reasoning.

My Read:

            This book is a collection of thinking and cognitive thinking errors. Each There are ninety nine short chapters in this thinking provocative book. Each chapter starts with a title followed by a subtitle describing a thinking bias people might fall into trap. The followings are some examples I find interesting and so true reflecting the reality our daily life presents.

46-Be Careful What You Wish For: Hedonic Treadmill (page 137-page 139)

            “Suppose one day the phone rings: An excited voice tells you that you have just scooped the lottery jackpot-$10 million! How would you feel? And how long would you feel like that? Another scenario: The phone rings, and you learn that your best friend has passed away. Again, how would you feel, and for how long?”

            In the following paragraph, there is this study done by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert answered the question for us. He has studies lottery winners and discovered that the happiness effect fizzles out after a few months. So, a little while after you receive the big check, you will be as content or as discontent as you were before. He calls this “affective forecasting”: our inability to correctly predict our own emotions (page 137).

            I find it so true as I closed the book and pondered upon what the message meant. At the time I owned my first bicycle I would wake up pretty early in the winter morning to ride my dream green bike. As time passed the bike simply became a mean of transportation. The excitement and joy owning a new “toy” faded away, like the dust finally touched the ground and stayed where it landed. Emotion rides come and go as our life bustles and settles. 
            At the end, the author recommends the followings: Follow your passions even if you must forfeit a portion of your income for them. Invest in friendships. For most people, professional status achieves long-lasting happiness, as long as they don't change peer groups at the same time. In other words, if you ascend to a CEO role and fraternize only with other executives, the effect fizzles out(page 139).

33-Why Teams Are Lazy: Social Loafing (page 98-page 100)

            The social loafing effect occurs when individual performance is not directly visible; it blends into the group effort. Why invest all of your energy when half will do-especially when this little shortcut goes unnoticed? Quite simply, social loafing is a form of cheating of which we are all guilty even if it takes the place unconsciously. When people work together, individual performances decrease. Evolution has led us to develop many fine-tuned senses, including how much idleness we can get away with and how to recognize it in others (page 98 –page 99).

            Then one question remains: Who came up with the much vaunted idea that teams achieve more than individual workers? Maybe the Japanese. The author reasons what worked very well in Japan could not be replicated with the Americans-perhaps because social loafing rarely happens there. In the West, teams function better if and only if they are small and consist of diverse, specialized people. This makes sense, because within such groups, individual performances can be traced back to each specialist (page 99).

            As I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but agree with the statement the author states. Efficient and effective teamwork is a goal I have been pursuing and wondering if I could ever achieve it to meet my expectations. Reading this chapter reminds me of a conversation I had regarding to individualist vs teamwork and team spirit. People admire and respect heroes. At the same time, no matter how small a group is, a successful mission is completed by the effort and time the team has made. Contributions and efforts might be made imbalanced and not everyone was at the same page. On the surface what people see is the success of a team; in reality people might have no clue how the team became successful.  
75-How to Profit from the Implausible: The Black Swan (page 224 -page 226)
            "Black Swan" is a symbol of the improbable; a black swan is an unthinkable event that massively affects your life, your career, your company, your country. But there are positive and negative Black Swans (page 224). In this chapter the author tells about breakthrough, the kind you can increase your income by a fraction of ten thousand and the kind of black swans like Facebook. At the end of the chapter the author suggests that we should avoid surroundings where negative Black Swans thrive. This means: Stay out of debt, invest your savings as conservatively as possible, and get used to a modest standard of living-no matter whether your big breakthrough comes or not. (page 226)

            At the end the author suggests that if a person is in her/his “circle of competence” (in the field s/he intuitively understands and masters) s/he could let her/his intuition take the lead. If one person faces a consequential decision outside the circle of competence, apply the hard, slow, rational thinking. For everything else, give your intuition free rein (page 306). This conclusion and suggestion concur with the scientific finding that we are habit creatures.

December Read/Ruby

Title: Beezus And Ramona
Author: Cleary, Beverly

     Beezus was a nine-year-old girl, and she had a little sister-Ramona who was four-year-old and went to nursery school.

     Beezus was always mad at her little sister's behaviors. If Ramona drank lemonade through a straw, she blew into the straw as hard as she could to see what would happen. If she played with her finger paints in the front yard, she wiped her hands on the neighbor's cat.

Ramona had a book which was called " The Little Steam Shovel", Beezus read it to Ramona for many times, but she disliked reading this book to her little sister anymore, so she suggested finding a different book from the library.In there, Ramona gound her book " Big Steve The Steam Shovel",the next two weeks were fairly peaceful, Beezus was happy that one part of her plan had worked-Ramona had forgotten the little steam shovel now that she had a better book. As for Ramona, she was perfectly happy. She had three people to read aloud a book she liked. Finally, to the relief of the rest of the family, the due day came when Big Steve had to be returned. Ramona announced that " Big Steve" was hers and wrote her signature in every page of the book in purple crayon. Beezus's mother gave Beezus some money to pay for the damage to the book, and then Ramona could keep the book. Beezus protested to the librarian that if Ramona spoils a book she shouldn't get to keep it, or every time she finds a book she likes she will..., the smart librarian got the point, so she claimed that Beezus must have taken the book out on her card and the book belongs to Beezus.

     There are six interesting stories here, let's find out how naughty Ramona is.

December Read/Alma

Title: The Enormous EGG

Author: Butterworth, Oliver

THIS IS MY FIRST ENGLISH BOOK WHICH I HAVE red. Let me try to introduce the interesting story to you.

Nate is a general boy, 12 years old, he is living in a small town in the New Hampshire.  He grows up in his farm family.

The thing surprise everybody happened on his summer holiday.

One morning, Nate found his hen laid an enormous egg in their coop .It is so huge, even is big as same as the hen! But the hen still like it and take care of it. So she want to hatch it out. Of course it is a very formidable task. But she insisted it for five weeks although everybody give up, except Nate. He think it was normal that cost longtime to hatch out, because sometimes hatch a goose maybe take 3 weeks, besides his egg is enormous! So Nate helped his hen to turn the egg over for several times everyday even in the midnight.

At last, 6 weeks past, they did it and got a big surprise. It is a baby dinosaur which has disappeared before long long ago.

Nate decide feed him by himself. Every morning Nate walks with his baby in the street. And usually many kids walk together with them follow the dinosaur. It make him fill so good.

Scientists come to the small town to explore from all over the country,  that make his backyard mess. But the biggest problem is it grow so fast, food is limited. Luckily the baby just eats grasses, not meat.

Now Nate had to think about let the baby go. He is very sad. But Dr. help him.  The national museum in Washington DC would like to accept it. And Nate will still take care of it for 3 weeks. This is another gift to Nate because he never go to there before.

But usually the museum only collects specimens, so the dinosaur made some big troubles in the museum. When Nate walks with his friend in the street in the early morning, the dinosaur crack up the car and people scare away, anyway the street is mess.

They have to move him to a zoo, but only after 1 day , the zoo wouldn’t like to adopt him. Because his appetite is too big, they think it waste the money of taxpayer. People argue about keeping it or kill it.

Nate was very anxious if he can’t protect his friend. In a TV interview, he told the whole story since he had the egg, took care of it like if he is his pet, as a friend, and the dinosaur is always very kindly to everybody except eat too much and grow too fast. He is absolutely unacceptable anybody kill his pet. His speech touched the audience.

On the second day, many people went to the zoo objection. Finally they raise money for feeding the dinosaur , they got the enough money to feed for all his life.

When Nate come back hometown, he was like a little hero. His family is proud of his action.

January Read

Title: Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Author: Berger, Jonah

Call Number: 658.8342 B496C 2013

Subjects: New Products; Consumer Behavior; Popularity

Number of Pages: 244

ISBN: 9781451686579

Book Description (from the inside of the book cover):

            If you said advertising, think again. People don’t listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?

            Wharton marketing professor Johan Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He’s studied why New York Times articles make the paper’s own Most E-mailed List, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children.

            In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and Youtube videos.

            Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through\ the lowly cheesesteak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender.

            If you’ve wondered why certain stories get shared, e-mails get forwarded, or videos go viral, Contagious explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to craft contagious content. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread-for designing messages, advertisements, and information that people will share Whether you’re a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.

My Read:

            The author lists six key principles in the book. He says: The same key principles drive all sorts of social epidemics. Whether it’s about getting people to save paper, see a documentary, try a service, or vote for a candidate, there is a recipe for success. The same six principles or STEPPS, drive things to catch on (page 207). There are:

Social Currency-We share things that make us look good

Triggers-Top of mind, tip of tongue

Emotion-When we care, we share

Public-Built to show, built to grow

Practical Value-News you can use

Stories-Information travels under the guise of idle chatter

            And if you want to apply this framework, here’s a checklist you can use to see how well your product or idea is doing on the six different STEPPS (page 209)

Social Currency-Does talking about your product or idea make people look good? Can you find the inner remarkability? Leverage game mechanics? Make people feel like insiders?

Triggers-Consider the context. What cues make people think about your product or idea? How can you grow the habitat and make it come to mind more often?

Emotion-Focus on feelings. Does talking about your product or idea generate emotion? How can you kindle the fire?

Public-Does your product or idea advertise itself? Can people see when others are using it? If not, how can you make the private public? Can you create behavioral residue that sticks around even after people use it?

Practical Value-Does talking about your product or idea help people help others? How can you highlight incredible value, packaging your knowledge and expertise into useful information others will want to disseminate?

Stories-What is your Trojan Horse? Is your product or idea embedded in a broader narrative that people want to share? Is the story not only viral, but also valuable?

            As I closed the book and thought back what I just read some points and stories popped up. First is “the Rule of 100.” The receiver of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics is Daniel Kahneman. He isn’t an economist. He is a psychologist. He has this theory called “prospect theory.” The Rule of 100 is explained as followed: if the product’s price is less than $100, the Rule of 100 says that percentage discounts will seem larger (i.e $30 with $3 off vs 10% discount). If the product’s price is more than 4100, the opposite is true (i.e $2,000 with $200 off vs 10% discount).

            The second point came to mind is the emotion part. Both positive and negative emotion will trigger the virality. Not all positive emotions will do. There are 3 kinds of positive emotion that will do the magic: awe, excitement, and amusement. And two kinds of negative emotion will go viral: anger and anxiety.

            The third point is the case about iPod’s headphone. Instead of the ubiquitous black headphone, the Apple Company had their white iPod headphone. The white color stands out. Another similar case is the yellow Livestrong wristband.

            And don’t forget the first story about the “Please Don’t Tell” bar in New York. How the hot dog shop "Crif Dogs" stands out and beats the other nearby 60 places to sell their drinks: they use a wooden old-fashioned phone booth as the secret passage to their forty-five seats bar behind the shop. Patrons have to locate the booth then dial clockwise to hear the answer: Do you have a reservation? And, suddenly, the back of the booth swings open-it's a secret door!(page 30).

            Overall I find the book helpful and worthy of reading and referring. "Monkey see, monkey do." The author states from the beginning of the book: "Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. 1)it's more persuasive. Our friends tend to tell us straight. Their objectivity coupled with their candidness, make us much more likely to trust, listen to, and believe our friends. 2) word of mouth is more targeted. It is naturally directed toward an interested audience. Word of mouth tends to reach people who are actually interested in the thing being discussed.

Please find some more stories and cases in the Reference.

Reference:

Book-Made to Stick by Heath, Chip and Dan

Will it Blend?

Please Don’t Tell-Crif Dogs in New York

Rue La La

Barclay Prime’s hundred-dollar cheesesteak

Ken Craig’s Clean Ears Everytime

Google’s Parisian Love

iPod’s white headphones

Movember

Livestrong bands

Man Drinks fat

Dove’s Evolution

(one can search the case by youtube.com or Google)