20,000 Days and Counting

Title:  20,000 Days and Counting

Author:  Robert D. Smith

Rating:  Great

Reason for Reading:  Robert D. Smith is the manager and best friend of my favorite author Andy Andrews.

Format:  Hardcover

Summary:  20,000 Days and Counting is Robert D. Smith treatise on the importance of living intentionally, with a great appreciation for the passage of time.  As the title suggests, Robert began writing the book and taking his life more seriously when he calculated that he had been alive for 20,000 days (roughly 54 years), and decided to rededicate himself to living his life with intensity and not bound by fear.


Review:  20,000 Days and Counting is a great example of simple wisdom.  The book is short and the chapters are short, but full of so much great material.  I read the book in one train trip from downtown out to the suburbs.  Smith provides great examples of how others have used their time effectively, but not in time management format.  The book is all about appreciating the gift of your life, not transforming the reader into time efficient ninja.  If you want to develop a greater appreciation for what you can do, and doing those things you always wanted to do, read 20,00 Days and Counting.

Joseph

Other resources: You can find author at his website http://www.therobertd.com/ and follow him on twitter @therobertd

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Quiet Influence by Jennifer Kahnweiler

Title:  Quiet Influence

Author:  Jennifer Kahnweiler

Rating:  Great

BOOK GIVEAWAY:  I will give away a copy of Quiet Influence.  Please read the instructions below.

Reason for Reading:  I have been reading a series of books about introversion and leadership, such as Quiet by Susan Cain.

Format:  Softcover

Summary:  In Quiet Influence, Jennifer describes 6 leadership techniques that give introverts an  advantage over extroverts.  That’s not to say that extroverts can not use these techniques, but these techniques tap into the natural strengths of introverts.
For example, introverts are naturally inclined to use engaged listening and focused conversations when relating to others.  These can be powerful leadership actions.  Also, introverts tend to prefer to communicate in writing, a critical ability in an increasingly visual world.
Throughout the book, Jennifer provides examples of leaders using these techniques to have influence over others, often in ways that can be overlooked in a cursory glance.

Review:  I like that Quiet Influence is a straightforward and relatable book with examples and suggestions for anyone trying to leverage their introverted nature to expand their influence.  For each of the six tools Jennifer describes, she provides examples of how others have used it, and specific actions to apply them.  Jennifer also provides a cautious voice to help the reader develop the sense for when they are overusing that tools, and the subsequent pitfalls.
For a book so full of wisdom and practical information, Quiet Influence by Jennifer Kahnweiler is a fun read for anyone interested in how introverts can serve as leaders in a world that too easily overlooks how their natural strengths can benefit everyone.

Joseph Iliff

BOOK GIVEAWAY:  will give away a copy of Quiet Influence to someone who comments below with the answer to this question:  How do use your introverted nature to lead others?

Other resources:
Author website: http://jenniferkahnweiler.com/
Follow Jennifer Kahnweiler on Twitter @jennkahnweiler

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader by Mark Sanborn

Title:  You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader

Author:  Mark Sanborn

Rating:  Good

Reason for Reading:  I’ve read some of Mark’s other work, including his latest Up, Down, or Sideways (reviewed here), his blog, and his regular newsletter.

Format:  Hardback, borrowed from my local library.

Summary:  The book is short at just 100 pages, and very easy to read.  Mark shares his insight from years of consulting with companies across the country, and his own experiences as a customer, traveler, and parent.  Mark’s thesis in the book is that leadership is often found without association to a position.  He provides numerous examples of how the critical difference in the performance of a company or an organization is in the performance of an individual who embraced their power as a leader.  And he specifies this as leadership with a small l, as they often do not have a formal role that puts them in a leadership position on an organization chart.

Review:  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I will recommend it to my team members interested in being more effective in our workplace, especially those with a leadership title.  Mark’s examples of where an employee was intentional and thoughtful about their actions, making an enormous difference to the customer’s experience, are the kind of stories I’d like to hear about my own organization.  This book deserves a place on many “must read lists” for companies and organizations.

I may need to purchase a copy I can keep on my bookshelf.

Other resources: www.marksanborn.com

The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews

Title: The Traveler's Gift

Author: Andy Andrews

Rating: Good

Reason for Reading: This book was recommended by Dawn as one I would enjoy. She was certainly right on three fronts. First, it's fun to read. It plays like an action-adventure novel or mystery at times. Second, it is educational. The wisdom contained within is impossible to miss as one reads through the narrative. And third, the traveler visits different moments in history, and I am a history buff (but that quality is not necessary to enjoy and learn from the book). This book was purchased, and no compensation was provided for this review.

Summary: The Traveler's Gift is the description of Andy Andrews' Seven Decisions that determine personal success. Andy read 200-300 biographies of successful persons. From this, he identified seven principles at work int heir lives. The decisions they made led to their successes and revealed these principles. The book introduces the reader to each decision by taking the traveler, David Ponder, on a journey to meet an historical figure. These seven people of great influence each teach him a gift. Written like a novel or historical fiction, the narrative the author has composed teaches while it entertains.

Review: Not a self-help in the traditional sense of diagnosing the reader's problem and then providing the authors prescription, The Traveler's Gift instead walks the reader through the decisions with the protagonist, David Ponder. Unemployed and struggling, he begins to wonder if he can find success in life, or if he's just cursed. Through his travels, figures like Harry S. Truman, Christopher Columbus, and Anne Frank give him the decisions that determine personal success. Their advice to him is the author's advice to the reader, though you won't feel preached to. The advice is more like the Maltese Falcon or Holy Grail of a suspense movie or a mystery novel. You won't find the author suffering from a superiority complex. Nor will you find these solutions too shallow to be followed in real life. No "visualize" or "think outside the box" directives that go nowhere in 3-dimensional life. The reader can appreciate how real these principles are to the individuals David meets. Andrew's descriptions of them and their circumstances are compelling, even to a non-history buff. As you read, you'll find parallels to your own life and challenges, even if they don't compare to the Battle of Gettysburg in historical importance. Andrews asserts that everything you do matters, and therefore, are valuable when done well.

Reading like a novel, but educating like a self-help book, The Traveler's Gift is a must-read for all. Brief, compelling, and insightful enough to read every year, put it in your library, or that of a friend.

Devon

Other resources: www.andyandrews.com

Mastering The Seven Decisions by Andy Andrews

Title: Mastering the Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, an Owner's Manual to the New York Times Bestseller The Traveler's Gift

Author: Andy Andrews

Rating: Good

Reason for Reading: After reading and thoroughly enjoying The Traveler's Gift (TTG), this book is the logical next step. Even a casual reader of TTG can tell Andrews has more to say than could be squeezed into the book. Mastering the Seven Decisions (Mt7D) provides the context and commentary to flesh out the lessons. This book was purchased and given to me as a gift, and no compensation was provided for this review.

Summary: While TTG is told as a narrative (in fact, some booksellers and reviewers categorized it as fiction!), this book is solidly in the non-fiction, self-help category. Andrews provides a chapter on each of the 7 Decisions, providing examples and insight. Each decision is also described in a letter to Andrews from a famous person, including General Norman Schwarzkopf and Amy Grant. Peppered throughout the book are exercises where Andrews prompts the reader to write down thoughts, feelings, fears, and affirmations. The exercises help the reader find the specific connection between the principles he describes and how work in their life.

Review: Andrews lives up to the promise in the books title that this is an owners manual to TTG. The expanded descriptions of the 7 Decisions help the reader understand how they have been at work in their life. And, perhaps most importantly, how the reader can use a greater understanding of them to be more successful in the future. The exercises are tough, but quite valuable. Have a notebook and pen nearby as you read the book. Completing the exercises will take time and lots of lined notebook paper, but the rewards are worth it. The reader will be facing their fears and failures, evaluating their past, dreaming about their future, and finding resources and actions to be more and do more. The reader's past will become a wonderful education in the principles behind personal success. The reader's looming challenges will become the ingredients in a successful life.

Unlike a lot of self-help books, reading Mt7D and completing the enclosed exercises will produce something personal and tangible. The reader will finish the book with specific steps they can take to make different choices, and consequently find the destiny of their dreams.

Devon

Other resources: www.andyandrews.com

Related book reviews: The Traveler's Gift

Everyone Communicates Few Connect

Title: Everyone Communicates Few Connect

Author: John C. Maxwell

Rating: Good

Reason for Reading: This book was provided by Thomas Nelson publishers through their BookSneeze program in exchange for a review.  The publisher has had no influence over the content of this review.  The thoughts are solely my own.

Summary: Maxwell is a well-known leadership expert and speaker.  He has prepared numerous books about leading an organization and the principles of personal success.  This book specifically focuses on one important aspect of communication, that being how to develop a connection between speaker and listener.

Maxwell divides the book into two parts.  The first describes the principles behind connection.  Maxwell defines a connection as the quality of communication that increases the impact of the speaker on the listener.  It operates at an emotional level between the persons involved.  These principles are not the practical steps of public speaking, the kind of things one learns from speech class or Toastmasters International.  Maxwell is describing the difference between those who speak, present, and write with little effect on their audience, and those who make a connection with the audience that makes their communication highly effective.  It is the difference between those boring presentations and unnecessary meetings everyone has endured, and those speakers or presenters that have hit you right in the gut.  Maxwell describes this ability to make a connection as a skill that can be learned, not just an inherent quality that some speakers naturally have.

The second part describes what connectors do, the preparations they make, the attitude they assume, and the focus they adopt.  This includes finding common ground with the audience, making the experience enjoyable, and choosing inspirational messages.

Review: Maxwell uses humorous and insightful stories about himself and his career as a pastor, speaker, and teacher.  He describes how he failed to connect early in his career, learned to connect, and is now teaching others to do so.  Just the anecdotes about him are well worth the cost of the book.  I found lots of situations to which I could relate, either as a speaker or a listener.  The lessons gave me a new appreciation for how a leader can use these principles to increase the success of their team.

If you are a leader, you have to communicate.  Whether you embrace this aspect of serving as a leader or cringe at it, this book will help you do it better.  It is personable, funny, brief, and easy to read.  You'll feel like you sat down with Maxwell as he personally told you how he does what he does.  And that of course is the whole point!  He connects with the reader, providing an example of what he is espousing.

Devon

Other resources: www.johnmaxwell.com