So, what are you reading?

This week Ken and I are in Palmer, Alaska.

So far we have attended the Alaska State Fair, climbed the Butte (a 1.2 mile hike inclusive of 420 steps - 26 flights), eaten at the local pub; rested and read.

Annually during these weeks we simply step away and contemplate what we’ve learned and how we can better serve. It is an adult time out.

We are often asked: "So what are you reading?"

Just before leaving Arizona for Alaska Ken read The Final Frontiersman.  The book is an account of Hemo Korth.   Written by James Campbell, Hemo lives in the Arctic National Wildlife.  For those of you who may wonder Palmer, Alaska is nothing like the wilderness.

Ken loves accounts of real life.  It is fun to share the stories he reads.

On the other hand, my passion is leadership and understanding relationships.  With that in mind I wanted to share some of the books and authors we both have recently learned from.

One of the most interesting arenas we recently become aware of is the study of the mind and human emotions.  How does this work?

Our IQ is developed during our teenage years; however our EQ (Emotional Intelligence) can be cultivated throughout our adult life.  Pick up the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves and take the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal.

Another area that has captured my personal attention is happiness.  

There is a little book entitled Happiness:  The Science Behind Your Smile by Daniel Nettle, published by the Oxford University.  It is a real thought provoker.

Two of our favorite authors, Patrick Lencioni and Henry Cloud have also written new books.  Dr. Henry Cloud’s is The Power of the Other and Patrick’s book is a precursor to The Five Dysfunctions of A Team entitled The Ideal Team Player.  Team members need to be humble, hungry and smart.

The next read is very foundational.

It’s called Start with Why, by Simeon Sinek.  This is another Good  to Great read.  For those of you who have not read Jim Collins business classic, read it first!  

However in Start with Why, Sinek argues that if we understand our why we are in business and do not lose focus we can accomplish our what.  When our why becomes fuzzy what simply does not matter.  It is only a matter of time before we become antiquated.

My cousin, Kaye Campbell’s daughter , Susan Kaye Quinn, writes speculative fiction.  She is a former rocket scientist and I want to read her book Open Minds.

So this fall, read, study and acquire wisdom through knowledge.

Lean in, Listen and Learn

August is the Willow Creek Leadership Conference.

I really look forward to this event.  It is an opportunity to sit back and absorb; lean in, listen and learn.

One of the speakers again this year was Patrick Lencioni.  There have been some very valuable takeaways from past years with Patrick.  Patrick works around the world to develop teams.  There are some very basic foundational concepts with teams to understand.  Those principals are in his book, Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  

Teams trust one another. They engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas.  They commit to decisions and plans of actions. They hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans. They focus on the achievement of collective results.  

These fundamentals are not easy to achieve.

This year Mr. Lencioni introduced some new absolutes. Teams are built from people and there are some givens we need to seek when adding to a team.  These three principles are discussed in what he calls a precursor to five dysfunctions in his new book, The Ideal Team Player.

Yes, we bought the book!  

Additionally we were able to hear, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Her call is for an equitable world . The statistics she shared about how women in Nairobi or Bangladesh are changing their communities with just a little help are unbelievable.

Alan Mulally, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company from 2006 to 2014 spoke about the norms he has implemented in his leadership at both Ford and Boeing.  Remember Ford was the only major US car manufacturer  who did not take money in the bail out!

Horst Schulze, CEO, Capella Hotel Group; Founding President, The Ritz-Carlton Group, talked about making sure you know where and what costs you can cut.

Chris McChesney, Executive at Franklin Covey who is a Wall Street Journal #1 national bestselling author of the book, 4 Disciplines of Execution  reminded me to focus on the wildly important.

The insights simply kept coming.  As I unpack, read, study and implement these concepts over the next several months I will share them on the blog.  

In short reflection the speakers and motivators were saying  the very simple principle:  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!”  Not difficult to understand, hard  play out in life.

Ken and I are in Alaska the last week of August and we purposefully plan to schedule time to both reflect and develop a blueprint allowing us to serve others  more in 2017.