Five Minutes on Monday by Alan Lurie is quiet gem. I have not seen it on any lists, but it should be. The author is an architect turned rabbi turned manager. He brings a wide breadth of knowledge and experience to his quiet Monday insights. The book is a compilation of Monday morning talks a business team. While many of the insights come from the Jewish tradition, they are peppered with stories and concepts from philosophy, science and other religious traditions. The tone of the book is very soft, encouraging reflection on the deeper meanings of the ideas.

The topics range from justice to creativity to resolving conflicts to being authentic while facing fears and cultivating happiness. Quiet and powerful. I started to just read through the book, but found that randomly opening it and reading a bite-size section was better. There is an index that is very helpful in finding pertinent themes. Even the short highlighted quotes are useful. For example, I just randomly opened the book to this one:" With experience and guidance, we discover that mistakes can, in fact, often be turned around and transformed into a positive growth experience."

The chapters are short since each was a short Monday talk. I recommend reading one at a time, perhaps daily, and spending some time with the thoughts presented. Again, it is a quiet gem. It does not loudly shout about transformation, the power to change or our need to heal the planet. The truths are simple, direct, and applicable to individual life. The chapters left me thoughtfully inspired...a nice feeling.

I recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position needing some insight, anyone wanting to deepen their daily reflective practice, anyone wanting some quiet inspiration, and anyone interested in applying Jewish (or other) philosophy in a mainstream setting.

Review of The Science of Fear

Daniel Gardner has done a wonderful job creating a fast-read with good solid research. The Science of Fear points out how easily we are fooled by the way we process the massive amount of information we receive. Gardner compares our decisions made with our Head versus those made with our Gut, referring to our ability to use critical thinking versus our tendency to use our instinctual mind. Critical thinking would tell me that flying is safer than driving. After 9/11 my instinctual mind told me that planes are dangerous.

The book covers the evolutionary psychological concepts of Confirmation bias ( I see what I already believe), the Law of Similarity (appearance equals reality), the Anchoring and adjustment heuristic (influenced by what I just heard), the Rule of Typical things (things that usually go together always go together), and the Example Rule (a story is more powerful than statistical data). Each of these is explored in entertaining detail and backed up by academic research.

The main focus of the book is that our emotions often overrule our critical thinking skills. We are convinced through anecdote, stories we recently heard, stray statistical information that is incorrect and incorrectly cited, how we feel about events, and our life experience. We see something on talk TV and are convinced that it is true. Many people around us are sure of their information and we are swayed by their conviction. We are told by some commercial that we are at risk from strangers, dangers, disease and drugs and we change our buying habits. We hear that 600 people die in the US every year from something and we demand new laws.

How dangerous is the world? Gardner would argue not as dangerous as we have convinced ourselves. Our very complex brains still respond to danger they way our evolutionary ancestors did, listen to the herd and run, or fight, if there is something we do not understand. Gardner’s suggestion? Focus on what we have to be grateful for.

This is a great read. I recommend it to anyone interested in brain research, human behavior, human cognition, and group behavior. It is fun, well balanced and well supported.

Book Review of Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein

I really wanted to love this book. It is a best seller and is written about a topic I love. However, even though I found the book informative, it seemed to go on forever. Perhaps my focus on psychology made me a bit less satisfied with this book which seemed to focus on a political agenda. The authors talk about "libertarian paternalism" as a way of nudging people towards good decisions around food, money, safety, and other issues.

The research is good. Humans are easily nudged, and I must agree that helping people make good choices is a good thing. There is a bit of a big-brother under-tone that disturbed me. Do I want to be nudged in the direction that a libertarian feels is best for me? Of course the other option is to nudged in the direction the media or product manufacturer chooses.

The psychology is solid. Given a set of standard options we humans will usually choose the standard options given. Advertise junk food and we will probably buy more junk food than fruit. Put good choices in easy reach and we will probably choose them. I can see how this might help me make good 401K choices or food choice or health care choices. Clearly numbing people with too many choices, such as Medicare D prescription plans, is not effective. Less options usually do make us happier in the end.

Here are my issues with the book. After the first chapter or two, I found nothing new. Same theory applied to different subject areas. There did seem to be this selling of the libertarian paternalism point of view. The book bogged down and I found that I wanted to skip ahead to get through each chapter.

There are some good points in the book and it is worth a quick read. The general psychological statements about humans are true and good to know. People wanting to design a world that is safer and provides easier choices will find a great deal of advice. Students of psychology and marketing will find some good advice too

Predictably Irrational

Dan Ariely has hit a perfect tone in presenting solid research to a wide audience. Predictably Irrational is a fun read, and at the same time a book I would use in a graduate psychology course. On one level this books helps us understand our own, at times, irrational choices, as well as the odd choices made by people around us. After reading this I found that I was able to slow some of my reactions, such as a response to something that is "free." There are also, however, deeper application levels of this book. How we present things effects decisions people make, which means that marketing can powerfully influence our choices as well as some of our moral decisions. In this light I found the book insightful about the power of minor suggestion to change an outcome. Anyone involved in human research will be interested in these findings. Anyone involved in leadership would also benefit from this book, as would any life coach working with people on financial decisions. The book challenges our assumptions about supply and demand, the cost of "free", the power of social norms, the influence of arousal, the price of ownership, our ability to let a "door close" behind us, the effect of expectations and a great deal about lying and truth telling. The book is enjoyable to read, well researched and documented. I recommend this book to anyone interested in how they personally make decisions, how other people make seemingly irrational decisions (think Wall Street), as well as anyone interested in social psychology or economic psychology.

Book Review

I just finished reading Not Everyone Gets a Trophy

This is one of the best books on the topic of Gen Y that I have read. Bruce Tulgan steps away from the usual assumptions about this young generation, preferring instead to address unique aspects as possible strengths. He does not recommend that established notion of "praise them" but argues that respectfully teaching them about the real world is much more effective. Tulgan also covers, in great detail management/leadership and techniques to help guide Gen Y's at work. Many of the suggestions are great for any new employee of any age, but clearly are focused on the needs of Gen Y.

The topics include general descriptors of the generation, ways to bound with them, ways to train them and bring them up to speed at work, getting them to care about customer service, teaching and retaining them, and finally how to turn Gen Y's into leaders. Tulgan does point out that this is a high maintenance generation, but also points out their strengths. They will bring work/life balance to the workplace. They live diversity and equity. They want to learn and do a good job. They want to innovate and bring creative ideas to the table. In other words, they want to be an asset to their employer if they are treated well. This is a useful and applicable book that any manager should read.

I love this blog!

Check out this blog by the author of "Ignore Everybody and 39 other keys to creativity.
Funny and inspiring at the same time.

In rough time as in good times, everyone needs somthing to believe in. When we are fully alive we live up to this need, we are the leader people can believe in.

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. Henri Bergson

Great spirits have always faced violent opposition from mediocre minds....Albert Einstein.

Do not ask your lone wolf soul to run with a pack.Do no look at your uniqueness as a weakness. Challenge those assumptions and define your individuality as your strength. Rember, the lone wolf runs best alone.

There is always a way

I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a queen. I’ve been up and down and over and out,but there is always a way to build the life I want. There is always a way to stand back up and get back on deck, trim the sails and head tack with the wind. The only way to lose is to give up when my ship is in irons.
Pirate wisdom says there is always a way.....