A Sense of Urgency

A Sense of UrgencyA Sense of Urgency
by John P. Kotter

Here’s another much-needed approach to the very familiar but often ignored subject of change. I’m not certain anyone could be more suited to address this critical issue than change guru John Kotter. This Harvard Business School Professor is widely regarded as the world’s foremost authority on leadership and change. His is the premier voice on how the best organizations actually “do” change. He’s very well-known for his previous best-sellers, Leading Change, The Heart of Change and Our Iceberg Is Melting.

In his newest work, A Sense of Urgency, Kotter shows what a true sense of urgency in an organization really is, why it is becoming an exceptionally important asset, and how it can be created and sustained within organizations. His latest work is, simply put, a sequel of his previous book; Our Iceberg Is Melting … a fictional story of emperor penguins who fight for survival during the threat of change. In that bestseller, Kotter shared the eight steps to overcome and embrace change. The initial step of the eight was a sense of urgency.

His latest book is focused on that first step. As Kotter wrote, “Most organizations handle step 1 poorly.” This book is sorely needed in today’s times for that very reason. Without a “true” sense of urgency, the following seven steps to embrace change are simply an exercise in futility. A sense of urgency is vital to a process of change. Kotter also reveals the two most hazardous enemies to developing a sense of urgency: complacency and false urgency and how to cope with each.

This focused narrative concentrates on the actions and practices involved in creating and sustaining a sense of urgency. Kotter provides four core tactics for driving urgency into an organization. These tactics are supported by anecdotal stories and detailed tools which make the book actionable and practical. The tactics are:

  1. Bring the outside in.
  2. Behave with urgency every day.
  3. Find opportunity in crisis.
  4. Deal with NoNo’s.

Kotter provides tips, tools and strategies for overcoming the fear, anger, and ingrown complacency that derail the change process. Charts and chapter summaries help connect theory to the practical question: How do we move people to act?

A Sense of Urgency is a powerful tool for anyone wanting to win in a turbulent world that will only continue to move faster.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

You Can’t Order Change

You Can't Order ChangeYou Can’t Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney’s Turnaround at Boeing
by Peter S. Cohan

What a fantastic title. Short, basic and true wisdom indeed! Many people don’t immediately recognize the name of Jim McNerney and may therefore wonder why a book would be written about his accomplishments. Let’s see if we can address that issue.

GE has developed a reputation as a breeding ground for CEOs. Jim McNerney was one of Jack Welch’s top protégés at General Electric and one of three finalists to replace the retiring Welch as CEO:

  1. Welch made a judgment call in choosing insider Jeffrey Immelt over the other two finalists. The wisdom of that choice will be debated for decades to come.
  2. Robert Nardelli was passed over for the leadership post. However, Home Depot snatched him away as its chairman and CEO where he stayed for six years before moving on to take the post of Chairman and CEO at Chrysler Corporation.
  3. McNerney was also passed over and immediately accepted an offer to move to 3M as the Chairman and CEO. He stayed with 3M for five years before choosing passenger planes over Post-It notes by taking the helm at The Boeing Company as Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO. In doing so, he offered stability and a top-notch executive pedigree to a company that has steadfastly refused to be shaken by two CEO resignations in less than two years.

McNerney has quite an impressive background, spending three years at Proctor and Gamble as a brand manager, four years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and 19 years at General Electric followed by five years at 3M. That’s quite a resume. He has since emerged as one of the most effective leaders of his generation.

This is the eighth book for author, Peter S. Cohan, who is a noted management consultant and venture capitalist. The focus of this particular work is a study of how McNerney manages Boeing. To do so, he interviewed people who worked with McNerney over the years to discover his approach to accountability, strategy, operations, growth, cost-cutting, leadership development, customer focus, and many other universal challenges.

You Can’t Order Change tells the amazing story of McNerney’s turnaround at the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer, which had faced a series of tough problems. Boeing is extremely hard to run, with more than $66 billion in annual revenue and 161,000 employees. McNerney continues to face dynamic challenges in a global business impacted by worldwide economic constraints.

Pressure to boost revenues and cut costs led him to develop a leadership style designed to win the hearts and minds of employees. His mantra—”you can’t order change”—implies that change must come from employees if it is to succeed.

McNerney has come up with very effective techniques for addressing 11 common CEO challenges. The author describes each technique complete with examples of how McNerney used them to improve performance.

  1. Help Your People Get 15% Better.
  2. Lead Groups to Higher Ground.
  3. Link Pay to Profit and Process, Not Stock Price.
  4. Build Strategy on Customer Focus.
  5. Invest in Your Strengths.
  6. Grow Through People, Not Deals.
  7. Tackle Challenging Situations Quickly and Effectively.
  8. Tighten Operations with Process-Improvement Tools.
  9. Partner with Global Suppliers to Reduce Risk and Accelerate Time to Market.
  10. Make Ethics and Compliance a Clear Competitive Advantage.
  11. Cut Your Company’s Environmental Footprint.

This book is certainly reader-friendly and will help executives tackle persistent and difficult leadership problems while motivating employees and producing results.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Our Iceberg Is Melting

Our Iceberg Is MeltingOur Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions
by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber

Here’s still another of the popular mini-books (147 pages) we see adorning the shelves of our favorite bookstore haunts today. There are several reasons for this growing trend:

  • The quick-read format provides convenience for readers coping with today’s chaotic time challenges.
  • The use of the ever-popular fable to influence behavior.
  • The gift of wisdom, strategies, and tools to cope with real-world challenges in the work place.

For these reasons, you can expect to continue to see these classics emerge, entertain and educate as long as there are gifted writers to convey these critical lessons.

This particular fable comes to us from two gentlemen who know of what they speak. John Kotter is a leadership and change guru at Harvard Business School who has authored 11 business bestsellers, and Holger Rathgeber is a highly respected modern global manager.

Our Iceberg Is Melting presents a framework for an effective corporate change initiative through the tale of a colony of Antarctic penguins facing the danger of global warming. This colony of penguins will remind you of your typical business organization as they take on the personality traits and demonstrate the leadership skills of many of the characters we work with on a regular basis.

The central character is a particularly astute middle management Emperor Penguin named Fred who has identified a major challenge in the reality that the iceberg they call home is melting. His first obstacle is to convince everyone that there is a problem which must be dealt with.

Fred experiences frustration in having to deal with No No, the penguin who resists change, actively and passively. No No, of course, represents those many people in any organization who are basic blockers to change. Other recognizable personalities include: the naysayers and nitpickers, the innovators and agitators, the leaders and followers. The idea is that everyone in a group must play a role in navigating change. Fred must convince his colony’s Leadership Council that his research has discovered that if they don’t move to another iceberg soon they will suffer disaster beyond their comprehension.

They must implement a thoughtful plan for leading their fellow penguins in the colony through a time of necessary but gut-wrenching change. They quickly discover that the central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. Although each of these elements are important … the core of the matter is always about changing behaviors of those involved.

This is where we are introduced to the “The Eight Step Process of Successful Change.” The following chapters explain the critical flow of a successful change effort as we witness the colony discover that change is a never-ending process rather than an ultimate destination.

We, too, must realize that we continue to face many changes such as sales, technology, global competition, profits, ROI, retention, customer service, market share, etc. Desirable change is an on-going, never-ending process which demands one requirement above all others: adapt or perish.

This book is a must read for everyone who manages people at any level and recognizes the challenges involved with that responsibility. The eight-step change process is profound and can be applied to any organizational change effort.

Each step of this change process is also illustrated in some entertaining videos on Kotter’s web site at www.ouriceburgismelting.com.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 19.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade

2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade
by Richard Laermer

This may take a bit of a stretch, but try to remember what your life looked like ten years ago. When you think about it, the last decade has produced a multitude of changes we never would have imagined.

Ten years ago the cost of a gallon of gas was $1.15, the average cost of a new car was $17,200, a U.S. postage stamp was 32 cents, a movie ticket was $4.50, a loaf of bread was $1.26, and a dozen eggs was 88 cents.

Prior to 1998 there was no FaceBook, no MySpace, no YouTube, no PayPal, no iPod, no Xbox, no Wii and no Google.

In 1998, the Twin Towers were still standing in New York City, airport security was a breeze and there was no $9 trillion deficit.

If you consider the enormous changes that have taken place in the past ten years, can you even begin to imagine what may occur in the next decade?

If you had that ability, you’d be what is known as a trendspotter. In this book by Richard Laermer, the author reveals the most functional forecasting secrets of professional trendspotters. The book is divided into nine categories, with more than 72 “short-short” chapters with dozens of outrageous sidebars. Each of the chapters is only two to five pages long, and each starts out with a particular trend. This structure certainly contributes to a fast, comprehensive read that other authors should consider.

Laermer, CEO of veteran trendspotting public relations firm RLM PR, foresees a fabulous future regardless of what today’s headlines may indicate. However, he asserts that planning for that future must begin immediately, and he proceeds to share his knowledge of how to:

  • Read the signs.
  • Influence the trends.
  • Embrace new and reject stodgy.
  • Anticipate change.
  • Ask experts the right questions.
  • Seek out visionaries and snub fakers.
  • Separate the trends from fads.
  • Use technology for everything.
  • Cash in on being ahead of the competition!

This book is packed with eye-popping predictions (and realities) on how you’ll live, work, play, buy, sell, talk, text, laugh, and more. Learn how to participate in change instead of trailing it.

Learn why GUMBY will be the mascot of 2011 and get familiar with the terminology that will one day be commonplace in our society, Terms such as TechnoStalgia, Caboodle, Disruptitude, Practactics, SpontaNoEity, Chapterization, Paper Battery, Footnotoooriety, Discordianism, and Prosumerism.

If you’re looking for surprising observations, shocking statistics, sublime insights, and wholesome food for thought, you’ll find it all within these pages. But most importantly, the author will give you the tools, skills and techniques to not only see but profitably predict the future for yourself and your business.

(This book review was originally published in 2008 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 18.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Death to All Sacred Cows

Death to All Sacred CowsDeath to All Sacred Cows: How Successful Business People Put the Old Rules Out to Pasture
by David Bernstein, Beau Fraser, and Bill Schwab

This book has received mixed reviews … everything from “totally worthless” to “memorable business book full of wisdom delivered with a wink.” Personally, I find any text generated on the subject of sacred cows is worth a glance, especially in today’s chaotic business environment when so many of those sacred cows are being eliminated by technology, competition, government regulations, budget, and customer demands.

A few years ago I wrote a review on another best seller, Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers, which can be found on our website. Both books deal with a crucial subject we can no longer neglect and both publications used humor to drive home their messages. The authors of this book, however, may have gone a little overboard in their attempt to interject humor in every paragraph of every chapter introduction.

However, I learned many years ago that it’s near impossible to find an author who is capable of meeting your every need and requirement in their offering. Dealing with three authors makes it even more difficult. On the other hand, I will never pass up the opportunity to gain new knowledge simply because I’m not totally in agreement with something to do with the author … political affiliations, religious beliefs, sense of humor, business coalitions, etc. I’ve learned to overlook what I’m not comfortable with as I search for what may be beneficial for me in the future.

The three authors of this book, David Bernstein, Beau Fraser, and Bill Schwab, combine their talent and experience at their cutting-edge advertising agency, The Gate Worldwide, which has offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai. They know of what they speak.

Their book is based on the assumption that most middle managers today are intellectually lazy, making decisions based on the comfort of long-established rules, formulas, actions … something they refer to as sacred cows. They go on to explain how to identify a sacred cow, why these plodding beasts hinder creativity and innovative thinking and ultimately the growth of your organization.

While there are obviously many sacred cows, the authors identify 19 of the most obvious (and a number of lesser indiscretions which they humorously refer to as sacred veal) and in detail, explain how each may negatively impact the organization and needs to die.

Here are just a few that you’ll learn about:

  • “It’s okay to put up with jerks, if they’re talented.”
  • “Teams create the best solutions.”
  • “The customer is always right.”
  • “Always trust your research.” Don’t forget Henry Ford’s famous quote, “If I asked my customers what they wanted, they would’ve said a faster horse.”
  • “Don’t screw up.”
  • “Everyone deserves a second chance.”
  • “E-mail saves time.”
  • “Learn to multitask.”
  • “The sales force makes the sale.”

If you take just a moment to focus on your own work environment, I’m sure you’ll quickly acknowledge the existence of a good many sacred cows grazing lazily in the halls of corporate America.

The authors will reveal how to not only identify sacred cows but how to kill them … and they don’t stop there. They’ll also reveal brilliant alternatives that will help make your business more profitable, productive and innovative.

This bovine-bashing book will put a smile on your face one minute and then cause you to pause to ponder the existence of sacred cows in your own herd the next minute. The key, of course, is your own decision to take action on what you learn.

(This book review was originally published in 2008 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 18.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The World Is Flat

The World Is FlatThe World is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas L. Friedman

Make a note of this book title and become acquainted with the author. Even more importantly, consume the content. Read it again and again. Analyze it. Evaluate it. Understand it. Know how it impacts you today and how it will inevitably impact your future.

As I travel from coast to coast in my role as a consultant and speaker, I’m fascinated by the reality that this book divides everyone into one of two categories: 1) Those who are very familiar with the author, his research and revelations and 2) those who know nothing of this author or the subjects of globalization and the flattening of the world as we know it. Those in the latter category seem to feel as though this growing trend doesn’t affect them in any way and probably never will. This is truly frightening as this trend is impacting every American every day in any one of a variety of ways. This book will inform and astound everyone who reads it or listens to it on CD.

Thomas L. Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his work at The New York Times, where he serves as the foreign affairs columnist. He is also the author of three best-selling books and the winner of the National Book Award.

In this revealing page-turner, Friedman demystifies our brave new world for us, allowing us to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before our eyes. His aim is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn’t going to be flat; it is flat. What Friedman means by “flat” is “connected”—the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. He explains it all in breathless narrative and great detail dating from the year 1492 until today.

I can’t possibly describe in a few paragraphs what Friedman so eloquently shares in 488 pages so allow me to tease you a bit with a few excerpts that should send you sprinting to your nearest bookstore to get your own copy of what will soon become the coffee-table textbook of anyone who cares about the future of this country and its citizens.

Friedman describes “The Ten Forces That Flattened The World” and “The Triple Convergence”—subjects which most of us know very little of even though both affect us in dramatic ways.

Friedman elaborates on Bill Gates’ statement, “When I compare our high schools to what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow. In math and science, our fourth graders are among the top students in the world. By eighth grade, they’re in the middle of the pack. By 12th grade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations.”

“In 2001, India graduated almost a million more students from college than the United States did. China graduates twice as many students with bachelor’s degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many graduates majoring in engineering. In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.”

In many small- and medium-sized hospitals in the U.S., radiologists are outsourcing reading of CAT scans to doctors in India and Australia! In 2003, some 25,000 U.S. tax returns were done in India! In 2005, that number topped 400,000! In most cases, tax-payers were totally unaware of the out-sourcing.

There are currently 245,000 Indians answering phones or dialing out to solicit people for credit cards or cell phone bargains or overdue bills.

Jet Blue has outsourced its entire reservation systems to housewives in Utah.

If you own a Toshiba laptop computer that is under warranty and it breaks and you call Toshiba to have it repaired, Toshiba will tell you to drop it off at a UPS store and have it shipped to Toshiba, and it will get repaired and shipped back to you. Here’s what they don’t tell you: UPS doesn’t just pick up and deliver your laptop. UPS actually repairs the computer in its own UPS-run workshop dedicated to computer and printer repairs at its Louisville hub. You can now ship your laptop one day, get it repaired the second day and have it delivered back to you on the third day—thus enhancing the once-tarnished Toshiba reputation for taking forever to handle repairs. By the way, the UPS repairmen and women are all certified by Toshiba. UPS is not just delivering packages, it is synchronizing global supply chains for companies large and small.

These are just a few of the fascinating examples you’ll discover in this groundbreaking new book. Friedman consistently points out that globalization and the flattening of the world offer us as many opportunities as it does challenges. In fact, he claims we can actually flourish in this new flat world but it will take the “right imagination” and the “right motivation” … both of which he describes in detail. The author wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you’re going to be trampled if you don’t keep up with it. This book makes one think, and then think again. Here we are busy with our day-to-day life, not paying attention to what is ongoing in the world around us. Thomas Friedman surely opens the eyes with this book and makes you consider where your role is in the flat world. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about our future.

(This book review was originally published in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 13.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The Search

The SearchThe Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
by John Battelle

Upon completion of The Google Story, you’ll probably feel as though you’ve just returned from the Land of Oz via the fabled Yellow Brick Road after befriending each and every one of those loveable characters. Upon completion of The Search, you’ll definitely feel as though you’re back in the black and white version of Dorothy’s Kansas, and you can taste the sand in your mouth. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Many will appreciate hearing the yin-yang explanations of a growing phenomenon that is destined to touch the lives of just about everyone in one way or another.

This black-and-white, cut-and-dried, no-nonsense, very ambitious text comes with a strong pedigree. Author John Battelle knows of what he speaks. He is a co-founding editor of Wired and the founder of The Industry Standard, as well as TheStandard.com. He’s also a columnist for Business 2.0, and the founder, chairman, and publisher of Federated Media Publishing. No one is better qualified to explain this entire phenomenon than Battelle who has devoted his career to finding the holy grail of technology—and he has finally found it in “search.”

The Search is a sweeping survey of the history of Internet search technologies, its gossip about and analysis of Google, and its speculation on the larger cultural implications of a web-connected world. However, The Search offers much more than the inside story of Google’s triumph. The author also includes chapters on “Search, Before Google” and the “Who, What, Where, Why, When. And How (Much)” of search. It’s also a big-picture book about the past, present, and future of search technology, and the enormous impact it is starting to have on marketing, media, pop culture, dating, job hunting, international law, civil liberties, and just about every other sphere of human interest.

The author draws on more than 350 interviews with major players from Silicon Valley to Seattle to Wall Street, including Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt, as well as competitors like Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Lycos, and other pioneers. Battelle clearly reveals how search technology actually works, explores the amazing power of targeted advertising, and reports on the frenzy of the Google IPO, when the company tried to rewrite the rules of Wall Street and declared “don’t be evil” as its corporate motto.

This book, like The Google Story, will earn a coveted spot on many reputable reading lists. The motives, however, may differ considerably. This publication will draw the attention of the likes of Bill Gates, almost every venture capitalist and startup-hungry entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and a variety of business people, technology futurists, journalists, and interested observers of the concept of Internet search. There are times when the author’s descriptions of Internet search technology can get too technical for readers without a computer science background; the book is a deeply researched and nimbly reported look at how search has defined the Internet and how it will continue to be a tremendous reflection of culture.

(This book review was originally published in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 13.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Thinking for a Change

Thinking for a ChangeThinking for a Change: 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work
by John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell is back again to add to his more than 30 previous titles with his encouraging tone and down-to-earth writing style. As usual he offers a very simple premise: “To do well in life, we must first think well.” This certainly is not a new premise. In fact, it’s been around for years, and we’ve heard it paraphrased by dozens of authors of note. However, as usual, Maxwell simplifies, clarifies, and guides his readers on the journey of mastering “good thinking” to achieve their personal and professional potential. Through his extensive research over the years he has found that “successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.”

The author details the impact and practical value of 11 kinds of thinking:

  • Big-Picture Thinking
  • Focused Thinking
  • Creative Thinking
  • Realistic Thinking
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Possibility Thinking
  • Reflective Thinking
  • Popular Thinking
  • Shared Thinking
  • Unselfish Thinking and
  • Bottom-Line Thinking.

Maxwell suggests that his readers scrutinize each chapter dedicated to the various types of thinking. He then provides you the opportunity to evaluate yourself at the end of each chapter by answering the thinking question. He finally provides action steps to implement the kind of successful thinking described in each chapter.

Useful tips characterize the author’s surprisingly concrete lessons. The step-by-step format is bolstered by relevant inspirational quotes, personal insights and high-profile anecdotal evidence about the likes of Priscilla Presley, George Lucas and George Washington Carver. Maxwell presents countless examples, but what makes them so relevant is that they’re all based on real companies and individuals.

Ending each chapter, emphasizing the discipline needed to think your way to the top, are exercises designed to evaluate and increase your personal progress in each area.

Thinking for a Change is written for the general business market for which the author offers useful thinking methods to incorporate into your days, weeks, months and years to improve your effectiveness.

(This book review was originally published in 2003 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 12.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Change Your Thinking, Change Your LifeChange Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement
by Brian Tracy

Here’s another book focusing on the obvious. We’ve heard it all before. In fact, as stated on the inside flap of this very book, we’ve been hearing this message from this particular author for 30 years. My guess is we’ll be hearing it from him for as long as he can speak. And speak he does. Brian Tracy is one of the top professional speakers in the world; he has given more than 2,000 presentations and addresses as many as 450,000 people each year. He’s published 32 books and more than 300 audio and video learning programs. And now, believe it or not, he has thrown his hat into the ring for the Governorship of California! He continues to spread his message because he believes it; he has lived it successfully for decades, and has helped thousands of others learn how to set goals, expand their thinking, and reach their full potential.

His message is simple but tremendously powerful. What you think has a profound effect on what you do and how you do it! Your life experiences determine the way you think. But your thoughts aren’t set in stone. Just like you can learn to ride a bike or play chess, you can also learn to control your thinking, and in turn, control your life. Henry Ford may have said it best decades ago when he told his staff: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t … you’re absolutely right!”

Tracy continues to hammer home this simple philosophy: Change Your Thinking—Change Your Life. He offers a framework, based on 12 powerful principles, that will help anyone get on the road to a better, more fulfilling professional and personal life. Tracy offers a proven plan for transforming your life by changing the way you think about yourself and your potential.

Each chapter offers inspirational stories and principles that get you thinking, backed up with action exercises that help you train yourself to think and act like the successful person you truly are. Every principle helps you change your thinking in a positive way. Every exercise brings about a positive change in the way you see yourself, the world, and your future. Soon, you’ll begin to see unlimited possibilities in your future. These principles will show individuals how to delve into their inner resources so that they can not only identify realistic goals but develop a plan on how to achieve these goals. Use the powerful “mental software” program in this book to tap your vast inner resources and bring the life you’ve been dreaming about into reality.

It looks as though Brian Tracy has done it again with his latest effort. Maybe the current leadership of California should adopt this philosophy before the upcoming recall election.

(This book review was originally published in 2003 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 12.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens

Who Moved My Cheese? for TeensWho Moved My Cheese? for Teens
by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Spencer Johnson has repackaged his best-selling adult classic for a teenage audience. The story is identical to the original “Who Moved My Cheese?” parable. The difference in this approach is how the story is told and by whom. In this case, the story is told by a teenage student to a group of friends after a major change has been announced to the student body. Seven friends meet in the cafeteria over lunch to discuss how the change to a three-semester program, due to over-crowding, will affect them.

After unloading their individual frustrations over the change, several of the students can’t help but notice how Chris, our story-teller, seems to be handling the situation so much better than his peers. When questioned about this new-found calm, Chris offers to share a story his uncle had recently come across at work and shared with him. Chris claimed that this simple story had changed the way he looked at things in his life and dealt with the many challenges he, as a teen, must face in his daily life. At their insistence, Chris shared the story of “Who Moved My Cheese?” with his friends.

He introduced his friends to two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two “Littlepeople” (Hem and Haw) who search for cheese in a maze and react to change in distinctly different ways (“The Cheese stands for whatever’s important to you like getting on a team, having a boyfriend or girlfriend, getting into college …”). At the conclusion of the story, the friends apply the principles of the parable to their individual live scenarios. As the bell rings and they all head off to their classes, it’s quite evident that the story had impacted each of them in a different way. While they didn’t reveal solutions to their challenges, it was obvious that they felt better equipped to deal with life’s changes and were anxious to meet again to continue their brainstorming session. Chris walks away from the informal get-together wondering how each of his friends would deal with this new-found knowledge.

The author’s message about the importance of anticipating, accepting and using change to improve one’s life can surely benefit this audience. Ages 10-up.

(This book review was originally published in 2002 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 11.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.