2 posts from August 2009

I just finished reading ‘Sacred Hoops - Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior’ by Phil Jackson. I was intrigued by the idea that the man that guided The Chicago Bulls to 3 NBA Championship victories in the 1990’s had based his management style on a combination of Zen Philosophy and the principles of the Lakota Indians (can’t imagine either of those would feature in Alex Ferguson’s biography). In the end it was a very ‘lightweight’ but relatively enjoyable read (largely due to the anecdotes of working with Michael Jordan) that had a simple insight; that teams become unified around singular goals and that a degree of selflessness on the part of all team members and its leader is required if the group is to be successful.  I liked the idea that leaders need to take a holistic view of life to get the best from people who work for them (it should probably be required reading for anyone re-entering the banking industries or financial markets) and the choice quote was “ everything derives its essential nature from its dependence on everything else”. Overall not sure it was worth 225 pages, as with many ‘business’ books the insights seemed pretty obvious. The simple message (wrapped up in a sports analogy) applies to most things in life.  I would paraphrase it generically as follows;

Singular Goal      +             Talented Individuals      +             Correct Motivation          = Desired Outcome

(I couldn’t help but think this is where the current Grimsby Town team are going wrong and that maybe the addition of a couple of ‘dream catchers’ and a lava lamp in the Blundell Park dressing room would get them out of their current funk).

It was while I was finishing the book yesterday that through a piece of serendipity a twitter post came through that tapped right into my current thinking, namely how much time is it worth spent reading ‘business’ books. The tweet read “@pJozefak Skip the Books! Find A Mentor and Build a Network Early in Your Career http://bit.ly/12xi3R “ I thought this was a interesting idea as I am a massive believer in the power of Mentors (see www.horsesmouth.co.uk) and it is obvious that in an internet age most books on ‘business’ are outdated by the time they get into print. That notwithstanding it did make me reflect on whether any books, business or otherwise have helped me in my working life and the answer was a definite yes. The right balance between real life experience and the written experience of others has got to be the right answer. Here are five that I’ve found useful and why;

Martin Watkins ‘The First 90 Days’ – solid planning across multiple scenarios for anyone entering a new business.

Alan Leighton ‘On Leadership’ – thoughts from a man (and his network) who went ‘plural’ and has been involved in many of the UK's great businesses.

Robert Pirsig ‘Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ –  a philosophical treatise on life and amongst other things our relationship with technology.

Geoffrey Best 'Churchill - A Study of Greatness' – a man with an appetite for adventure, who reinvented himself multiple times and took the country through WW2. Also a man who drank Champagne for breakfast and never got out of bed before lunchtime. What a great role model.

Levine, Searls, Weinberger and Locke ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto’ – one of my favourite books of all time which I rhapsodized about before. 

British teenagers are turning to alcohol to relieve boredom according to a new survey launched today (5^th August) by alcohol charity Drinkaware.  Nearly one in 10 young people aged 16 and 17 (8 per cent) drink at least once a week simply because they are bored*.  With the school summer holidays in full swing and half of teenagers (51 per cent) reporting they get bored in the holidays, Drinkaware is warning that drinking among young people is likely to increase.

To combat boredom over the summer and remind teenagers they can have fun without drinking alcohol, Drinkaware has launched ‘The Ultimate Day’ competition, setting young people a challenge to creatively demonstrate their ideal day without alcohol. For five lucky winners, their ultimate day will become a reality.

The Drinkaware research of 16 and 17 year olds also shows that:

• Three fifths (61%) will be drinking alcohol in the summer holidays;
• Given £20 per week to spend, more than one in 10 (13 per cent) said they would be more likely to spend the money on alcohol and partying than shopping, entertainment or transport;
• Nearly one third of young people (29 per cent) have drunk alcohol out of boredom.

Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says: “Research shows that young people drink when they’re bored and over the summer holidays this is likely to increase.  There are plenty of free activities young people can do over the summer to keep entertained, including playing sport, volunteering or being part of the audience of their favourite TV show.

“Over the holidays and throughout the year it’s really important that 16 and 17 year olds don’t unintentionally put themselves at risk when they drink alcohol.  Drinking can increase the chances of either being the victim or a perpetrator of a crime and having unprotected sex leading to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.  If young people are drinking they should eat something beforehand, space their alcoholic drinks with water or soft drinks, look after their mates and if they’re out, plan how they’re going to get home.

“The Ultimate Day competition helps remind young people that you don’t need to have alcohol to have fun.  Applications will be judged on their creativity so instead of drinking when they’re bored over the holidays, young people can spend time working on their competition entries.”

Young people can take part in ‘The Ultimate Day’ competition by uploading entries to www.theultimateday.co.uk and visitors to the site can vote for their favourite entries.  The top voted for entries will be judged by a panel including a young person under 18 and Drinkaware representatives.  The closing date for the competition is 31^st August and terms and conditions will apply. Winners will be announced in September.