Maybe if we follow a trail, we have already lost our way. My path is not your path, though we might walk near each other at times.

When our tires are stuck in a rut the wrong thing to do spin our wheels trying harder to go in the same direction. A lesson that applies to life.

http://ping.fm/ar5tB
This is a great article on creativity and education. We need to stop thinking about creativity as a class and as a way of learning

New book Review on Amazon. Maestro: A Surprising Story About Leading by Listening.
I love this book. It inspired me and gave me some great ideas about how to approach bringing an organization together. The story is a fictional encounter between a Maestro (orchestra conductor) and a business executive who use the metaphor of conducting the orchestra to discuss leadership. The twist in this book is that the executive learns experientially by sitting or standing at different locations in the orchestra during rehearsals. He hears the instructions from the Maestro and then hears the changes in the music.

The messages are reminiscent of many leadership books and focus on the helping the individual bring their best self to the group so that the group. The language, however, cuts across the usual leadership language and engages the reader in musical dynamic. What does happen, for example, when we all listen to the oboe and play so that the oboe can be heard? What happens when we all chose to blend our individual talent with those around us? How does the world change when the music become more important than my performance as an individual?
The book is an easy, short and sweet read. It would be great to teams to read, or to use in a class on training teams. There is a link to the author’s website, who is a Maestro. I do not know what he charges to conduct for his workshops, but after reading this book I know that I would love to attend one.

Book review: Why we Make mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan
The more I read about the brain the more I am amazed. This book focuses on the many ways that the brain seeks for meaning, and lead us astray in making decisions. For example, if we are asked our area code (three digits) and then asked when Attila the Hun lived, we will try to answer with a three digit year. Our brains find a baseline and move on from there.
We remember stories, but adapt them to our culture. We remember events, but tweak them to our own benefit or acclaim. Men over-estimate their IQ and women underestimate theirs, and then act with a confidence level based on this estimate. We invest our money in what we want to believe we will do, and not what we actually do (think about un-used gym memberships). We respond in positive ways to attractive people and ads, and act appropriately if there are pictures of eyes watching us.
And that world of marketing is on to us and designs credit card, commercials, lease agreements, casinos, and other ads know how to use this against us.
Interested? Read the book. Very fun and very informative. I recommend it to anyone interested in how thinking and problem solving actually works.
Elisa Robyn, author of Pirate Wisdom.

Book Review of The Element by Sir Robinson.

This book has some great strengths and presents some powerful insights. The author is a wonderful speaker (watch him on youtube) and I could hear his voice as I read the book. There is a good bit of humor in that book that stresses the need for all of us to find our personal element.

The book effectively presents the idea that helping children find their element will improve education. Sir Robinson reached me when he started talking about the notion of Tribe; the idea that we can learn about our element by finding our fit in the world. Who do we relate with? Who inspires us? Where do we feel at home? When we are open to learning about ourselves through our relationships and groups, we have an easier time finding our element.

The book contains a great number of stories of people (some celebrities) who found their element and pursued it to great success. I loved the chapters on the diversity of intelligence, the power of imagination, and the advice to stay committed to our won capabilities. Sir Robinson reminds us to listen to our own inner calling and to not be dissuaded by the group. All in all I found this book to be very inspirational and enlightening. Great information backed by research and delivered with a sense of humor. I recommend it to anyone as a good read, as bit of encouragement about personal path, and for a new view on education and learning.

Book Review: Greater than Yourself by Steve Farber

I read every leadership book I can find, but I have never found one that described my personal leadership style in simple terms. As I read the book I more and more realized why I had been a successful leader, as well as recognized the common thread linking other leaders that I respect and admire. The focus of the leader is not on personal ego, but on the potential of the everyone else in the organization. This type of leader is rare, but incredibly powerful.

The book has a very simple formula for success: expand yourself, give yourself, and replicate yourself. This means that we need to find and be our best self, share that, and help someone else become their best self. It sounds so simple, but first we first have to get our ego out of the way. We have to be willing to give away the credit and not worry about building our own brand. We succeed when we help others around us succeed.

I like this book because it has a simple yet powerful message. There are no charts to memorize, no tests to take, “seven” right things to do. Be your best self, share your best self, help others be their best self. Start again and repeat. This is one of the story based leadership books I have read. The story is not overly contrived, nor does it require that I meet a Jedi leader in order to grow. I recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position, anyone who understands that we can be leaders at any level of our life, as well as students of leadership. A quick simple read with a great message.

Elisa Robyn, author of Pirate Wisdom