2010
September 3
3 Reasons Why Business Books Are Bad for You
3 Reasons Why Business Books Are Bad for You
I read this article by Dave Logan | August 25, 2010. He teaches at USC and both of my sons are USC graduates. I have to admit, I really enjoy his writing style. Although he gets a little cranky about business books, he has a unique perspective on their value. I have my own perspective so I have included comments within his original article. Dave’s articulate and carefully thought-out words are in black mine are simply gray.
I read more business books than anyone I know, which is ironic because I can’t stand most of them. That’s not to say I hate all business books — after all, I’ve written one — but 95% go on one of two lists: “if you don’t know this already, you should be working at the DMV” and “if you do these things, your company will become the DMV.” Okay, you have to confess Dave is clever. But consider the DMV’s strategy. They don’t want us there. They have to deal with us. They are not attempting to grow their business, they simply want the end of the day to hurry up and get here. I am now going to use a story that Dave might decide has a complete lack of insight, but here goes anyway.
I just recently moved to Arizona and had to register my car. They have their customers seating set up in a circle so everyone can feel very uncomfortable looking at each other. As a recovering shrink it made me want to break into “group” mode and start asking everyone how they felt about the long wait, and bad drivers license pictures, but I would have been interrupted by the loud speakers that kept announcing the numbers we were instructed to take as we entered. The last time I took a number I was in line for ice cream and it was much more fun. Anyway, back to business, although uncomfortable, this DMV was kickin tires and takin names (pun intended).
Back to Dave’s articulate thoughts: A cynical view? I don’t think so. Here’s why.
First, most business books use stories to cover over their complete lack of insight. This week, I read a galley of a book that I hope will never come out. After some catchy anecdotes about hero CEOs, it advised, among other things, that leaders figure out what’s really important, then do those things. It went way out on a limb by saying that great leaders are remarkable at forming relationships. And (are you sitting down?) the best leaders are honest when a strategy isn’t working.
Are you kidding me? How about we add that true leaders can dress themselves, use full sentences, and bathe before work. What Dave might not be considering is how often people need to be reminded of the important basics. “You should brush your teeth and floss twice a day.” “You should not allow your small children to play in traffic.” (Teenagers, well that’s another article) Everyone knows how to lose weight. The rules are very basic. The secrets aren’t secrets at all. Cut down the garbage we put in our mouths, increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, eat less, exercise more – there you have it, but that doesn’t stop the market from being flooded with diet books. People probably own more diet books than they do fluffy business books. There you go Dave, another article – 4 Reasons Why Diet Books Make You Fat
Second, the stories themselves often highlight the wrong message. Here’s an example. I mentioned Zappos in a talk I gave, and Tony Hsieh, the CEO, was kind enough to endorse my work. Now I get lots of emails asking for an introduction to him. Hey, I would love to meet Tony too. I love the name Tony, it is my husband’s name and I named my oldest son Tony. I guess we are not very original are we? But since I have two Tonys, will that help my chances of getting introduced to Tony Hsieh? I almost never pass them on. Why? Because Tony, like me, is tired of repeating what no one ever hears: the Zappos story isn’t about Tony. It’s about a group of people that aligned on the same vision of what that company could become and pulled it off by sacrificing, working hard, and participating. If people copy only Tony’s actions, they won’t end up with a Zappos; they’ll end up bankrupt. Okay, I have to agree, nothing great ever happens in a vacuum. No great man or woman does anything alone. But I would still like to meet Tony Hsieh.
Business success isn’t a checklist, and that’s the implied message from many business books: do these things and you’ll be the hero. Business success is a dance: with the market, employees, investors, customers, landlords, and creditors — not to mention spouses and kids. I love Dave’s dance analogy. I was a ballroom dancer in my early days when my thighs were not jello and gravity had not abused other important parts of my body, but I digress. Business success, or any success, as Dave suggests, is a dance. When dancing two people need to keep a balance of positive tension, control, self-responsibility, and coordination in order for the dance to be strong and beautiful. Both partners need to do their job full out and know they can depend on their dance mate. How wonderful our relationships and our businesses could be if we remembered these important dance truths. Hey I have an idea, let’s campaign for Dave to be on Dancing with the Stars.
Third, most business books are air sandwiches: empty in the middle. One of my mentors told me to read the first and last chapters of a book, because everything in the middle is either stories or takeaways so simple that watching Mr. Rogers is a better use of your time. I’m too obsessive-compulsive to follow this advice, but in 95% of cases, it would be better if I had. One of my friends, Larry Winget (talk about a character who definitely needs to be on Dancing With the Stars) told me that no one reads past the first 50 pages of a book, if they get that far. I have often wondered if I wrote a 250 page book and only had copy on the first 50 pages and the last 20 pages, how many people would really ever find out there was nothing in the middle. If I had more time in my life to waste, I would try this experiment and find out.
Business leaders need a reboot on the ideas that make organizations run. Is your time best spent reading business books, or talking with people with radically different ideas? Put down the business book and go interact with ideas that challenge you, frighten you, or piss you off. Okay, I have to confess this is my favorite part of Dave’s article. This is a real call to action. In fact I think Dave should write a new book and every page of the 100 pages or so should have this one paragraph repeated on it. They say people learn by repetition. This would be a best seller for sure.
People often ask me what the best business books I’ve ever read are. Here’s my list: The Odyssey, Atlas Shrugged, and Ender’s Game. None are about commerce or strategy. Read The Odyssey to understand character, purpose, and discovery. Read Atlas Shrugged to clarify your own position on how the political economy should run. And read Ender’s Game for how genius and leadership pull people in opposite directions. (Two of the three are well written — you can figure out which is the outlier.)
None of these books have takeaways, or to-do lists. None preach. They will make you think.
Anyone brave enough to venture into these waters with me? What are your favorite non-business books that teach you a lot about business? Yes, I do have a recommendation. I think anyone who wants to learn about business and great leadership should read a fable I wrote entitled, The Perfect Heart. No lists, no outright preaching, but definite take aways about how to use the best gifts and talents of everyone to make a kingdom the kind of kingdom that meets the needs of all of its citizens, while allowing excellence of each individual. Oh by the way, the heroes in the fable are female. Yep, not a lot of fables with female heroes, but I promise you will enjoy this one. If you would like a copy just email me at dawn@theheartlinknetwork.com or visit my website www.DawnBillings.com. All proceeds go to women and children charities.
Dawn L Billings is the author of over 20 books (mostly fluff) and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking and an ardent advocate for womens and children’s issues. Dawn is the creator of the new parenting toy/tool called Capables. And CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory, The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organization and online community. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books To learn more about women networking check out our videos
2010
August 22
What separates us and what brings us together?
What Separates us and what brings us together?
by Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.
In church on Sunday we were talking about the things that separate us and cause conflict. My mind drifted as I asked myself, being a recovering shrink, what brings us together. I was surprised when I looked at my notes and realized it was the same list.
The minister said that
Values, (things we value and ideas we hold dear to our hearts)
Priorities (priorities are what we create out of the things we value)
Affections (we love and cherish what we value and most believe in)
and Direction (out of our values, we develop our priorities and establish our affections which tell us what direction to go with our lives)
So Values, Priorities, Affections and Direction bring us together with those who share our values and separate us from those that don’t.
I saw this all the time when I had my private practice. Couples would come in and one would value time together while the other would value a strong work ethic. Or one would value service love and another would value words of affirmation and they always came to me with the same directive – Fix the other person!
When your values are different, your priorities and affections and the direction you choose are naturally different. This doesn’t just destroy personal relationships, business relationships, it destroys communities, countries and the world on a global level. We are talking about the most basic, overarching, difficult aspect of being human. As human beings, we have the capacity to choose our values. We have long left the periods of time when our days were consumed with finding, killing and preparing food, just so we could start over. Survival used to be the number one priority to human beings. Now, we have time to cultivate, feed and strengthen our values and as we do, we make those around us who have different values – WRONG! And just like that . . . Conflict is born.
Our world is full of conflict. Should there be a Mosque near the 911 site? Should white crosses that represent fallen officers be forced down by an Atheist group because one side says everyone knows that white crosses represent people who have died, while the other side insists that white crosses can only mean ONE THING, that Christianity is being forced on innocent Atheist as the drive by. Should we drill offshore? Should we allow prayer in schools? What does the word Marriage mean? Should women have the right to abortions, or should the babies have a right to life? Should parents be subsidized to send their children to any school they wish? On and on the conflict rages. Who is right? Who is wrong? Right and wrong are defined depending on the values that someone holds dear.
So the minister was correct. Values, priorities, affections and Direction bring us together. We want to find people who believe like us, see the world like we do, cherish the same values we cherish, and stand for the same things we stand for and if they don’t, we want to stop them, demean them, chastise them, make them wrong, demonize them, scream at them, call them names, shoot them, stab them, and in the end – kill them.
What is the answer? Many say the answer is obvious, it is TOLERANCE.
But we witness daily on the news, in our families and in our communities, tolerance is a word cracked as a whip by those who want OTHERS to be tolerant of their values, priorities, affections and direction. Usually those demanding understanding and respect are the same people who are showing no understanding or respect for people who have values different from their own. It saddens me to see how easily groups can vilify one another and how hideously cruel people can be to each another.
This is an issue I hope we can begin a conversation about over the next month or so.
Please share your comments and ideas as we wrestle with this very powerful issue of being human. Blessings, Dawn Billings
Dawn L Billings is the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking and an ardent advocate for womens and children’s issues. Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory, The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organization and online community, and the creator of the new parenting toy/tool called Capables. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books To learn more about women networking check out our videos
2010
August 13
Moving Woes Part II
Moving Woes Part II
by Dawn Billings, CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Network and TROVA Business Directory and TROVA Women Business Directory, creator of the new Parenting toy/tool called Capables
When we left off in our moving woes saga, United Van Lines had in every way disappointed and failed me as a customer. I rushed around the town and found a local company that promised to do better.
I packed all of the boxes and put them in categories so that the heavy boxes were in one section, the greenery and very light boxes were in one section, the pictures and fragile items were in another section and the “do not stack on top of” boxes were in a section of their own. I realize that trucks must be packed tightly and well and therefore I wanted the men to understand what could be used as foundation boxes, and foundation furniture. I have moved enough times to understand how the moving process works.
When the new company’s men arrived there were 5 men, but within the first 3o minutes, one of the men challenged the lead movers authority and was sent packing, leaving me as the fifth man. There was no way they were going to get everything packed without the 5 men I requested, they knew it and I knew it and so I began loading the Dollie and carrying out boxes from the home and the garage.
I must say that there were three men, 2 young men who stood about 6′ 4″ and they worked hard. There was another man who truly knew what he was doing in wrapping my furniture, but the lead man was an arrogant, disrespectful, “full of himself” man who refused to listen. I kept going out to the truck to check on the progress and would find him loading heavy boxes on top of fragile pieces of furniture. I would catch him and ask him to correct it and it would completely ignore and disregard what ever I said. I asked him what piece of furniture he was loading the heavy boxes on and he told me a large dresser. I told him I was not moving a large dresser and made him lift the moving pad from the piece of furniture and yep, there was my beautiful buffet with the queen Anne legs. I explained that he could not put heavy boxes on this piece of furniture because of the legs. He assured me he would correct the mistake immediately.
An hour later after the bed and other heavy pieces were loaded I realized that the section of “light” boxes had not been touched, so no, they did not correct the problem and now they explained it was too late and that they were professionals and knew what they were doing and that I could relax. I didn’t believe them for a second.
It took 12 hours to load the 2 trucks. It took them four days to arrive in Phoenix, and then when they arrived at my home to unload, the were exhausted and had not slept. It seemed they drove straight through because they were behind schedule and did not want to spend money on a hotel. They asked if they could sleep on my carpet in my new home. It was definitely not a normal request, but they did look exhausted so I gave them sleeping bags and blankets, pillows, towels for them to go swimming and relax. I wanted them well rested when they unloaded my truck. I put fans in the room in which they would be sleeping on the floor and tried to make them as comfortable as I knew how.
The next day I arrived very early to begin unloading and they were still asleep. The company had asked that I have a certified check for the first 1/2 when they loaded and a certified check for the second half when they unloaded. I of course, complied. I had the certified check in my hand when I was informed by the two men that I needed to return to the bank and get them $1,000 cash and the remaining amount in a certified check because they had no money for food, no money to hire the men that were to help them unload in Phoenix, or the money for gas to return to Oklahoma. I was extremely confused but I called the company and they okay’d the change in payment. When I went to the bank to make the requested changes, the men sat down and refused to unload anything until I returned with the money because they were not going to unload without being paid. I was beyond angry.
Keep in mind it is now lunch time, there is nothing unloaded, they have been there all night and haven’t moved a thing all morning, I had the certified check I was supposed to have, but because they insisted I needed to have the money arranged for differently than I was first instructed they were not going to begin the unloading process!!!!
When I returned with the money, they informed me that it was time for lunch and they were hungry so they were going to get something to eat. No, I couldn’t believe it either. When they finally began to unload the truck I discovered that the pieces I had asked them to pack carefully and only place the light greenery boxes on top of were completely destroyed. The foreman said it wasn’t his fault that the piece of furniture was junk. No, I couldn’t believe he said that either.
What I have learned is that moving is really a very stressful, difficult process. I have also learned that you cannot trust most movers. They do not know what they are doing. Be careful if you must move. Do your homework. Call the Better Business Bureau and get references. I know this seems like a great deal of work, but honestly, it will save you so much grief.
I got a call that a nice family wanted to lease my home in Atlanta and so I needed to jump on a plane to pack up and move the Atlanta home. Yes, the saga, continues. . . .
2010
August 7
Moving Woes!!!!
Moving Woes!!!
by Dawn Billings, CEO & Founder of TROVA Business Directory and TROVA Women Business Directory, and The Heart Link Women’s Network
Have any of you moved recently? If you have, I am sorry. If you haven’t, count your blessings. I have moved two homes in the last month, one in Oklahoma and one in Atlanta. Moving is grueling and that is putting it mildly. Some businesses want us to believe they want to and can help.
Have you seen those commercials about United Van Lines on television? I did. I thought yes, I need to use a professional moving company, not just some local mom and her sons truck, but a real professional mover, because I have some very nice pieces that I want moved “professionally”. Wow, did I have a lot to learn.
My move was scheduled on a Friday morning, no one showed. I waited again on Saturday because the moving company informs you after the fact they have what is called “a window” which really means they do not have to pick up your furniture when they promise they will. I have no idea about “a window” because the man (John) who said he would be in charge of making my move a bearable experience, never mentioned it. At 5:45pm on Saturday, just as the “window” was about the expire, 2 men who did not speak English where you could understand them, showed up in a small truck, did I mention SMALL truck, that they told me was three quarters of the way full to pick up my furniture. When I explained that was not what I expected, nor what I was told they said just give us some boxes and others will be along another day to pick up the rest of your furniture. I said “No, that would not do.” I did not want my belongings on many trucks. I also had them come in and see how big some of my pieces were so they would know that two men could never move me!!! and that a small truck was not going to work. They took pictures of my furniture with their phone to send to their boss.
I called the company, the supervisors name was Pauline and she told me that I could not get my deposits back because they HAD shown up in “the window”.
“But their truck was 3/4 full, and there were only 2 men.” I heatedly explained.
“Did you have them open the truck and take a picture?” she asked. “They say they had plenty of room for your stuff.”
Oh my goodness, really? Now, you have to have your phone in picture mode all of the time to protect you from crooks?!
Pauline threatened me with not returning my deposits AND insisted I must give them another chance to make it right. I had already missed my prearranged flight back to AZ because of this companies inability to keep their professional agreements, but now I was being threatened. I thought about it and decided to get other bids but to give them one more chance to “make it right.”
Whew! Now, I thought, at least they understand. They have photos. You see they refused to send anyone out in advance. They said they do not do it that way any more. It is a guessing game. You tell them what you think you have, they guess how much it weighs and give you a binding bid, the trick is, they underestimate your load so they can charge you much higher fees later when your load weighs more than they estimated.
But, I was optimistic. Now that they have pictures, they will send the appropriate number of men and the right size truck. They simply did not understand before. After all, this IS UNITED VAN LINES right? WRONG!!!
Four days later 5 men who barely spoke words I could understand (since I did not speak Serbian), arrived late once again, took one look at the heavy furniture and explained with some passion and yelling, they were not going to move me. That’s right. Movers refused to move me. They said they each only earned $2,000 a month ($100 a day) and if they scratched expensive furniture it would come out of their pay checks. They told me they simply were not paid enough to risk their paychecks and their backs. Which frankly I was relieved because I certainly did not want people moving me who did not know how, nor did they have any desire to do a good job. But this is what you will NOT believe. After all of that, Pauline and the people who work with United Van Lines still did NOT want to return my deposits!!! They were the most unprofessional, unethical, and crooked organization I have ever had the misfortune to attempt to hire. I was treated with complete disrespect and disregard. It was a horrible experience that I do not want any other person to experience.
More of the saga to come:
2010
July 20
Women Definitely Warm to Social Sites and Online Purchasing
Filed under: Business for Women, Marketing Tips, News & Events, Social Media
Women Warm to Social Sites and Online Purchasing
Social networking has become a must for women this year, according to a new edition of the SheSpeaks “Annual Social Media Study.” Social networking profile penetration climbed from 58% of Internet users in 2008 to 86% in 2009.
Asked about brand-related activities on social sites, 80% of female Internet users said they had become a fan of a product or brand on a social network. In addition, 72% had learned about a new product or brand, or joined a group around one. Web users were less likely to participate on Twitter in all the product- and brand-related activities. SheSpeaks chalks this up to women being more active on social networking sites overall than they are on Twitter.
67% of women reported they actually commented about products and 50% of women interview reported that they actually purchased a product online.
Users seemed more receptive to social network advertising than they were in 2008, with 9% saying that they always look at ads and often click through, compared with just 2% last year. Thirty percent look sometimes, versus 13% in 2008, and fewer users felt annoyed by ads or actively ignored them.
Dawn L Billings is an the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking, and an ardent advocate for women’s and children’s issues. Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Women’s Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.
Dawn is the creator of the NEW Parenting Tool called Capables, a revolutionary parenting tool and Toddler toy that ends whining and tantrums for good. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books, Dawn is also the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test
Also check out - TROVA NOW Women Business Directory, and TROVA Business Directory for all small businesses. TROVA in Italian means “Find”. Would you like for your business to be found easily both locally and nationally? That is what our new business directories TrovaBusinessDirectory.com and TrovaWomenBusinessDirectory.com are all about. For more information about how to get your women owned business listed for FREE visit: TrovaNow
2010
May 3
Goodness is always more powerful than Evil
Filed under: HLN Spotlights, Inspiring Articles, News & Events, Parenting
Goodness is Always more Powerful than Evil
A week or so ago I wrote a blog post entitled Light and Darkness, it was about someone stealing my son Tony’s bike lights that he required in order to ride home from work late at night. Well a week or so after someone stole his bike lights, someone cut through his bike chain and actually stole his bike. Hard to believe? Not really. If we truly understood how many things were stolen each day, I think we would be astounded and dismayed.
Again, my son got a ride home from work and this time he continued to believe that God had a plan. I am not saying he wasn’t really ‘ticked off’, he was. But he looked for a deeper meaning in the experience and he still did not allow it to steal his light. You know there are times when as a mother you have the opportunity to look at your children and be truly proud of the people they are becoming. This was again, one of those moments.
Tony isn’t making a lot of money right now. He is attempting to get out of debt and go back to get his master’s degree in teaching. This was not a good time for his bike to be stolen, (well, like there is a good time) but a few days later he calls me from work and he is chocked up. I am not sure what is wrong.
“What’s happened now?” I asked.
“My co-workers got me a new used bike and chipped in to pay for the new tubes it is going to need. It is a mountain bike and I am really humbled by there care and generosity. Isn’t it amazing how God works?” Tony was obviously very touched by this incredibly generous gift. One of Tony’s friends stopped by work when he learned what happened and brought Tony a massive bike lock. It will be very difficult to cut through this one.
Isn’t it amazing how God works? WOW, the answer is always, “Yes.” No matter how much people attempt to steal from you, always remember that goodness will always be more powerful than evil.
Dawn L Billings is an the author of hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking, and over 20 books Dawn is an active advocate for children’s issues. As the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Women’s Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations , Dawn is a great supporter of women in business.
Dawn is the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test
Check out our women networking events and find a gathering near you! You will be so glad you did. Also check out - TROVA NOW Women Business Directory, and TROVA Business Directory for all small businesses. TROVA in Italian means “Find”. Would you like for your business to be found easily both locally and nationally? That is what our new business directories TrovaBusinessDirectory.com and TrovaWomenBusinessDirectory.com are all about. For more information about how to get your women owned business listed for FREE visit: TrovaNow
