While on our cruise last month, I finished reading it. I figure it is worth my while to note the key ideas I gleaned from it.
I will record my thoughts "per page."
p. 83: Very much along the lines of what I have heard Dan Kennedy teach, and what Maxwell Maltz says in Psycho-Cybernetics: "You will bring into your life whatever it is that you have the most clarity about. The trouble is, most people have a great deal of clarity about what it is they don't want. So guess what they get!" --Back to my thoughts concerning what I want, my desires. And my realization that I am far more clear about "what not" than "what"--what I don’t want than what I want.
p. 84: "If you hear yourself answering, 'I don't know' . . . ask yourself, 'What would it be if I did know?'"
p. 112: "If anyone ever responds with 'I don't know,' your reply should be, 'What would it be if you did know?' This questions was inspired by the Zen koan 'When you can do nothing, what can you do?'
"Ask the question. And wait."
pp. 84, 190, and 192: Your "Stump Speech" needs to cover "Where am I going? Why am I going there? Who is going with me? How will I get there?"
p. 191:
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote: "If you want to build a ship, don't gather your peole and ask them to provide wood, prepare tools, assign tasks. Call them together and raise in their minds the longing for the endless sea."The InquisiCorp managers need to do the same thing with each of our brands. What is "the longing for the endless sea" . . . for Sonlight? For Ascendo? For Avyx? . . .
Talking about meeting with employees in intense one-on-ones:
p. 108: "I recommend that the optimum schedule is once a month for one to two hours . . . Twelve times a year, ask each of your key people to explore his or her most important issues with you."I think I will split up this otherwise much longer post into smaller parts.
p. 106: "Set the stage by telling the individual ahead of time: When we meet tomorrow, I want to explore with you whatever you feel most deserves our attention, so I will begin our conversation by asking, "What is the most important thing you and I should be talking about?" I will rely on you to tell me. If the thought of bringing up an issue makes you anxious, that's a signal you need to bring it up."
p. 111: "I know someone who periodically opens a one-to-one by giving his clients a form. He says, 'When you looked at today's schedule and noticed our meeting, what was your immediate reaction? Pick one.' The form has seven choices:"Is he guaranteed a candid response? That depends on how he has handled feedback in the past."
- Okay, no big deal.
- Oh, no, two hours wasted!
- Should I cancel and reschedule?
- Maybe I can shorten this today.
- Great! I need to talk about _______.
- Great! A few moments of sanity.
- Other. ________________________
Further posts will have to do with specific communicational issues and situations.
