Get ready for lift off – its time to Defy Gravity

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When I was a young girl I loved the book Peter Pan by James Barrie.  It was not because Peter would never grow up – I could not wait to grow up.  No the cool thing was that because Peter believed that he could, he could fly!  And, with the help of a bit of pixie dust, he could help others fly too.

Well now, at long last, I am grown up.  Actually I have been grown up for a while and my days are spent in the business world, not an imaginary Neverland.

This September, I have been keeping my promise to share an inside look at some great new business books. We stared things off with The Recipe: A fable for leaders and teams by Amilya Antonetti – a fictional lesson in leadership, followed up by a great book full of real life leadership examples, Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert I. Sutton, PhD out of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.   Then we shifted gears and explored the question Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur with Marty Zwilling.  All of these books have great tips for leaders, entrepreneurs and organizations, but the stories take place at right here on the ground.

Now for a peek a a new book that is specifically designed to help you and your business rise to new heights, Rebel Brown’s new book – Defy Gravity.

For a bit of fun, my friends at Metro Studios helped me put together a short video review of the book for Rebel – take a look…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEEiTh9GR9w&hd=1]

(Can’t see the video?  Click here to watch on YouTube.)

I’m not the only one who did a little bit of video for our favorite rebel, lots of her friends got into the act.  To see the video montage, click here.

So what’s Rebel’s secret for defying gravity and helping your business take off?  First she starts with a great analogy between aero dynamics and business flight.  According to Rebel, “We either climb higher or we crash and burn.  The status quo does not cut it any more.”  The next section in the book dives deep into the sources of gravity – the things that hold us down followed up with the things we must think about and do to achieve high velocity growth and more importantly, to sustain it.

So if you are like me and have always wanted to fly – you might want to give your business a lift, and check out Defy Gravity.  In a world where good enough isn’t good enough anymore, Rebel Brown has pulled together the right strategies, tips and thought provoking advice to help your company soar. If you and your team are ready to defy gravity – this book will get you started.  Don;t just take my word for it – here are a few gravity defying tips from Rebel Brown…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5DqPl3PVHA]

(Can’t see the player?  Click here to watch Rebel’s message on YouTube.)

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay Tuned…

Joan Koerber-Walker

PS.  Rebel has a special offer of a free 80 page workbook she is sharing with friends that buy the book on launch day, September 14, 2010.  This is the same workbook she uses with clients, realigned with a more general business perspective in mind.  This Workbook will help you apply the lessons of Defy Gravity in your own businesses – so you can breakout and soar to profitable and sustainable growth.   To learn more, click here .  (NOTE:  this link is live ONLY on September 14, 2010)

Bridging the gap between academics and reality

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This September at the CorePurpose Business Blog, I am highlighting some great business books we grown ups can take advantage of as the kids head back to school.  At the beginning of the month I shared a peek into Amilya Antonetti’s The Recipe: A fable for leaders and teams and Professor Robert Sutton’s Good Boss, Bad Boss two books that share great stories about leadership in their own unique way. Continue reading→

Good Boss, Bad Boss – Learning from Leaders

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This September we started the month with the statement that learning is not just for kids.   I promised you a look behind the scenes at some great books that we grown ups can use as tools to tune up our leadership and business skills.  That’s right, the kids are not the only ones who have the opportunity to  learn something new this Fall.  

We started the series with a look at Amilya Antonetti’s The Recipe a fable for leaders and teams. Antonetti’s book is a fable, set in a fictional bakery – demonstrating leadership lessons through the eyes and experiences of the characters.    Now let’s shift gears and look at what happens when you study real life bosses up close and personal.  That’s just what Stanford Professor Robert I. Sutton has done in his new book, Good Boss Bad Boss:  How to be the best…and learn from the worst. 

Sutton is no newbie on my business bookshelf.  His last book, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t was a  smash hit in management circles this year.  As a matter of fact, he got so much feedback from The No Asshole Rule that Good Boss, Bad Boss was written as a result.   Dr. Sutton was kind enough to reach out to me on Twitter (he’s @work_matters ) and to share an early copy with me before the official launch  this September 7th.  So, I got a head start in reading the book.  What a treat! Good Boss, Bad Boss is a great read – full of real life stories and situations that many of us can relate to from our own workplace experiences.  I’ll tell you more in a bit, but first, here’s a clip where you can hear more about the book from Bob Sutton himself: 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmp-4l_Gfr0&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1]

(video credit: Stanford Graduate School of Business – via YouTube video link)

Dr. Sutton’s guest posts at The Harvard Business Review have always been favorites of mine because he does not just spout theory or opinion, he bases his statements on real people and real life examples. Good Boss, Bad Boss follows this same winning formula. 

Front CoverAs bosses we all have to do a bit of a balancing act, and I loved the example of the see-saw with “love” in one side and “$” on the other that he shared in his discussion about David Kelley, Chairman and CEO of IDEO.  (I’ve been a big IDEO fan for years and hope that someday I have the opportunity to work with them at one on my companies.)

Further in there is a great reminder to all of us to “Protect Yourself from the Energy Suckers.” (p.120-121) This is one of the lessons I have learned the hard way over my career.  If only I had read this chapter a few years ago!

In Chapter 7 – “Don’t Shirk from the Dirty Work” I found great examples including stories about experiences Ann Rhoades  (founder of PeopleINK and another of my favorite leaders) had at Southwest and later at Jet Blue that illustrate that how you deal with a tricky situation makes all the difference. 

Well, I’m getting close to my word limit (self imposed) or I could go on and on.  But the point is to give you a taste so you will want to check out this book.  Hopefully I have succeeded in whetting your appetite.  It really is worth the read.

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay tuned… There are more peeks inside some great business books coming this September.

 

Joan Koerber-Walker

 

The secret to building a great team – Get The Recipe

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This September, as the kids head back to school,  we will be reviewing some great books for executives and entrepreneurs here at the CorePurpose Business Blog .

As we all know, building a championship team is a great way to move closer to your goals.  But how will you pull that team together and how will you lead it.  A great little book on just this subject is The Recipe: A fable for leaders and teams by Amilya Antonetti (CorePurpose Publishing, May 2010) .Continue reading→

Learning is not just for kids

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academics,apples,books,education,education on a pedestal,food,fruits,knowledge,learning,metaphors,pedestals,PhotographsHere in Arizona the kids have already headed back to school.  In other parts of the country, summer vacation may extend to after Labor Day.  But one way or another, by mid September over 50 million Americans will be heading into the classroom. For them their days will be filled with lessons, books, and homework.  It’s time to for the kids to dedicate themselves to learning new things.

For those of us who have left our school years behind us, we can still make a commitment to learn new things this September.

Gain New Insights with the Kolbe

In August, we profiled inventor and innovator Kathy Kolbe.  Kathy and her team have been helping leaders and their teams learn about their conative and how together they can get more done for over 20 years.  You can take the Kolbe A™ Index  by clicking the line (purchase required) to learn about how you naturally get things done. Kathy shares great insights in the information that comes with your index results.  In addition, if you DM your results to me @JKWgrowth , I will be happy to review them with you also as a thank you for visiting us here on the blog.

Read a great book

This summer I had the chance to preview some great books including the latest from Amilya Antonetti, Rebel Brown, Clate Mask, Bob Sutton, and Marty Zwilling.  Stay tuned throughout the month of September when I will be sharing reviews of these great books – you might want read them too!

Sign up for a conference

The Fall is a great time to reconnect with thought leaders and your community at a conference.  Once of my favorites is the Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference.  This year AZEC10 will be held on November 17th in Phoenix, Arizona, but you can save money by registering in September’s Early Bird Registration.  This year’s speaker line up is one of the best yet.  You can see for yourself by clicking here.

Challenge yourself to learn something new.

So, what will your learning opportunity be this Fall?  As the kids head back to school, join me in committing to learning something new this September.  Share your commitment here by leaving a comment, and we can inspire each other and all learn together.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay tuned…

Joan Koerber-Walker

 

 

Disclosures:  Joan Koerber-Walker is chairman of the board of the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation which hosts AZEC10, is a certified Kolbe Consultant, and may have received complimentary review copies of the books listed from the authors mentioned.

Wisdom, Insight, Invention – Kathy Kolbe

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clip_image002Kathy Kolbe, Founder of Kolbe Corp,  did not invent conation, but the history, the study of conation, and most importantly the measurement and application of conative ability in individuals and teams has been her passion for decades.  It was through this journey that Kathy created The Kolbe Wisdom™  and invented the first assessment specifically designed to measure and describe conative ability, the Kolbe A™ Index.

Assessing the Mind:

Today’s assessment tools break out the functional areas of the mind into three areas, Cognitive (how we think),  Affective (how we feel) and Conative (how we get things done).

One of the first modern day measurement tools in this area , The Wonderlic Test was created by industrial psychologist Eldon F. Wonderlic in 1936 and a form of the test  is still used today by many organizations including the National Football League.

Later new tests were developed that focused on the  affective portion of the mind, some of the most popular include the DISC (1948),  Birkman  (1951), and the  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (1962).   These test were designed to measure feelings, social styles, and other affective behaviors. 

It was not until 1987 that the first assessment for conative abilities, The Kolbe A ™Index was introduced to the public.  Interestingly, the journey to bring it into being is almost as interesting as the test itself.  As a young girl and a student, Kathy had to learn how to look at things differently.  As a dyslexic in a time where we did not have the accommodations and resources  that students have today, traditional learning was an uphill battle.  (Kathy’s form of dyslexia is so strong that things we take for granted like telling right from left or reading the hands of a clock are a challenge.)  Differences in how she and other learned led to her fascination with the patterns she began to see in the way minds worked. She had a natural mentor whose thoughts she often challenged. Eldon F. Wonderlic was Kathy’s father.  Her early work was with all forms of uniqueness, including the gifted and learning disabled in educational environments. But a near fatal 1985 auto accident put things in a new perspective  Kathy’s severe injuries included both physical and mental trauma that left her unable to read or write for over a year. She overcame what many believed would be career ending disabilities by using what she had learned about conation, the instinct-driven capabilities she knew she could count on. In the process of re-training her own brain, she learned more about not just how to measure conative abilities, but how to apply them to work situations, relationships, health and other adult challenges.  Her determination to write the book that became the foundation of The Kolbe Wisdom™  startled all doubters and led to her becoming known as the proof of her own theories.

The basis of her consulting and coaching process is her discovery of our conative Action Modes® that are the basis of a person’s MO (modus operandi). Since conation is the source of human actions, reactions and interactions knowing a person’s MO allowed Kathy company, Kolbe Corp, to predict human performance.

Four Action Modes®

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Fact Finder – the instinctive way we gather and share information.
Follow Thru – the instinctive way we arrange and design.
Quick Start – the instinctive way we deal with risk and uncertainty.
Implementor – the instinctive way we handle space and tangibles.

The Kolbe A Index result is a graphical representation of an individual’s way of getting things done. Numeric results in each Action Mode represent different points on a continuum, on which every possibility is an equally positive behavior. There is no such thing as a negative or “bad” Kolbe Index result. Some, however, are more appropriate results for a specific job or on a particular team.

(Source:  http://www.Kolbe.com )

For over 20 years Kolbe’s assessments, strategies, and wisdom have benefited tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of corporations and organizations around the globe. Great examples of how individuals and organizations respond to Kolbe resources can be found in this article by Joe Williams speaking about his experience with Kolbe at NASA, as well as these article from the Wall Street Journal, O, The Oprah Magazine, and  Time Magazine.

To experience the  Kolbe A Index for yourself, simply click here. (purchase required) After you complete the assessment be sure to listen to the audio sessions that accompany your results from Kathy Kolbe herself.  It’s just one more form of Kolbe innovation.   

I hope you enjoyed this Inventor’s Profile as we celebrate National Innovators Month. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay tuned…

Joan Koerber-Walker