Book Review: The No Complaining Rule

The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work by Jon Gordon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


We all need more "Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work." Sometimes we are the center of negativity ourselves and sometimes we have a co-worker who is. Either way, this book is a strong contribution to the self-help literature.  Writing fable-style, with a lead character whose personal and professional life is headed south, Gordon gives us a way to connect our own situations with his master thesis.  Chronic venting is not productive... it creates a downward spiral of negativity that makes everyone feel rotten and does not solve the problem.  The best way to avoid this situation is to avoid it - to implement and enforce a rule against complaining in the workplace. 

Got a problem? Fine, let's talk about it.  What is your proposed solution?

I felt like I benefited a lot by reading this little tale.  I took the Are You A Complainer? Self-Assessment and got a bit of a wake up call.  I have become more aware of my tendency to grumble and moan - and I try to keep myself from wearing out others with my irritation du jour.  I've even stopped myself mid-sentence and apologized to whoever I was dumping on.  Most people are too polite to say "Thank God you get it now" but they may well be thinking it.  So, thanks Mr. Gordon.

A word of caution: I tried to introduce the rule to a group I was consulting with and it backfired big time.  I had been hired to help a work team implement a new set of rules they absolutely did not like. Many of those involved were not past being mad at the upper administration of their organization, so when I introduced the rule in an effort to give them a way to take back some control over their quality of work life, I was seen as casting blame.  In retrospect, it would have been better to hold on to this one until someone within the group surfaced the negative work atmosphere as an issue.  Live and learn.

If you like fables... and you want to work on yourself or find strategies for dealing with coworkers who suck up time and energy with endless caterwauling, pick this one up.  You'll be glad you did! Here's a link to a downloadable two-page summary of four of my favorite fable-style books with a leadership message.




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Book Review: The Magic of Thinking Big

Magic Of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This one has some good ideas in it, but I guess I expected more from a classic. First published in 1959, the book appears on many "must read" lists, and is sometimes quoted by modern authors. I enjoyed it, but maybe not as much as I expected to. 

There is something very appealing about the simple idea that we can all direct the course of our lives by choosing thoughts that lead us toward achievement and happiness.  Napoleon Hill wrote about it in the 1930s (see last week's blog) and Wayne Dyer has churned out a couple dozen books around this theme.  It is compelling.  In 2007, Rhonda Byrne's book The Secret did the literary equivalent of going viral.  At least it did in my social circle.

One of the most helpful of Schwartz's chapters is called "Think Right Toward People" in which he links success with likeability... and links likeability with authenticity.  If there is someone you don't like, or who you disagree with, they know it.  So when we smile and fake a pleasant demeanor, we can be immediately spotted as insincere, which damages our trustworthiness. Since we really cannot fool people, the solution has to be in adjusting our attitude: we have to go in to every encounter with an intention to genuinely like the other person.  Easier said than done, of course, but clearly worth the effort.

All in all, I am glad I read this one, and glad I have good notes to refer back to.  The two-page summary I developed is available for free download here.  I like to think that I have substantially improved the quality of my own life by adopting many of Schwartz's principles, though there is still much internal work to be done. I'd recommend The Magic of Thinking Big to anyone looking for a way out of a rut of their own making.

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Book Review: Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Classic and anachronistic.  Those are my two favorite words to describe this long-time favorite, first given to me by the fellow who published the book-related column I used to write each month.  Though the main ideas here are hardly new to a modern audience, Think and Grow Rich was hugely influential in its time... and continues to motivate today. 

With the notable exception of the chapter called "The Mystery of Sex Transmutation," most of Hill's concepts (first published in 1937) have stood the test of time.  In fact, they are often repeated.  The Secret, Manifest Your Destiny (and several follow-on volumes by Wayne Dyer) and The One Minute Millionaire all assert that any of us can achieve whatever we truly set our minds to.  The Law of Attraction is real. We get what we focus on, for good or ill. 

Hill's primary contribution, at least in my educational process, has to do with the power of the subconscious mind.  He speaks of it as an empty container, just waiting to be consciously filled with the positive energy of the motivated thinker.  To Hill, the subconscious is where humans communicate with spirit... and where the power of spirit is engaged on our behalf. 

I like the idea that we can all positively affect our circumstances and the course of our lives by choosing what to think about.  Napoleon Hill may not have meant to include women in the category of people who can think ourselves prosperous, but we can add ourselves in.  I have no doubt that I manifested the house (on the lake, easy to care for, affordable for me) that I live in now. And I know that I am currently reinventing my own career with little outside interference.  So in the words of Mattie Stepanek: "Why not believe? It feels good to believe."

For a two-page summary you can download for free, click here.


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Book Review Two-fer: FISH! Tales and FISH! Sticks

Fish! Tales: Real-Life Stories to Help You Transform Your Workplace and Your Life by Stephen C. Lundin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a great concept for a book.  When you start hearing from people who tried out the ideas from your first book and were successful, collect up their stories, flesh out your theories, and publish the whole ball of wax together.  Wonderful.

I like the way the authors organized the book.  They took the "tales" of those who implemented the FISH! philosophy and turned dozens of them into one- and two-paragraph testimonials of success.  People from all kinds of organizations described what they tried and how they made it work.  The authors also took one story exemplifying each of the Four Principles (Play, Choose Your Attitude, Be There and Make Their Day) and explored it a little more fully. This allows them to invite all of us along as their own understanding deepens.  After all, the guys at the Pike Place Fish Market didn't develop a full-on theory of improved quality of work life.  They just chose to  enjoy themselves at work and started living the benefits.

My favorite story in here involves a "grouchy old guy" roofer who comes to embrace the FISH! philosophy (silly as it seems) when he sees that it works: the younger guys work harder, the customers are less difficult to deal with, and the jobs are steady. I spend a lot of my professional life trying to convince people that new ideas will work if we decide in advance to make them work... so kudos to the roofers for giving intentional positivity a fair shot. 

And kudos to the authors for a terrific sequel.




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Fish! Sticks: A Remarkable Way to Adapt to Changing Times and Keep Your Work Fresh by Stephen C. Lundin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's a pun, get it?  FISH! Sticks... like the breaded things we find in the freezer case.  Except in this case "stick" means "to last."  As in change that sustains itself.  Almost always a good thing.

A year after FISH! Tales the authors were back with another fable. Gone are the financial executives who learn about quality of work life from fishmongers in Seattle (though their method survives.) Here we have the burned-out staff of a hospital who learn about how to keep the FISH! Principles alive from a Manhattan sushi chef and her employees.  This restaurant has embedded the FISH! way of life in their culture.  They know how it is done. 

The bad news is that there is no program, no checklist, to be distributed to the team.  Positivity cannot be enforced through external means, with rah-rah posters, in-service workshops, or any kind of one-size-fits all program. In order to stick, the change has to come from within each individual (or at least from a critical mass of them.)

The good news is there are ways to help people along in their journey. When IT is the vision, the big picture idea of the kind of place or organization we wish to be, then each person must discover IT for himself or herself.  Change leaders must live IT - walk their talk and use the organization's system of rewards according to the behavior they seek.  And perhaps most importantly - each person must be willing to give and accept coaching, friendly reminders when we slip into old habits.  If people can't or won't nudge each other for minor infractions of the principles, then over time the gains will be reversed.

I think this is the only business fable I have ever read that includes a tragic blow to a main character, but it turns out that one of the authors lost a child to drunk driving during the writing of the book.  They embed the simple idea that sometimes our co-workers can be our greatest sources of personal support - if that is the kind of workplace we have built. 

Glad for a simple book on sustaining a change effort.  Definitely worth reading.

The two-page summary written by me, contains info on all three books in the series.  Download it for free here.



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Book Review: FISH!

Fish!: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's always good to become familiar with a classic work like this, a book or concept that is widely known throughout the work world.  In this case, I am glad I read it.  I sure would like to live in a society where more people knew this philosophy, or more importantly, where more people lived this philosophy.

I first picked the book up because a client organization asked me to deliver a presentation at an all-staff in-service, something to help inspire the troops and boost morale.  I asked what they had already tried and they explained they had been implementing the FISH method.  I never like to recreate wheels, so I went to the original source to see what fresh inspiration I might find.  (In the end, I found my answer in the third book of the series -- FISH! Sticks -- which is about sustaining change.)

Simple ideas are always the best, especially when not overwhelmed by other ideas.  Much thanks is due the Pike Place Fish Market guys for figuring out that applying the simple ideas of choosing your attitude, being present, intending to help others, and going out of our way to have fun not only improves quality of work life, but it also improves customer service and grows the business.  Credit is also due the authors for seeing that the FISH method has wide applicability.

My summary for this one includes the other two books in the series, FISH Tales (real-life stories from those who have adopted the principles) and FISH Sticks about sustaining the change.  Download it for free by clicking here.






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Book Review: Whale Done!

Whale Done! : The Power of Positive Relationships by Kenneth H. Blanchard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I like how-to books, especially when they are fun little fables. Blanchard and his coauthors wrote a  story that can be read in an hour, but the lessons are likely to last a lifetime. 

Any manager or supervisor (or teacher or parent) who seeks to promote new behaviors in others, or train people how to do a task well, can apply the Whale Done! method.  In a nutshell, rather than getting after someone for doing something wrong, praise them for what they do right.  If they are learning a new skill, give an "Atta Girl" for their progress. It is so much easier for people to understand what you DO want than to continuously find themselves in trouble for doing what you didn't want. 

There's a reason we all know what "positive reinforcement" means.  The phrase entered the lexicon because it works.  And remember, if you make a commitment to changing your management style to include more "Whale Done!" moments with your team, and you slip up a time or two... that's OK!  Praise yourself for the progress you've made and keep trying!  The system will work, even on ourselves.

It only takes half a page to summarize this book... so I embedded my summary into a single document with summaries of three other fable-style books.  Click here to download it now.



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