Written by Aodan Enright on 19 March 2009
There are many experiences in life where there’s a big difference between talking or thinking about it versus actually experiencing it. It just happens that a facilitated learning session is exactly the same!
This is why I’m delighted to run special open taster sessions every now and again to give curious enthusiasts the opportunity to participate in a live discussion with a diverse group of people. We have two such events coming up soon in Cork and there are still a couple of remaining places available.
Session 1: Cork International Airport Hotel, Monday 23rd March, 6pm to 7.30pm
Session 2: Imperial Hotel, Cork, Tuesday 24th March, 12.30pm to 2pm
Contact us asap to reserve your place. I will be operating a wait list so even if the group is full, you may still get a call in the 24 hours before the event.
We will be using Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers as the nominated book and have selected Chapter 7 – The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes as the focus of the discussion. Refreshments will be served at both events.
Further details here.
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Written by Aodan Enright on 09 February 2009
In my ongoing battle with procrastination, I have learned how powerful accountability can be. When you have someone else holding you to account for getting something done, the game changes. You may not necessarily be successful or get everything you want done but you certainly will behave differently. And the chances are that you will make more progress. For procrastinators, anything that helps you make progress is worth giving a shot.
My favourite application of this idea is as practiced by Marshall Goldsmith and he shares the concept of his ‘Nightly Follow-Up Routine’ in his outstanding book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He has a coach that calls him every night, no matter where he is in the world, and asks him the same thirteen questions; the questions themselves are diverse, covering exercise, diet, sleep, work habits and being nice to his family.
I spoke about this very idea last week during a coaching session and committed to giving it a shot for myself. For many months last year, I used an ‘end of working day’ review list where I recorded answers to questions on how productive my day was, how much progress I had made on key projects etc. But it had mixed success. Most days, my answers were pretty good but on the days that they were not, I didn’t really do much to ensure the following day would be significantly different. So, it’s here that the partner comes in. We do behave differently when we know we’re going to have a conversation with someone at a given point in time. I guess some elements of our egos are fired up and we work to make sure we feel good during those conversations.
Ivan Misner, the networking maven, blogged on this very topic today. He provides a very useful list of questions that helps identify who might be potential candidates for the role. He seems satisfied with a weekly check-in; presumably the questions will be very different from Marshall’s personal list.
I have my partner selected and confirmed (no Senate hearings required). Now, I’m working on my question list…
Tags: Executive Coaching
Posted in Executive Coaching, Procrastination, Smarter Egg | 1 Comment »
Written by Aodan Enright on 15 January 2009
What?! You already have a Top 10 books list after two weeks of 2009?
Not really. In fact, I have managed to finish just one book so far this year. It was a Christmas present and a pleasant read: Carole Coleman’s personal account of covering the US Presidential Election. Obama literature understandably has popped up everywhere. Not sure if it’s due to the frustratingly long transition period or the impressive velocity of the publishing industry, but it’s possible to read several books about the election before the man ever takes office.
Should I have the opportunity to compile a list of my ten favourite reads of 2009 a year from now, I wonder how many of the books that are presently at the top of my ‘to read’ pile will figure in the shake-up? I think it’s fair to expect that quite a few new or unheard of titles will emerge over the course of the year; the ‘known unknowns’ as Donald Rumsfeld used to say.
One of the pleasures of the Bookbuzz and Smarter Egg learning group work is that clients make passionate recommendations for books they have found to be very powerful, useful or just a lot of fun to read. Some of those recommendations feature on the list below and I’m always open to new suggestions (via comments below is good too!).
To the list:
Making It All Work by David Allen
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The Power of Less by Leo Babauta
The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
The New Leaders by Daniel Goleman et al.
Thinking for a Living by Thomas Davenport
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Focus by Jurgen Wolff
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Written by Aodan Enright on 03 January 2009
While I’m conscious of following a me-too pattern of end-of-year favourite lists, a number of people have asked me to reflect on the dozens of books that I have read in the past year. And so, here’s a list of ten books that I really enjoyed in 2008.
Two clarifications: these are presented in no particular order and these are books that I personally read in 2008, some were published in previous years.
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Every now and again, you encounter a book that really challenges the way you think about life. The Black Swan is one such book for me. My faith in our capability to successfully predict anything has been rudely challenged having read this and I would strongly recommend this book to those who believe they have a good sense of what the future holds.
Break From The Pack by Oren Harari
This book is very timely for our present economic difficulties and has proven an appropriate choice as the theme-setting book for our initial Out-Thinking The Recession development programme. Any business book that cites Willie Nelson and Madonna as role models is worth investigating. Oren Harari has produced a book that is packed with challenging approaches to differentiating from your competition, again and again.
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
This is a very readable exploration of the history of the world of finance. I’ve long been a fan of Ferguson’s writing and I enjoyed this book as much as any of the others. This book also has an accompanying TV series, of which, unfortunately, I’ve seen very little. This certainly helped me put the present financial crisis in a broader context, even if many of the book’s conclusions have been overtaken by recent events.
The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig
A book with a similar soul to The Black Swan, this is mandatory reading for those who take famous business books at face value. It seems we actively enjoy being deluded; sometimes it’s more fun to go with the narrative even if it’s built on shaky foundations. Of all the books used this year in Bookbuzz sessions, I do think this one is a ‘must have’ for any corporate group embarking on a learning programme.
Tribes by Seth Godin
I must confess I have not read any of Seth Godin’s previous books but will be open to doing so having read this gem (I have been an avid reader of his blog for the past year or so). It may well be a little book with just over 100 pages, but it really punches above its weight. While the tribe concept is expertly examined, this really is a book about leadership, especially having the courage to lead without being asked. Truly inspirational.
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 by Bob Sehlinger
You may well find yourself doing a double-take when you see this book. How could something like this figure amongst a weighty list largely comprised of business books? Two reasons: firstly, it was one of my favourite reads of the year and secondly, it’s got the ‘Wow!’ factor. Even though we spent just one day at Disney World in Orlando this summer, I felt like I was getting the very best that the place can offer due to this incredibly well researched guide. You may well wonder how you could fill 850+ pages with pertinent information on visiting Disney, but the authors have achieved this. And it’s great!
The No Asshole Rule by Bob Sutton
Taking a light-hearted approach to such a difficult topic proves very effective. Everyone can name some ‘flaming assholes’ but this book also challenges us to consider how we act as assholes. Equally useful is the focus on how to survive a workplace where assholes are prevalent; it appears that most organisations aren’t fully subscribed to the No Asshole Rule.
The Jelly Effect by Andy Bounds
Andy Bounds has an unusual hook as an expert on communications. His skills have been honed by decades of explaining how the world looks to his blind mother. This book is useful in a number of different areas: pitching ideas, generating quality referrals, effective networking and making presentations. A well written book, it’s enjoyable to read and certainly has been a help to me in connecting with other people in this big bad world of ours.
The Inner Game of Work by W. Timothy Gallwey
A number of years ago, I bought and read a book called The Inner Game of Golf. Reading this book confirmed for me what I had thought and dreaded for a while: it’s not that I couldn’t hit good golf shots, my main problem was that my self-doubt was getting in the way. The concept of Self 1 (the interfering voice that tells us why we can’t do something right) and Self 2 (our natural capability to do something without thinking about it) was presented to me in this book and I was massively intrigued when I was introduced to the application of the inner game to the arena of work. This book is fascinating and I’ve no doubt will provide the platform for a lot of my work in the coming months and years in the area of executive coaching.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell’s The Tipping Point is one of my all-time favourite books but yet, I hadn’t fully read Blink until my initial meeting with the Bookbuzz guys earlier in the year. It’s a book with many fascinating vignettes but for me, it took two readings to fully connect the logic of Gladwell’s overall argument on the power of unconscious decision making. This is a book that quickly holds the interest and offers many provocative insights.
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Written by Aodan Enright on 31 December 2008
I can’t remember a New Year’s Eve that has been so dominated by negativity. Many people, not exclusively on media channels either, are reflecting on 2008 as a bad year. This is especially true in Ireland.
However, what is a source of irritation to me is the relentless pessimism that abounds regarding 2009. It has become quite trendy to play one-upmanship games of how bad things are about to get. “No, no, that’s not the worst of it. Just imagine when….”
I understand that there are rough economic times ahead. I understand that there will be many who will lose their jobs and that many businesses will close. Behind all the statistics, there is a human price to be paid. Many people will face some tough challenges.
I may be in the minority when I think that it’s ok for businesses to fail. Businesses tend to fail for a reason i.e. its customers and potential customers don’t see sufficient value in its offering. Many of the commercial entities that I see failing now seem to have built a value proposition that was dependent on a compliant and enthusiastic customer. The problem with customers like that is that they eventually change their minds.
Nothing lasts forever. When the good times are rolling, it’s so easy to believe that they are sustainable. We convince ourselves that this is the new reality. And sometimes, we can be right. But we need to evolve. And anticipate. I believe it was Jack Welch who said, “when the rate of change within our organisation is slower than the rate of change outside, then the end is in sight”.
So, we need to get moving. We need to decide that no matter what the external circumstances, we can still choose our next move. We can’t guarantee success in new ventures but we can guarantee our own approach. We can choose whether we go through the motions or whether we give it everything we have. We can choose to take radical options. Or we can stay close to the ditch and avoid upsetting other people. It’s up to us.
I believe in ongoing learning. I believe in the power of a group to provide an invaluable support to its individual members. I believe in the power of challenge, pushing beyond what we believe is possible. And most of all, I believe in the capability of people to lead themselves and others to a better place when they allow themselves to do so.
My focus in 2009 will be to translate these beliefs into meaningful action; to provide leadership and value to those who need it and who are ready for it.
Some of you are already on board. Others will join us soon. I’m looking forward to it.
Happy New Year!
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Written by Aodan Enright on 10 December 2008
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Written by Aodan Enright on 08 December 2008
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Written by Aodan Enright on 05 September 2008
“Hang on, I’ll get back to you in a minute. I just need to check my e-mail”
How often have you heard this in modern working environments? Checking one’s e-mail has assumed similar importance to eating and visiting the bathroom. Unfortunately, falling into this habit means you have become a slave to e-mail. And the reality is that this problem is getting worse with the emergence of mobile e-mail solutions, such as the Blackberry.
Here are some ways to get this under control:
1. Make a conscious decision NOT to check your e-mail while you are working on a specific task. Ask yourself this question: “What could possibly go wrong if I don’t check my mail while I finish this task?”. Many of us have allowed ourselves to be conditioned into thinking we are not being ‘effective’ if we’re not alert and responding to mail as it arrives. Trust me – the e-mail can wait.
2. Turn off all types of beeps, jingles, alerts, pop-ups and taskbar icons. These are a lethal source of distraction. I guess we started out on the wrong path back in the innocent 90s when AOL introduced the male voice alert “You’ve got mail” to signal the arrival of a new e-mail. Hollywood even made a movie on the back of it! This may be ok if you’re getting a small number every day and they tend to be nice, heartfelt messages from friends and family. But when you’re getting 200+ messages from all sources….
Exhibit A is your typical Microsoft Outlook pop-up window. This comes accompanied by the now ubiquitous chime. I enjoy watching interviews with office-bound people on TV news programmes just to hear that occasional familiar sound in the background. And the most concerning thing about it is that these come as part of the standard setting. You actually have to dig into the application to find where to turn these things off! And we can’t just blame Microsoft for these. Gmail also advertises the Gmail Notifier – a little application that will pop up similar windows in the corner of your screen.
3. Try to limit your e-mail checking to fixed times every day. This is a great way to replace an old unproductive habit with a new productive one. There is a school of thought that suggests that checking your e-mail should never be the first thing you do every day, given the possibility of potential distraction. This is good advice but it requires clarification between checking and processing e-mail. Let’s define checking e-mail as scanning what’s in your mailbox to see if there’s anything there that requires immediate action – and this should be restricted to “life/death” matters (something that’s really important to your customer or career). Processing involves the systematic review of each item to determine the next action. Some people can prosper by processing their e-mail just once a day.
Here’s a useful experiment for you. At the start of your next working day, leave a blank piece of paper on your desk. Each time you find yourself checking your e-mail, note it on the page. I do believe you will be surprised at how many notes are on that page at day’s end.
Tags: E-mail management, Personal Productivity
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