Podcast review of Jack's Notebook

Jack's Notebook by Gregg Fraley Review by SKI via MP3 or on iTunes

Jack's Notebook by Gregg Fraley

Try it, you’ll like it. My first business novel was probably, The One Minute Manager. It was not until 1992 that I read Goldratt’s The Goal. This past week, I read Gregg Fraley’s, Jack’s Notebook. If you are not a fan of this format, I can relate. They seem to be long on "fluff" and woefully short on "how to" advice. And yet, I really do believe that it helps the reader stay involved, which should increase the number of buyers actually completing any given text. Jack’s Notebook A business novel about Creative Problem Solving Guess what? You can judge a book by its cover! At least this one. When it arrived, I carefully opened the package, and was pleasantly surprised. Seems everyone is an author today, but not every author has a real publisher like Thomas Nelson behind them. First, it is hard bound. The jacket cover is very well done. It sets the mood, as does the chapter break cover pages. Each sets up the coming chapter with a few words and a distinctive style that says, "Hey, pay attention. This is important!" Content This is first and foremost a book about problem solving. Fraley wants to share how important the creative process is to that larger goal. And he pulls it off very well. The perfect blend of business to personal story telling, much like Eli Goldratt did in, The Goal. So few people want to acknowledge that families are as much an ‘organization’ as IBM. Maybe even more complex! The graphics hit the perfect balance. I hate books that are full of charts and graphs. They break my concentration! Fraley also takes advantage of his speaking talents by following (in book form) the three concepts applied by great speakers: 1)Tell ‘em what you are going to tell them; 2) Tell ‘em; 3) Tell ‘em what you told them. The CPS (Creative Problem Solving) model seems well documented, however, this is my first formal introduction. I love the fact that Fraley suggests that the best use involves “jumping around” in one’s application of the key components as necessary, given the dynamic nature of the challenges facing business organizations today. One note, this is not just for, “for profit” businesses. Hence his including a very robust set of personal distractions in the book, that, imagine this, need solved! At 242 pages, it is a little long for my attention span. But methinks each page was necessary. That is my biggest compliment to Gregg Fraley: I am convinced that the content is perfect for the task of sharing CPS and the importance of creativity in problem solving. Need a breakthrough? Buy and read, Jack’s Notebook. Today. Jeff ‘SKI’ Kinsey ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

POW! by Andy Nulman

POW! Right between the Eyes Andy, please send me one of those free books. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey Throughput.us LLC PO Box 252 Dover, OH 44622 Thx.

President attacks Rush Limbaugh

Guess we must go overseas to hear the truth

From the Telegraph in the UK: The president told Republican leaders from the House: "I won. I'm the president... You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."

He does understand that he won only 52.9% of the popular vote, right? So much for the healing approach we all hoped for. -ski

Happy Friday

Its Friday, be happy.

"Any day you wake up, and you do not have a white chalk outline around your body is a great day!" —Les Brown

PE man Sworn in

44th President of the USA

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics..."

Let the healing begin.

Jonathan at $JAVA and Sun Storage 7000

Sounds like the old Sun I loved... I remember when the fastest servers in the farm were Sun Microsystems. You know, ten or so years ago. Here is a great post that talks in terms of leadership of all places, in the datacenter! Jonathan Schwartz means well, but his bookstore metaphor also serves to point out how poorly Sun sales are doing... the quarter ending in September 2008 was a disaster, giving way to a loss of over $1.6B (yes, billion)... which gave way to the announcement of 6,000 layoffs last November. Jonathan can you say, "Focus"? Case in point, in this blog post, he tells us about an offer to try this new Sun Storage 7000 device for free. But if you follow the link, good luck finding the offer. Talk about burying the lead! On the page that loads, there are nine products (above the fold, so to speak) on my screen. Yes if you review them, you will find the 7000 offer. Why should I have to work that hard? Come on guys, as I have suggested before (and repeatedly), how about some focus? And some old fashion aligning of tactics with a coherent strategy... and then some real execution. Sure, your stock price doesn't suck as bad as it did the end of November 2008, but at $3.97 a share, it is a long ways off the twenty bucks it was worth when you took over. Yes, the economic conditions are partly to blame. Maybe $JAVA shares would be selling at ten bucks as a result of our economic woes. So what happened to the other six bucks? The marketplace rewards effective leadership. Effective leadership requires the ability to execute. Any of this sound familiar? From that same Mercury News article:

"Sun said the layoffs will save the company $700 million to $800 million a year, starting in its next full quarter. The company expects one-time costs of $500 million to $600 million over the next 12 months associated with the layoffs."

Anyone else see the flaw in this logic? Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah www.linkedin.com/in/consultski ski@throughput.us FYI: I am only being tough on Sun because I care. Disclaimer: At this moment I do not own any $JAVA ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Tim Cook $AAPL iCEO

On the sad news that Steve Jobs' health requires a break in the action, comes the good news that Tim Cook will serve as the "hands on, day to day, go to guy" during the interim. Long time readers will recall my enthusiasm for Cook when Jobs hired him away from Compaq with a $500K signing bonus. Basically, Cook is worth his weight in gold. A solid operations guru of the first order. No, he cannot replace Jobs. And I doubt that is his charge for the next few weeks. I feel better, and I am sure Steve does as well. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah www.linkedin.com/in/consultski ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Eliminate Mistakes

Not going to happen! We are all humans and humans make mistakes. Period. But that is not so bad. I love the expression that if two of us have the same exact opinions, then one of us is not necessary. If we never made mistakes, we could not learn. It was said that Tom Sr. ran IBM in that mode: "The more mistakes, the more chances for breakthroughs." Yes, I paraphrased (again). Make a decision. Put yourself out there! Make something happen; and if you need help picking up the pieces, call me. I love to mentor business men and women that have dreams and are not afraid to pursue them. Life is too short to sit on the bench and await your turn in the social security sign up line. Got an idea? Lets chat. I call it, "Thinking out loud." Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah www.linkedin.com/in/consultski ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Tenet 1: Get the Facts

Not always easy to do... The facts can be hard to find. In the old days, reporters had to have several sources before breaking a story. Today, it seems that a single opinion is enough for the mainstream media. I wrote Purple Curve Effect to explain how important 'focus' is to one's success. Focus on the right principals. Focus on the weakest link... both for personal growth as well as professional growth. That is why I called it a "Business Leadership Guide." Plus, the PDF version is now available for free. Kind of removes any excuses you were working on for why your 2009 might not be as successful as you hoped. Eliminate your risks, get your hands on a copy of Purple Curve Effect:

SKI's Throughput on Command

And be sure to let me know how it helps to turbocharge your efforts. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah Throughput.us LLC ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Prepare for the Wolf by Robert Roots

Les Brown was right... This is a great book. Robert Roots shares some great insights for us all. I love the subtitle: "Success Secrets from The Three Little Pigs." Are you a "Straw Person"? Wood? Or Brick? Do you know that straw spelled backwards is warts? If so, what does that indicate about your approach to the challenges of life?

"Don't take a Poll, Take Control!" Stop surveying your friends, family and sometimes even strangers before you make a decision." —Robert Roots

This is a fast read, but a book that you will refer to often... and share with family members. And with his new web site and google checkout, you can get your copy on its way quickly.

-ski

P.S. At just $12.95 plus S&H, you are going to want to order two copies. Minimum. There is at least one person that drives you crazy with their inability to make a decision. Give them a copy. Help them to prepare for the "flow" of success. Already successful? Take it to the next level.

---- Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Jeff SKI Kinsey and $$boxee at CES

I could use your vote... UPDATE: I lost; here are the winners boxee (the next killer app) is giving away a trip to Vegas and CES this week. They put on a contest for end users to contribute a video promo for boxee ("should be 60 seconds or less" — mine is 59!)... Here is link and voting poll: http://blog.boxee.tv/ces-video-pitches They also asked us to make a "quick pitch" on why we should be picked. Here is my pitch:

Pick me! Pick me!

Link to my boxee promo video:

http://www.vimeo.com/2718287

Quick pitch on “why me?”:

Have been using boxee for about a month and love it. I am on an iMac mini connected to big screen and use a wireless mouse. Going to build a Ubuntu box in a few weeks.

I am an Advanced Toastmaster. Have presented other technical offerings at events around the USA for over 10 years, including Vegas and Reno. Been active in Open Source Software since consulting at Lexis-Nexis in 1996.

-ski

So, if you are of a mind, please visit the site, and check out a few of the videos. Be sure to watch mine, listed #17 Jeff (SKI). If you are comfortable selecting mine, great. Please vote for me.

If not, I understand. We really do want the best of the best representing boxee at CES.

-ski

P.S. The winner will be announced by noon TOMORROW... so, as LBJ was heard to remark, vote quickly and vote often! No, seriously, just one vote per person. Thanks.

---- Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.

Malcolm Gladwell video from Pop!Tech

Malcolm Gladwell at Pop!Tech

"Outlier" is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience. In the summer, in Paris, we expect most days to be somewhere between warm and very hot. But imagine if you had a day in the middle of August where the temperature fell below freezing. That day would be outlier.

Besides talking about his newest book, Outliers, Gladwell mostly shares some great observations from life and sports. Twenty minutes long, but I watched it intensely the whole time. -ski P.S. It pays to have smart friends. I picked this link up from a blog that I follow, then learned that Dave Lakhani is on Twitter! Small world. Do you tweet?