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Becoming an Exceptional Executive Coach. Frisch, Lee, Metzger, Robinson & Rosemarin.  2011. ISBN 9780814416877.  A book for those concerned with leadership and management change.  This is important as the largest weakness in companies is execution. The book uses numerous examples to explain concepts, plus providing many samples and templates for the practitioner.  Having a committee write a book means it come with a lack of personality to spice up the pages. However this is a reasonable base book for the beginning coach.

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The No Asshole Rule. Building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t. Robert J. Sutton. 2007. ISBN 9780759518018. This is so funny and true that it hurt to read it.  I could have used this a few times in my work life – one of the reasons I went into consulting was gaining the ability to chose who I work with – never regretted it.   Guy Kawasaki posted an online survey to self diagnose how much of an asshole you are .  This book is required reading if you work in a tech company.  Well written, clear prose that makes your day better!

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The Trophy Kids Grow Up. How the millennial generation is shaking up the workplace. Ron Alsop. 2008. ISBN 9780470229545.  One can read this book two ways. First to rail against the millennials who

• job hop
• seem entitled
• are not willing to wait to climb the corporate ladder
• want it all, quickly
• are unafraid to challenge the bosses
• seek a meritocracy
• bring along helicopter parents
• seem to need endless feedback
• require detailed checklists of explicit work directions
• prejudge a company from what its website says
• a lack of manners and suitable etiquette

Or you could hail them for

• a much better sense of real altruism than any generation so far to date.
• seekers of  work life balance
• a desire to get the work done, in any location and then do what they want
• reducing the need for huge offices and cube farms
• working for much of the time without supervision and not just nine to five.
• showing how intrinsic motivation is a growing influence on modern productivity ( See Driven by Dan Pink)
• helping break us all free of the reward punishment management model ( which Dan Ariely shows is counter productive today)
• using any and all technologies at a whirlwind adoption rate.

I think I will hail them for their pressure on HR and recruiting systems. I will recognize that having four generations in the workplace now calls for some pretty serious negotiation and mediation skills. But our culture is evolving and will not stop.  This is a clearly written book, based on what is really happening in the workplace as we have all seen it. If you have to hire people today, you need to read this book.

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• The millennials are coming – what does it mean for sales training? (customerthink.com)

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The Upside of Irrationality. The unexpected benefits of defying logic at work and at home.  Dan Ariely. 2010. ISBN 9780061995033. The sequel to Predictably Irrational by one of my favorite economists. His stuff is just so “useful”. You will learn about many interesting things like:

• The disincentive value of very high cash bonuses
• How creators place a very high value on their work
• Not invented here is a very basic flaw in our makeup
• the “identifiable victim” impact on fundraising
• the failure of online dating to solve the singles problem
• how emotional cascades impact on decisions
• the danger of theorizing without the data (trusting your gut)

Very readable, so human, the writer spins a compelling book that I could not put down.

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• Fast, easy tricks to avoid spending too much while shopping: (businessinsider.com)
• The Browser: Dan Ariely on Behavioural Economics (anisekirkpatrick.wordpress.com)
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• Making sense of irrationality (lennymaysay.wordpress.com)
• Invest With These CEOs Who Only Earn $1 (fool.com)
• Michio Kaku on the Energies of the Future (5min.com)

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Conversations for Change. 12 ways to say it right when it matters most. Shawn Kent Hayashi. 2011. ISBN 9780071745284.   A profound book.  It is one not to rush through but to savour.  I would  read a bit, think about a life experience that it brought to mind, analyze lessons learned ( or not), and then read some more. As a result this book took almost a month to read. I really enjoyed it and it made quite an impression on me . Would that I knew 1/10th of it in years gone past.  If you work with, live with, or interact with others this book brings tremendous value. If you are unwilling to change  (or see any need)  then do not bother to read this.  I was intrigued that the author puts very little real content on her website.  Very old school which makes her hard to find!

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What the Dog Saw and other adventures. Malcolm Gladwell. 2009. ISBN 978031607620.  I have finally read all of Gladwell’s books and I remain a fan.  These are a far reaching collection of New Yorker articles written as ever in his quixotic style. I was reading the one the analyzed the “choke” of professional athletes ( Golf and tennis) while the Vancouver Canucks were ‘choking” in round one of the hockey playoffs vs the Chicago Blackhawks.  The topic was completely relevant and I did not hold out that much hope that they could rise above it.   Like all his books this one is very hard to put down.

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Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Dan Pink. 2011. 978-1594488849.  A fitting successor to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi`s Flow and Good Business , this is a useful book for those of us trying to optimize our efforts and productivity.   Lots of challenges to popular myths on motivation in this book.  I appreciated his differentiation between motivating for the very simple repetitive tasks and the more complex.  (I agree with him that no one can motivate anyone – people only motivate themselves.  He brings up the de-motivating effect off paying for tasks, vs separating the cash from the intrinsic performance high.  We certainly see how some people get trapped by the cash and the toys – losing sight of the satisfaction of basic achievement.  This is an easy compelling read, yet it does not treat the subject lightly.  There are some deep implications here for sales force compensation schemes.  (This is the first non fiction book I have only read on a Kindle – it takes me a whole lot longer to do and is not as pleasant an experience for me).

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• “Meaning” is the New Money (abhishekmittal.com)
• Incentives Matter (timragan.wordpress.com)
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Selling to the New Elite. Discover the secret to winning over your wealthiest prospects. Jim Taylor, Stephen Krause & Doug Harrison. 2011. 978-0814416532.  The authors have been surveying the buying habits of the affluent over the last five years (10 000 interviews and counting). That would be enough to purchase this book, but these  is more , much more.  The first 75 pp. detail the attributes, behaviors and attitudes of successful salespeople.  That is worth having for any salesperson who wishes to improve. Lots of lessons learned:

• The perception of the salesman to their role, and his/her skill set  correlates 2x with success than testing attributes.
• Optimists outsell pessimists
• A passion for sales is important
• only 1 out 3 salespeople is really engaged in their work ( ie 2 of them are not good at it and they are likely calling you tonite)
• The top 5% of  US sales  people have annual income around $420k with liquid assets of $3M
• Facebook is like a telephone – a tool to socialize with, but seen as intrusive for marketing
• Social media can be used for listening about your clients ;  A new job, new venture, job promotion, travel plans.
• Create the detail rich stories that show how you love your job, what you are selling and everything about it -show your passion.
• The affluent had an emotional recession that preceded the economic one by 18 months and they see it lasting another year more.
• You need to increase your value, not lower your price to get the deal.
• Killer words today are value, values, savings, deals and best
• A great brand promise has truth, meaning and distinctiveness

An easy read and well worth time.

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Rainmaking Conversations. Influence, persuade and sell in any situation.  Mike Schultz & John E. Doer. 2011. ISBN 9780470922231.    The authors are the principals of the RAIN group which publishes sales research and RAIN Today a highly respected sales blog/newsletter.  I am voting this the best sales book of the year so far.  This book  is a fitting complement to David Maister‘s ground breaking work.  The authors have been able to make this a comprehensive book as well as eminently readible.  They keep the book true to the 10 Rainmaking principles:
1. Play to win-win
2. Live by goals
3. Take action
4. Think buying first, selling second.
5. Be a fluent expert.
6. Create new conversations every day.
7. Lead masterful rainmaking conversations.
8. Set the agenda: be a change agent.
9. Be brave.
10. Assess yourself, get feedback, and improve continuously.

I pulled a few jewels on value selling from this as well. The concept of Money Discomfort is well explained.  They explain that there are two parts to this;

1. A general discomfort talking about money and
2. A money ceiling where talking about a certain amount becomes uncomfortable.

This also ties back to a persons buy cycle.

1. Some know what they want, and go out and buy it.
2. Others are indecisive, always price checking, and need sellers to educate them.

If a seller is more like the indecisive buyer, he will reflect that in his sales approach, especially if he trends to being a price seller.
Lesson learned, take individual  money discomfort  level and personal buying cycle into account when you are looking to improve your sales abilities or those of your team.

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The 1% Solution for Work and Life. How to make the next 30 days your best ever. Tom Connellan.  2011.  ISBN 9780976950622.  A business fable  that really talks tough and tells the truth on personal improvement.  Short, concise and clearly written this is a very useful book. By committing to 1% improvements in many aspects of our life, Connellan  helps you make steady growth toward your goals.  He also has the stats to prove it   E.g. From a Harvard/UCLA study; By being happier it can have a ripple  effect on people you do not even know.

If you are happy ,

• your next door neighbour is 34% more likely to be happy
• Your spouse is 8% more likely to be happy
• Your brother or sister living within a mile is 14% more likely to be happy
• Your friend living within  a mile is 2.5% more likely to be happy
• Your friend’s friend is 10% more likely to be happy.
• A friend of a friend of your friend is 5.6% more likely to be happy

Lots more in this delightful little book

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