Articles in the Book Nuggets Category
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Life »
Book Nuggets, Business »
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” — Walt Disney
Whether you are a “one-man band” or a large organization, your customers are why you are in business. By having clarity on the customer segments, the customer needs, and the potential profitability of each segment, you can choose more effective segments to serve for a more sustainable business.
Book Nuggets, Career, Effectiveness »
Book Nuggets, Business, Leadership »
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” — Winston Churchill
To predict explosive change before it occurs, you need to be able to distinguish a “spider” from a “starfish.” A starfish can replicate and spread a fluid set of ideas, beliefs, values, and norms. This is the hidden power behind things like Wikipedia, craigslist, Skype, and even the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Strengths »
“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.” — Jerry Garcia
It’s a Darwin world. If you want to survive, or thrive, in a Darwin world, you have to play to your strengths. More than that though, you need to differentiate and specialize. Specialization is nature’s strategy for winning.
Book Nuggets, Personal-Development »
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here’s another lens to use when you think about the role your peers played in shaping your personality. When we think of “peer pressure,” it’s easy to think of the negative. Obviously, this depends on who you hang with and their habits and practices whether the peer pressure is negative or not.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Leadership »
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness »
“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” — Mary Engelbreit
I’ve written about the Elephant and the Rider before. This post puts it together into a simple way to remember a change framework. Change isn’t easy, but a framework helps makes it easier and helps you build skill.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Intellectual-Horsepower »
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” — Maria Robinson
When you have to think your way through things, you wear yourself out. This is why routines and going into automatic pilot serve you. You don’t have to think your way through the basics and you can focus your thinking on higher level things up the stack.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Emotional-Intelligence, Intellectual-Horsepower »
Every now and then I come across a metaphor that really sticks and helps me think differently about something I see every day. The metaphor helps me look at these situations with a new lens, and, as a result, think, feel, and act more effectively.
I’ve heard of several ways to think about our thinking. I’ve heard of the left-brain and right-brain. I’ve heard of the emotional side and the rational side. This time, the metaphor is the Elephant and the Rider.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Emotional-Intelligence »
“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” – Fulton Oursler
If you carry regrets around with you, this post just might lighten your load. It’s easy to regret. It’s easy to second guess yourself, especially with 20/20 hind-sight. It’s easy to ponder the “what if’’s” and “what could have been’s.” It’s not so easy to let your regrets go.
Book Nuggets, Intellectual-Horsepower, Motivation »
While reading Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , by Martin Seligman, I thought it was great to see how the explanation of human behavior has changed over time. In the earlier days of psychology, popular opinion was that people are the product of their environment. Eventually, psychologists figured out that habits of thinking can be changed and that individuals can choose the way they think.
I didn’t realize how many competing schools of thought there were. I also like the fact that eventually it was possible …
Body, Book Nuggets »
When it comes to sleep patterns, some people really are night owls or early birds. According to John Medina in the book, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School , 30 % of the population is an owl or a lark (an early bird in scientific literature.) The rest of us are called hummingbirds where some of us are more owlish and some are more larkish and some are in between.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Learning »
I’m a fan of using checklists to improve results. Checklists are powerful tools for jogging your memory, reducing stress, and sharing know how. Fighter pilots use checklist effectively to eliminate task saturation, take away workload, and avoid forgetting something critical. Many businesses use checklists to train new hires as well as run everyday operations.
Book Nuggets, Career, Personal-Development »
I’m a fan of lenses to help me get a better perspective or vantage point. If you’re looking for a job or thinking about your career, you can use Holland’s theory of career choice to help you find a better fit. John L. Holland identified 6 personality and work environment types. According to Holland, if you can match your personality type and your work environment, you can improve your success and satisfaction.
Book Nuggets, Effectiveness, Strengths »
I like learning the language around a given topic to build precision and depth. When you have a language for something, it helps you think, organize, and share knowledge more effectively. The same is true for strengths. Your strengths are among your greatest assets. Simply put, they help you give your best where you have your best to give. To find, study, and explore your strengths, you should know the language of strengths.

