Book Review: The Adventures of Johnny Bunko

Daniel H. Pink's A Whole New Mind is one of my favorite books. He's an engaging writer and he picks interesting and important topics.

I drove straight to the bookstore when I heard that his new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko - a career guide done in manga (Japanese comics) style - was released.

I've read a few manga - Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell holds a prominent spot on my bookshelf. enjoy the manga, the anime movies and the video series... I've even got a Major Kusanagi action figure on my bookshelf - but I'm not what you'd call a hardcore manga fan.

Major Motoko Kusanagi
Ghost in the Shell's Heroine protects my books

Still, you'd have to be blind not to see that visual communication is the next big wave in learning, and manga is a leading edge of that wave.
Hence, my interest in Johnny Bunko. I bought it and read it in one sitting.

Title: "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko"
Author: Daniel H. Pink
Genre: Manga, Business, Careers
Summary: to quote the book's subtitle, "The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need"

Favorite Quote: I have two - "There is no plan" and "Make excellent mistakes".

Strengths: Well, I applaud Mr. Pink for innovating. It's not without risk to write a non-fiction book in manga format. On the other hand, his audience - new college graduates - is ready for this. And the message is right on target. I don't have any major disagreements with the content.
Weaknesses: All the learning in this book could have fit in a manifesto (manifestos rock!!).
This, essentially, is an article, not a book.

Ghost in the Shell proved that a manga doesn't have to be simple or dumb.
In fact, I guarantee that you'll learn more and think more during a reading of Ghost in the Shell than you will in Johnny Bunko.

Conclusion: Maybe Johnny Bunko is the baby step we need to launch the next visual learning wave - but if you're interested in riding that wave, I'd suggest you pick up one of these:

• Ghost in the Shell - the science fiction manga that inspired "The Matrix"
• Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud's overview of comics as a visual language is proof you can learn through pictures.
• Flight Volume 2 - This anthology of 'sequential art' - as Will Eisner termed it - is inspired and inspiring. If you wonder what the medium is capable of - look here.

Post-it Flags: 1 flag
* Each time I find an interesting quote, model, image, or idea in a book, I mark it with a Post-it flag. The more flags, the more value I found in the book.

Network Icons

This isn't earth-shattering, but it's kinda cool for my IT friends.

Cisco has a page here, where they make network icons available to all.
So, if you're putting together a doc or presentation that needs a network diagram on it - you've now got em!

Trick or Treat Leadership

This... is... classic. A Halloween leadership bonus.

If you didn't see or hear Mike Singletary's post-game conference last week: it's must-see TV.

Mike is the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In his first game as coach, he sent one of his own players to the showers.

Some of my favorite quotes from the press conference.

• "It will change"
• "We hit people in the mouth, number one."
• "Number two: We cannot give them the game"
• "Number three: We execute"
• "I will not tolerate players that think it's about them when it's about the team"
• "Cannot play with them. Cannot win with them. Cannot coach with them... Can't do it."

As a leader, is this 'trick'? Or 'treat'?

He's positive. He's got clear values.

He's got a mission and vision.

And he scares everyone in the room...

So, what do you think? Trick or Treat?
Personally, I'd love to play for this guy...

Great Books at Bargain Prices

I get nothing for this...

But, I'm filling in my Peter Drucker collection at BookCloseouts.com, and found that a number of my most frequently recommended business (and related) books are available at great prices.

So, I'm passing along the news:

• $4.99 Egonomics by Marcum and Smith
  
• $5. 25 Go Put your strengths to work by Marcus Buckingham
• $5.99 The Origin of Brands by Al Reis
• $6.99 Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
• $6.99 The One Thing You Need to Know - audiobook by Marcus Buckingham
• $6.99 Oxymoronica  by Marty Groethe
• $6.99 The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

How to build Relationships in a Virtual Team? Table Topics

I found this in Sonoma, in a gift shop at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. I bought it immediately.

One of the challenges with distributed teams is that you never have the 'little' conversations that build rapport.

Conversations like:
"Is golf a sport?"
"A burger cannot be made of tofu."
Or "How would I look with a beard?"

A recommendation I often make to virtual teams is to ask a 'get to know you' question at the start of every staff meeting. This sounds good in practice, but eventually you run out of questions.

Well, that's no longer a problem.
TableTopics sells box sets with 135 questions for US$25.
Buy a box. My suggestion is to get the 'original version' for your team, expense it, and start using it.

I did this exercise with my peers and learned about the strangest weather that Henry, our learning partner in Taiwan, ever saw.
He went into a factory in China on a cloudy day and worked all day. When he left, something was different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly, he noticed that everything was white and realized that this was snow! He'd never seen it before.

I've known Henry for years, but had never heard this story.

You learn just as much from how someone tells a story as from the story itself.

Get to know your teammates (you might learn something).

No Shortcuts in Life?

My colleague Ken and I led a presentation workshop over the past two days. Anytime I participate in this class, one thing becomes obvious to me:

Whoever coined the oft-repeated phrase, "there are no shortcuts in life" was either stupid or lying.

For better or worse, there can be no question that presentation skills are one shortcut in life.

We've all known people who are really smart but can't present their ideas. Chances are they didn't get very far.

We also know people who aren't so smart, but can make a great presentation. Bet they got pretty far, huh?

The goal, of course, is to achieve both.

If you watch videos by famous scientists and researchers, you'll be surprised how many of them can give a good speech. Even the biggest geeks in the group can tell a good story and get his or her message across. 
Watch Richard Feynman, Francis Collins, or Buckminster Fuller to see what I mean.

I don't think that this is an accident.
They had to get funding. They had to get their ideas heard.

That wouldn't have happened if they couldn't communicate.

Here's Richard Feynman, a great storyteller (and Nobel Prize winner)

Next time you think that presenting is a pain in the butt, think again.

It may be just the shortcut you're looking for.

Almost Useless Learning #1: Crab Hunting

Gotcha!

I've never shaken the desire to catch animals and examine them.
As a kid, we used to climb into the swamps and marshes of upstate New York to catch insects for my friend Bob's terrarium.

I don't climb into swamps anymore, but I still like catching small critters.
Snakes are one of my favorites to catch and hold. They are amazing creatures.

Snake, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, California

Snakes are cool, but Angie will tell you how much I love catching geckos, lizards, and salamanders.
Whenever I see one, something primal in me is triggered.
Angie gets embarrassed when we're in a nice restaurant in Hawaii, Bali or Thailand and I spot a gecko.
"No," she says. "Stay seated."
I do, but barely...

Catch of the Day - Bintan Island, Indonesia

I don't know any secrets for catching snakes or geckos.
I mean, sure, you can use a net, or one of those handled thingys that Jeff Corwin uses to catch snakes.
But I'm not a pro, so I don't have those tools on hand.
I just run, chase, crawl, grab and catch.

In January, we were in India at Fisherman's Cove, south of Chennai.
The beach there is crawling with crabs, day and night.

In the day it's red crabs, at night it's ghost crabs.
I went out one night to get a closer view of the ghost crabs, but they're just too damn fast.
Sprinting, reaching, grabbing - they were always a step and half in front of me.

At one point, I reached for a crab and got a handful of sand. Frustrated, I threw it at the crab.
As the sand covered the crab, he just sat down. I guess he thought he was now underground and safe. Surprised, I just walked over and picked him up.

Hmmm....
I tried it again on a different crab. Same result. Toss a handful of sand on them and they just sit down and let you pick them up (not that they're happy about it - they will try to pinch you!).

It's almost embarrassing how proud I was (and am) of this discovery.
I had to bring Angie out and show her.

I don't know if this method works on other types of crabs.
I haven't had a chance to test the method elsewhere, but it works on Chennai ghost crabs!

I'm sure there are a couple of practical business lessons here,

• the value of perseverance
• being open to accidental successes
• necessity as the mother of invention
• that the point of frustration is often the point of innovation

but I just wanted to tell you how to catch crabs!!