Book Review: Rules of Thumb by Alan M. Webber

I love Confucius. And Sun Tzu. And Tom Peters.

I love profound little learning nuggets, so when I saw a book titled "Rules of Thumb", I bought it immediately.

Title: "Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self"
Author: Alan M. Webber

Genre: Business
Summary: The cofounder of Fast Company Magazines shares 52 insights that he learned from the best...

Favorite Quote: Here are my three favorite rules from the book.

1. Rule #11: Speed = Strategy
2. Rule #23: Keep Two Lists: What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you up at night?
3. Rule #34: Simplicity is the new currency.

Strengths: A quick read. Clearly written. A number of good stories.
Weaknesses: Of the 52 rules, only 5 were 'a-ha' to me. Too many of them seemed like a Tom Peters remix to me. If you're going to respin old standards, you had better write brilliantly. Mr. Webber writes functionally, not brilliantly.

Conclusion: If you've never seen a book like this, you'll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, flip through it in a bookstore.
Post-it Flags: 6 flags

* 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.

Book Review: Dancing in the Mind Field by Kary Mullis

I've got a week off from my Masters program... which means I get to pick my own reading!

Surprising even myself, I choose to dig into Nobel Prize winner Kary Mullis' "Dancing Naked in the Mind Field". 

I found it in a used book store and was hooked after reading the chapter "The Attack of the Loxosceles Reclusae" a hilariously off color recounting of his reaction to a series of spider bites.

The whole book fits this profile - funny, clever, and surprising at every turn. Science should never be boring, but sadly, it usually is.

Well, fortunately, Kary isn't a geek in a white coat. Let me rephrase that... he is a geek in a white coat, but he's also much more.

His childhood stories of launching rockets to see if the frog astronauts come back, of mixing random chemicals to see how they react (often badly), his fascination with bodies (particularly female ones)... these are all stories from my youth (and the youth of a million American males like me).

One of my favorite books is Michael Crichton's (yes, the Michael Crichton of ER and Jurassic Park) "Travels" - an autobiographical journey into what's possible, if not explainable, in this world. I had always hoped for "Travels 2", but Crichton died a few years back. 

Fortunately, it looks like Mullis wrote it for him (and me).

Here's one of my favorite straightforward rants from the book:

The temperature of the earth is due to the size and shape of the orbit that it follows around the sun, the angle that its rotational axis is tilted to its orbit, the length of its days, the radioactive decay and residual gravitational heat deep below the crust, and the elements that were here from the beginning, and God knows what else, but not us.

We are a thin layer of moss on a huge rock. We are a little biologic phenomenon that makes words and thoughts and babies, but we don't even tickle the soles of the feet of our planet.

I don't have to agree with all his opinions to enjoy all his stories.

Here's an article about him, if you're interested.

Book Review - Gut Feelings

Midway through my graduate program in Adult Education, I'm finding that I don't have a lot of time for extra reading.
So, I'm pleased that I've found some time this week in La Paz. Today was a windy day with rough waters, so I was able to finish "Gut Feelings".

Title: Gut Feelings
Author: Gerd Gigerenzer

Genre: Psychology, Business, Cognitive Science
Summary: As per the subtitle, Gut Feelings explores "The Intelligence of the Unconscious"

Favorite Quote: Here are my three favorite quotes from the book.

1. "Complex behavior does not imply complex mental strategies."
2. "...people adapt to their environments much as gelatin does; if you wish to know what form it will have when it solidifies, also study teh shape of the mold."
3. "...natural language is more sophisticated than logic."

Strengths: Entertaining and educational. It's an enjoyable book that's easy to read, with clear examples. I also appreciate the working definition of instict as "a judgement that appears quickly in conciousness, whose underlying reasons we are not fully aware of, and it is strong enough to act upon."
Weaknesses: The second half of the book dragged. It didn't really add anything new to the first half, in my mind.

Conclusion: Worth a read if you find it in a used book store.
Post-it Flags: 9 flags
* 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.

Book Review: "Don't Shoot The Dog" and the Ten Laws of Shaping

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been interested in behavioral training since my visit to Sea World's "Trainer for a Day".

While relaxing in Cabo San Lucas, I finished reading pioneering dolphin trainer Karen Pryor's "Don't Shoot The Dog": a must-read for anyone who teaches, trains, or learns (and yeah, that pretty much covers everyone).

Title: "Don't Shoot The Dog"
Author: Karen Pryor, 
Genre: Behavior, Psychology, Training, Animals

Summary: to quote the book's subtitle, "The New Art of Teaching and Training"

Favorite Quote:  Instead of a quote, here are her ten laws of shaping behavior:

1. Raise criteria in increments small enough that the subject always has a realistic chance for reinforcement.
2. Train one aspect of any particular behavior at a time. Don't try to shape for two criteria simultaneously.
3. During shaping, put the current level of response onto a variable schedule of reinforcement before adding or raising the criteria.
4. When introducing a new criterion, or aspect of the behavioral skill, temporarily relax the old ones.
5. Stay ahead of your subject: Plan your shaping program completely so that if the the subject makes sudden progress, you are aware of what to reinforce next.
6. Don't change trainers in midstream: you can have several trainers per trainee, but stick to one shaper per behavior.
7. If one shaping procedure is not eliciting progress, find another; there are as many ways to get behavior as there are trainers to think them up.
8. Don't interrupt a training session gratuitously. That constitutes a punishment.
9. If behavior deteriorates, "go back to kindergarten": quickly review the whole shaping process with a series of easily earned reinforcers.
10. End each session on a high note, if possible, but in any case quit while you're ahead.

Strengths: Entertaining and clear with excellent examples.

Weaknesses: No photos?

Conclusion: As I said earlier - a must read for teachers, trainers, and learners.
Follow all these steps and you might get this result (a dolphin even I can ride!).

Post-it Flags: 37 flags

* 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.

12 Types of Story: from Beyond Bullet Points

I had lunch with my buddy Bill Wundrum the other day - I love Black Angus' Cheesy Steak Sandwich, by the way - and we ended up talking about presentations.

At some point, I was telling Bill about Beyond Bullet Points, the excellent book by Cliff Atkinson . Cliff wants us to throw away our bulletpoints, and embrace a storytelling approach.
And you know what? I agree.

I'm tired of doing all the heavy lifting and trying to figure what the hell the presenter is trying to say, as he/she buries me in animations and data.

One of my favorite parts of this book is when Cliff points out 12 types of story.

1. Historical Narrative
2. Crisis
3. Disappointment
4. Opportunity
5. Crossroads
6. Challenge
7. Blowing the Whistle
8. Adventure
9. Response to an Order
10. Revolution
11. Evolution
12. The Great Dream

Before you create your presentation, ask yourself, "Which of these stories do I want to tell?

Book Review: Snoop

When I saw this book at Borders, it immediately got my attention.

I often refer to myself as an 'amateur anthropologist'. Living overseas for ten years forces you to watch people closely, since language often fails.

Besides, who doesn't like to snoop?

We all make judgements about people based on what's in their office, apartment, or car.
But we don't know how accurate or inaccurate those judgements are, until we get to know them better.

This book offers to help us make better assessments.

Title: "Snoop: What your stuff says about you"
Author: Sam Gosling
Genre: Psychology
Summary: "what we would find if we look at your belongings."

Favorite Quote: Instead of quotes, I'll share Gosling's three broad 'mechanisms of space'. These are the clues we should be looking at:

1. identity claims - objects that identify who we are, or want to think we are. These could include the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, music we listen to, or posters on our walls.
2. feeling regulators - objects that help us maintain a mood . These could be photos of loved ones, inspirational posters, artwork, or incense.
3. behavioral residue - the 'things between the things' - like teapots that are never used, as opposed to teapots that are never cleaned.
   

Strengths - These three distinctions were very interesting to me. There were some excellent examples and quite a bit of additional information.

Weaknesses - I was excited by the first chapter, but all the distinctions were declared in the first 11 pages. I kept waiting for some kind of 'procedure' for looking at an office or a bedroom, but it never came.

Conclusion: I'd recommend browsing this in your local library. The subject is interesting, but it didn't deliver the depth I expected. Gosling delivered the 'what?' and the 'so what?', but we never got the 'now what?'.

Post-it Flags: 15 flags
* 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.

Weird isn't Good.... Weird isn't Great... Weird is Mandatory!

In his speech that's captured on the DVD "Tom Peters Live: Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age", Tom is adamant that we need to surround ourselves with the lunatic fringe. 

Everything important comes from the edge... not the middle.

His comments reminded me... a couple months ago, in Pt. Reyes Station, I bought a book. The cover caught my eye - like seeing a familiar face in an airport. Not quite a friend, just something confusingly familiar. 

Oh, yeah... I remember you, I thought. It was the art of Lynda Barry. I remembered her art from 'underground' newspapers in the late 80's, early 90's - before I moved to Asia.

She was in the same papers that carried pre-Simpsons Matt Groening's strip "Life in Hell". I loved Life in Hell. Lynda's work however, freaked me out a little. Still, I found myself compelled to read it every week - like looking at a traffic accident.

Anyway, I bought the book. And guess what? It's incredible.
Did she change? Or did I change?

Maybe my years in Japan opened me to her approach?

Does it matter? I wonder...

Here are five lines from the book that particularly grabbed me:

• "The thing I call 'my mind' seems to be kind of like a landlord that doesn't really know its tenants"
• "What year is it in your imagination?"
• "Something can only become an illusion after disillusionment. Before that, it is something real."
• "What do drawing, singing, dancing, music making, handwriting, playing, story writing, acting, remembering, and even dreaming all have in common? They come about when a certain person in a certain place in a certain time arranges certain uncertainties into certain form."
• "I believe this happens to most of us. We are still singing, but secretly and all alone."

Buy this book for the art. Buy this book for the writing. 

Buy this book to free your mind. Buy this book because it frightens you. 

Frankly, I don't care why you buy this book.

But... buy this book...

• Lynda Barry's "What it Is"
  

Book Review: slide:ology

"slide:ology" is a recent release by Nancy Duarte of Duarte Designs - one of the worlds leading presentation design firms. Her team put together the presentation for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth".
It's a beautifully designed book, as one might expect.

Title: "slide:ology"

Author: Nancy Duarte
Genre: Business, Communication, Design, Presentation

Summary: The book is subtitled "The art and science of creating great presentations". I would be more comfortable summarizing it as "the art of creating great presentation graphics".

Favorite Quotes:

• "Data slides are not really about the data. They are about the meaning of the data."
• "To succeed as a presenter, you must think like a designer."
• "Help them see what you're saying."

Strengths:

• I love the mindmapped 'Acknowledgments' page!
• There's a great section on conceptual diagrams.
• Plenty of case studies and 'before and after' examples.
• Some fantastic suggestions for creating powerful movement in your slides.

Weaknesses:

• Audience Analysis again gets the short end of the stick (4 pages out of 275). I haven't found a book yet that really addressed audience analysis properly.
• There is quite a bit of information that would be considered esoteric by most business presenters (color wheels are one example)

Conclusion: Easily the best book available on slide design. Be aware that this book focuses more on visual presentation skills than on personal presentation skills. If that's what you're looking for (and trust me, you should be - I've seen your presentations or ones like them) then this book will definitely help you.

I'll be attending a seminar at Duarte Design tomorrow to practice these principles. I'll let you know how it goes!

Post-it Flags: 10 flags

* 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.

Book Review: "Hard Optimism" by Price Pritchett

I’m a passionate advocate for the optimistic view of life.
In fact, I was 22 when I made the conscious decision to cut negative people out of my life.

So, if you haven’t heard from me since then, you now know why...

This book about optimism caught my eye at Stanford Bookstore, so I read it on a cross-country trip.

Title: "Hard Optimism"

Author: Price Pritchett

Genre(s): Business, Self-help

Summary: “How to Succeed in a World Where Positive Wins”

Favorite Quote:

• “No sense being pessimistic. Wouldn’t work anyway." – Seen on a bumper sticker

Strengths: It’s a good looking book. Nice graphics. Feels good. The tone is conversational. I don't disagree with any of the content. 
Weaknesses: Rare is the book that I don’t learn something from. So this is, technically, a rare book.
Seriously, there isn't much here that isn't better read elsewhere.
Instead of the chapter titled "Go for Flow", read "Finding Flow".
Instead of the chapter titled "Play to Your Signature Strengths", read any of the Gallup or Marcus Buckingham books. The only heft to this book comes from the high quality paper.

Conclusion: Pass on it.

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.

Book Review: "Oxymoronica" by Dr. Mardy Grothe

Another outstanding collection of phrases compiled by Dr. Mardy Grothe, “Oxymoronica" focuses on, of course, oxymoronic statements.

Title: "Oxymoronica"

Author: Dr. Mardy Grothe

Genre(s): Reference, Communication, Creativity

Summary: to quote the book's subtitle: "paradoxical wit and wisdom from history’s greatest wordsmiths"

Favorite Quote: I'll give you five:

1. "The best things in life aren’t things." – Ann Landers
2. "First I dream my painting, then I paint my dream” – Vincent Van Gogh
3. “It’s an impossible situation, but it has possibilities” – Samuel Goldwyn
4. “Their bodies were so close together that there was no room for real affection” – Stanislaw Lec
5. “You can’t make anything idiot-proof because idiots are so ingenious” – Ron Burns

Strengths: Like all of Dr. Grothe’s collections, it's funny, inspiring, and educational.
Weaknesses: It gives me an inferiority complex?

Conclusion: I’ll summarize with my own oxymoron - This book is so smart it makes me feel dumb.

Post-it Flags: 35 flags
* 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.

Book Review: "What Shamu Taught Me about Life, Love and Marriage" by Amy Sutherland

I'm curious about learning theories and I've always been fascinated by animals, so when I heard that I could book a "trainer for a day program" at SeaWorld two years ago, I had to do it.

It was a great event. I learned a lot about dolphins, a lot about training, and... I got to ride a dolphin.

That's me in the photo below, and it's a heckuva ride!

Since that time, I've been looking for a good book about animal training.

Not a 'how-to', since I'm not looking to train animals, but a look at behavioral training applied to animals in comparison to human training, with some pointers.

I'm sure there's a very good book in this, but I haven't found it yet.

It certainly wasn't "Whale Done!" which - besides it's awful title - is too lightweight to be of any real interest.

So, I was intrigued when I saw "What Shamu Taught Me about Life, Love and Marriage" by Amy Sutherland. In this book, Amy discusses lessons she learned from animal trainers that she then tried to apply at home.

Title: " What Shamu Taught Me About Life Love And Marriage"

Author: Amy Sutherland

Genre(s): Self-help, Relationships, Behavioral Training, Animals

Summary: “Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers"

Favorite Quote: I'll give you five lessons from the book instead:

1. Consider what you are reinforcing - Any interaction is training. We're always teaching or reinforcing some behavior, so be clear what it is you want to reinforce.
2. Ignore what you don’t like - Negative feedback rarely works. Better to ignore and redirect.
3. Use incompatible behaviors - A dog can't chew on the coach and a tennis ball at the same time. An employee can't chitchat and clean up the stockroom at the same time. Substitute
4. Know your species - Know them really well. Know what makes them tick and what pisses them off. Know their patterns so you see when they're off. Know what you cannot change.
5. Don’t act like a prey animal around a predator - Don't be a victim...

Strengths: It's an engaging read. There are some interesting lessons. Amy Sutherland is a likable guide through this world of animal training.
Weaknesses: It’s written more as a memoir than as a ‘how-to’. If you’re looking to steal some training tips, this probably isn’t the best book.

Conclusion: My search continues. I like Amy Sutherland’s writing style and will be reading “Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched”, but I’ve also started reading Karen Pryor’s “Lads Before the Wind” as I continue my search for the book that gives me some clear tricks and tips.

Post-it Flags: 17 flags
* 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.

Book Review: "Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Field Guide" by Patrick Lencioni

I’m on record as hating, wait, no… make that HATING management books that are written as ‘fables’, ‘parables’, ‘novelettes’, or that look remotely like children’s books.

My skeptic-meter goes straight to red when I see books like “Whale Done”, “Who Moved My Cheese”, “The Offsite ”, “Our Iceberg is Melting”, or any of Patrick Lencioni’s ‘Leadership Fables’ in the business section of my favorite bookstore.

Obviously, that’s my problem, as many love the story format. By not reading these books there’s a risk that I’ll miss out on some good ideas.

In the case of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” that’s exactly what happened. I tried to read the book three times, laughed my ass off by the end of page two (and not in a good way), and put the book down. As a result, I missed out on a very useful model.

Fortunately, this Field Guide was released for folks like me.

Title: "Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team"
Author: Patrick Lencioni
Genre(s): Business, Teams, Training, Facilitation
Summary: to quote the back of the book - "practical guidance for overcoming the Five Dysfunctions"

Favorite Quotes: I'll give you three:

1. “The key ingredient in building trust is not time. It is courage."
2. "Lack of conflict is precisely the cause of one of the biggest problems that meetings have: they are boring."
3. "Peer pressure and the distaste for letting down a colleague will motivate a team player more than any fear of authoritative punishment or rebuke.”

Strengths: The model is clear and intuitive. It resonates. Lencioni gives concrete examples and actions for overcoming the dysfunctions.
Weaknesses: It’s boring, where's the drama? No, I kid… I kid... Seriously - this book is perfect. Pair It with Lencioni’s hugely entertaining DVD and you’ve got a winning workshop for your team.

Conclusion: The ‘Five Dysfunctions’ is one of my (and my clients) favorite workshop tools. This Field Guide delivers the model effectively, with no fat.

Post-it Flags: 21 flags
* 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.

Book Review: "Emotional Design" by Donald A. Norman

I found Donald A. Norman's Emotional Design in a used bookstore a few months back, and read it on a plane. In the book, Norman explores 'why we love (or hate) everyday things'.

Here is the first chapter of the book.

Title: "Emotional Design"
Author: Donald A. Norman

Genre(s): Design, Business
Summary: to quote the books subtitle: "Why we love (or hate) everyday things"

Favorite Concept:

Norman argues that our feelings about design work on three levels

1. Visceral - the appearance of the design
2. Behavioral - the pleasure and effectiveness of use
3. Reflective - the self-image, memories, and personal satisfaction related to the design.

Testing these against the design of my favorite 'everyday object' - my 2005 PT Cruiser - I find the following:

1. Visceral - Yes, I enjoy the look of my car. I like the color, the roundness of line, and the 'friendly, but sporty' theme that's reinforced by the roll bar.
2. Behavioral - Yes. It's a really comfortable car to sit in. The doors have a satisfying weight to them. The 2.4 liter turbo jumps when I need it to. The convertible top is very easy to use.
3. Reflective - Well, I think of myself as a 'top-down' guy. My last three vehicles have been low-maintenance convertibles (Samurai, Sidekick, and now PT Cruiser). My hair lends itself to the wind-blown look. I love the feeling of the sun beating on me on the way home. This car definitely reinforces my self-image.

Strengths: Reading this book has made me consider - how can I design learning experiences that work at all three levels? It seems that we focus 70% of our effort on the Behavioral aspect, 20% on the visceral, and only 10% on the reflective.
Weaknesses: While I found myself nodding in agreement with the book, there were no 'a-ha' moments for me.

Conclusion: It's a solid book that will challenge me to consider the reflective impact of my offerings.

Post-it Flags: 9 flags
* 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.

Book Review: "i never metaphor i didn't like" by Dr. Mardy Grothe

I found this book in a Borders in NJ last week and picked it up. While I was getting my hair cut, my dad was gigling in the background at some of the lines.

Title: "i never metaphor i didn't like"
Author: Dr. Mardy Grothe
Genre(s): Reference, Communication, Creativity
Summary: I can't do any better than to quote the books subtitle: "a comprehensive compilation of history's greatest analogies, metaphors, and similes"

Favorite Quote: I'll give you three:

1. "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while, then a layer of scum floats to the top" - Edward Abbey
2. "No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." - Stanislaw Lec
3. "Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on what he is made of." - Josh Billings

Strengths: It's funny. It's smart. It teaches. What else do you need?
Weaknesses: None.

Conclusion: I immediately ordered three other books by Dr. Grothe (Oxymoronica, Viva la Repartee, and Never Let a Fool Kiss you or a Kiss Fool You.... 'nuff said?

Post-it Flags: 62 flags - I had a man stop me in Denver airport and say, "That' s the most tabbed book I've ever seen."
* 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.

Sedona, Michael Phelps, and Authenticity

We're back from a long weekend in Sedona, where I learned (or remembered) a few things.

1. It's great to hike with friends. I need to do more of that. Our friends Steve and Anna hiked up Cathedral with us, where we enjoyed the breeze and the views.
2. Radio Dogma is a rockin band...
3. There's nothing like watching sports in a group. Phelps' win in the 100M Butterfly is one of the 10 greatest sports moments I've ever witnessed. Seeing it in a bar with 50 or so other people amplified the experience. I'll have to think about the other 9 moments and get back to you.
4. Bookman's is an awesome used book store chain.
5. They call it Prickly Pear for a reason!

I've been reading "Authenticity" by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II over the weekend. It's an excellent book that explores what consumers expect from companies and products, in terms of authenticity.

I enjoy the 'progression of economic value' model and the relationship between economic offerings and authenticity.

1. Commodities - which require Natural authenticity: 'is it natural?'
2. Goods - which require Original authenticity: 'is it first of it's kind?'
3. Services - which require Exceptional authenticity: 'is it exceptional?'
4. Experiences - Referential authenticity: 'does it draw on shared memories or some other context?'
5. Transformations - Influential authenticity: 'does it call me to a higher goal?'

I'll work on making this blog meet those standards!

Book Review: 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

Perhaps the best book I've picked up this year, I recommend it for anyone who designs - and in case you didn't notice, we are all designers. Yeah, even you...

If you don't believe me, feel free to post and I'll happily change your mind for you :-)

Title: "101 Things I Learned in Architecture School"

Author: Matthew Frederick

Genre(s): Architecture, Design, Seeing, Thinking

Summary: Umm... read the title. It's a quick 202 pages long, with 2 pages dedicated to each of the lessons.

Favorite Quote: I'll give you three:

• #3 - "Figure-ground theory states that the space that results from placing figures should be considered as carefully as the figures themselves."
  It's what Dave Matthews calls "The Space Between". It's what the Japanese treasure in the silence between words. It's what graphic designers call 'white space'.
  The world would be a lot more beautiful if we all considered the stuff around our stuff.
  Do we give learners time to reflect on content? Do we leave room for note-taking? Do we give ourselves time and space to be centered?
• #18 - "Any design decision should be justified in at least two ways."
  In the book, Frederick uses the example of using a window to let in light and to frame a view. If your design element isn't doing at least two things, you probably aren't using it to full advantage.
  I wrote in yesterday's blog that I could use 'off-the-shelf' VisualSpeak images for my photo facilitation exercises, but I don't. Using my own images, I can integrate Asia-centric photos that resonate with my audience. It often brings up discussions about the photos, which builds rapport between me and my audience. Finally, I have the original digital images that I can use to document the event.
  My exercise design decision is justified in four ways.
• #67 - "A good graphic presentation meets the Ten-Foot Test."
  Any presentation should be legible from 10 feet. That means EVERY WORD AND NUMBER!!!
  I often use the 'drop test'. Print out your slides. Drop them on the floor. Can you read every word and number? No? Start over. Or make handouts - why is everyone so allergic to handouts?

Strengths: This book couldn't be any smarter or friendlier - in size, in feel, in structure, or in tone.
Weaknesses: None that I can think of...

Conclusion: In case I wasn't clear enough - buy this book!

Post-it Flags: 58 flags
* 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.

My Singapore Reading List in a nutshell...

One of my favorite things (okay, maybe the only thing I like) about long flights is that I get uninterrupted time to devour books.
During the 18 hour flight to Singapore and back, I read a lot of books.

Here's a recap of the books. Instead of reviewing each one, I'll just write one thing that I learned from each one, with a rating on a 5 point scale.

The Leaders Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning - 5/5
I learned about the power and structure of using a 'springboard' story to drive change in a business.

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp - 5/5
Twyla Tharp is one smart, practical artist.
I read this once. I'm about to start reading it again.
I learned that I have a lot to learn from a dancer, even though I don't dance.
I also learned that I should probably dance more...

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton - 5/5
(A great, great introduction to Philosophy)
I learned that I'm an Epicurean at heart - needing only Friendship, Freedom, and Thought to be happy.

The Charisma Effect by Desmond Guilfoyle - 5/5
I learned that Guilfoyle has something to add to the general knowledge on speaking. I also learned about the power of the 'yes not' - using phrases like 'isn't it?' or 'doesn't it?'.
I'll be trying those soon...

The Power of Personal Storytelling by Jack Maguire - 4/5
I learned Elizabeth Ellis' summary of Story Types ('Ha-ha' for funny stories, 'Aha' for stories that surprise, 'Ahhh...' for stories that touch deep emotions, and 'Amen' for stories that move the spirt).

Aha! by Jordon Ayan - 4/5
Ayer says that the creative spirit is made up of four compenents - Curiosity, Openness, Risk Tolerance, and Energy - that he calls CORE.

Public Speaking for Success by Dale Carnegie - 4/5
I learned that Dale Carnegie had this speaking thing nailed back in the 1930's.There hasn't been too much new added...

Unstuck by Keith Yamashita & Sandra Spataro - 3/5
I like the explanation of the two types of reaction to change - "Blue Sky Mode" for folks who want to clear the plate and start over; and "Tuning Mode" for folks who want to make incremental changes; and the description of the conflicts between the two.
I'm a 'bue-skyer', by the way.

Ideaspotting by Sam Harrison - 3/5
Looking at the graphic for 360-degree exploring, I realized that I don't spend much time in stores. That's a conscious choice, but it means I'm missing out on some opportunities to explore new spaces for ideas.
My plan? I'm going to enter one new store every week and explore it for 30 minutes.

How Koreans Talk by Choe & Torchia - 3/5
I learned a bunch of Korean proverbs, my favorite of which is "It has a dragon's head, but a snake's tail". It means having a great start, but a weak ending.

Wisdom in Chinese Proverbs by Chen & Li - 3/5
I learned that 'you cannot keep something that must go'
or 'qu xhi zhong xu qu zai san liu bu zhu'!

Popular Chinese Proverbs - 3/5
'The gift of gab will put you in good stead'
or 'san cun bu lan zhi she'.
I think I'm living proof of that one!

Speak Easy by Barry Gibbons - 3/5
I picked up a great line, 'the recipe for a good speech always includes shortening'.
I'll be stealing that for class!

10 Simple Secrets of the World's Greatest Business Communicators by Carmine Gallo - 1/5
Ummm... I learned that there are more words in the title than there are new ideas in the book.What I did like was his assertion that dynamic speakers speak faster - 190 or so words per minute versus the 150 words per minute that most people average.

Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead - 1/5 (for the nice design)
I learned that you can get a book published by collecting one hundred cliches ("Fear Causes Paralysis" and "You Are a Work in Progress", for example) and calling them "Radical Truths"!

Well, I said that I read a lot of books during this trip...
The other big thing I learned on this trip is that I love shopping for books in Singapore.
Borders and Kinokuniya carry all the US best-sellers, but they also carry many UK and Australian books, as well as those published in Singapore.
It's a big world, and all the ideas don't just come from America. What a surprise!

Airplane Reading

Flew back from Singapore yesterday.
Long flight, but we got an upgrade to business class, so that was nice.

On the flight, I read two books.

1) The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - Interesting book.
About a month ago,I read this article in Metro (which, by the way, is now downloadable in pdf format) . Besides having a GREAT title (I love puns), it intrigued me with it's tale of desperate men using NLP to pick up girls.
Anyway, I saw "The Game" in a Singapore book store and picked it up for some light in-flight reading.
The 1st third is hilarious, and highly entertaining, as we watch socially inept geeks learn the art of seduction.
The rest of the book, however, loses momentum as it heads into the inevitable morality tale and love story.
Still, worth reading if you want a glimpse into a world you will hopefully never enter on your own.

2) Freakonomics - An economist takes on some decidedly non-academic questions, like 'why do drug dealers live with their moms?', and 'what's more dangerous - a pool or a gun?'
He then answers those questions with data, stories, and surprises.
Challenge your assumptions!