Put Down the Duckie...

They don't make 'em like they used to: if the title of this post is unknown to you, click here for a quick trip to Sesame Street and an appropriate close to this week's posts on reading.

Ernie is having trouble learning to play the saxophone, so he asks for help. Hoots the Owl sings, " You gotta put down the duckie. Put down the duckie. Put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone!"

Yesterday I challenged you to the discipline of deliberate practice. If you're passionate about your vision, you'll put in the work of reading to improve yourself.

What duckie are you willing to put down today so that you can pick up a book and be an excellent leader in your organization?

One book.

Today.

Need a suggestion? Contact me.

Want to share a great book that other leaders might find helpful? Leave a comment.

Follow these guidelines for getting the most out of reading.

Put your reading into action!

Deliberate Practice Required

I'm borrowing the title quote and thoughts from James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner's excellent book "The Truth About Leadership". It's one of my top books of 2010 (read the full list here).

Researchers are clear about this point: It doesn't matter whether it's in sports, music, medicine, computer programming, mathematics, or other fields. Talent is not the key that unlocks excellence.

You need a particular kind of practice - deliberate practice - to develop expertise.

Since the theme this week has been all about books, reading, and learning, I want to paraphrase Kouzes and Posner's discussions on deliberate practice and apply them to reading.

Five Elements in the Deliberate Practice of Reading

• Design a reading discipline to specifically improve your performance - if you want to become an expert, you have to have a methodology, a clear goal, a way to measure success, and a specific process for accomplishing the goal.
• Reading has to be repeated a lot - sloppy execution is not acceptable to top performers. Read far and wide in your chosen field with sustained effort.
• Feedback on your results must be continuously available - every learner needs feedback. As you are reading, make it a practice to share your insights, comments, and questions with a group of peers, a mentor, or some other third party to help you analyze how you are doing.
• Reading is highly demanding mentally - developing expertise requires intense concentration and focus. Reading sessions need to be free of those daily interruptions that are commonplace in everyone's day-to-day routines.
• Sometimes reading isn't all that fun - while you should love what you do, deliberate reading practice is not designed to be fun. The knowledge that you are improving and getting closer to your dream of superior performance should outweigh the sacrifices you make.

The best leaders are the best learners.

The best learners are the best readers.

Want to join me on the "practice" field of reading?

My Favorite Books of 2010

To get to my favorite books of 2010, you need to understand the numbers. Through 11/30/10:

• 130 books checked out from my local library
• 61 books added to my personal library
• 15 magazines subscribed to monthly
• 12 blogs checked daily

I like to read; no, I LOVE to read!

Did I read every word of every book, magazine and blog post listed above? No. I have a selective reading process described here that helps me focus on the important stuff.

One of the reasons I'm talking about books is because of the time of year: the holiday book season. Bookstores are one of my favorite places to visit at any time, but especially so at Christmas. A holiday visit to your local bookstore can provide a personal oasis of calm in a frenzied shopping day. Books can spur the imagination and take you on journeys that you never thought you might go. Books are also a great gift idea for anyone on your list. Don’t know what to give? The holiday season is also the time when the books lists come out – you know, the best seller’s lists, the Top Ten this or that, or the Best 100 Books of all Time.

It’s in that spirit that I offer some of my favorite books published in 2010. Here are the titles only – I will leave the discovery of why I chose them to your own reading!

• The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence, Tom Peters
• Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to ask God for the Impossible, Steven Furtick
• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin
• The Christian Atheist: Believing in God But Living as if He Doesn’t Exist, Craig Groeschel
• Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer
• The Truth about Leadership: The No Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Truth You Need to Know, James Kouzes
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath
• The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith, Gabe Lyons
• Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, Nancy Duarte
• Buy-in: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down, John Kotter
• Lead with Your Customer: Transform Your Culture and Brand into World Class Excellence, Mark David Jones
• Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition, Alan Roxburgh
• Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently, John Maxwell

This is a highly subjective list, but I believe all the titles above would serve leaders in ChurchWorld well. As soon as I write the list, I'm not satisfied with it. There are many more candidates that had an impact on me, and literally dozens of books are on my "To Read" list I keep in my journal.

For me, reading is the ultimate way to develop yourself and get insight on becoming the best leader you can be. Steve Sjogren noted these reasons for reading:

• Reading increases your well-roundedness
• Reading gives you consistent sources to draw from
• Reading is very attractive to big thinkers and other highly skilled leaders
• Reading helps you develop insight
• Reading breeds wisdom

As 2010 winds down, will you consider taking a look at one of the books on my list – or chose one from another list?

You'll be glad you did.

Getting the Most Out of Reading

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, is someone I respect a great deal. I first met him at Catalyst 2009 during a Backstage Pass luncheon hosted by Hyatt and Thomas Nelson. He is a great blogger and speaker, and has some great thoughts on how to get the most out of reading. Here are a few of these; for the complete version, I highly recommend you follow the links and read his entire post.

How to Read a Non-Fiction Book

• Don’t feel that you need to finish-read till you lose interest; most books aren’t worth finishing
• Start with the author bio-understanding more about the author helps you understand the book
• Read the table of contents-leaning is often best when placed in context
• Quickly scan the whole book-giving the book a quick glance, especially at illustrations, charts, etc. will help you understand what is ahead
• Highlight important passages-mark anything that resonates with you for later action
• Take notes in the front or margins-the act of committing your thoughts and reactions to what you are reading will help you recall it later
• Use a set of note-taking symbols-see below
• Dog-ear pages you want to revisit-bookmark the really, really important passages
• Review the book and transfer actions to your to-do list-scan the book when finished for the key symbols mentioned above
• Share the book’s message-if the message in the book resonates with you enough to read it, then share it with others

Recovering the Lost Art of Note Taking

• Note-taking enables you to stay engaged with the book
• Note-taking provides a mechanism for capturing your ideas, questions, and actions
• Use symbols so you can quickly scan your notes later
• If an item is particularly important or insightful, mark it with a star
• If an item requires further research or resolution, mark it with a question mark
• If an item requires follow-up, mark it with an open square
• If an item requires action by someone else, mark it with an open circle
• Schedule time to review your notes

How to Retain More of What You Read

Hyatt has developed a system of summarizing his reading. He is currently using it not only in his personal reading but in a mentoring group he started early in 2010. The exercise he uses forces him to distill key insights from the book and then determine what he is going to do differently as a result.

The format of his summary consists of:

• Bibliographic heading-title, author, date
• Quick summary-one paragraph, distilling the essence of the book
• Key insights-Selected highlights from the book, with page numbers for further reference
• Personal application-two or three things you will do differently as a result of the book
• Meaningful quotes-any author worth reading is going to say things in a way that is worth remembering for later use

The key to the actions described above is to distill the entire book into one page (two if you add the section on Meaningful Quotes.)

The discipline of keeping it short makes the content easier to remember, thus retaining more of what you read.

And therefore more useful to your life.

Isn’t that what non-fiction reading is all about?

Reading 101

Leaders read...
Read to succeed...
Read to lead...

You've probably heard phrases similar to the above. You may agree with them, too - but do you practice them?

They're true.

In his very unique style, here is what noted leadership author and speaker Tom Peters has to say about reading in his book "The Little BIG Things":

Read!
Read Wide!
Surprise Yourself with Your Reading Picks!
Read Deep!
Read Often!
Out-Read the "Competition"!!!
Take Notes!
Summarize!
Share with Others What You Read!

With that spirit, in this week's blog posts I want to: share some reading insights I have learned along the way; look at some great ideas by Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt on reading and note taking; give you my version of the best books for 2010; and make you an offer and a challenge.

How to Read a Book

Literally - that's the name of a classic book by Mortimer Adler.  The first lesson of reading is to learn that you don't need to “read” each book the same way. Here are Adler's 4 levels of reading:

• Elementary Reading – What does the sentence say?
• Inspectional Reading – What is the book about?
• Analytical Reading – What does the book mean?
• Syntopical Reading – What does a comparison of books on the subject reveal?

Some books are only meant to be read at the first level; others are meant to be digested at some of the other levels. Know which is which!

To get the most out of a book in the least amount of time, try this strategy:

• Read the title.
• Read the introduction
• Read the Table of Contents
• Flip through the material, scanning the chapter titles and sub-headings. Note the words that stand out as bold, different colors, underlined, or italicized. 
• Examine the illustrations, captions, charts and diagrams. Read the pull-quotes and sidebars.
• Scan through the index looking for buzz words that interest you.R
• Read the first chapter.
• Flip through the book and read the first sentence of each paragraph. In a well written and edited book, the most important sentence containing the topic is usually the first sentence of the paragraph — but not always. 
• Read the last chapter. If there is an executive summary, read it.
• Read any other information on the cover or dust jacket.

If the book captures your attention after doing the above tasks, then by all means dive right in!

The converse is true: if a book doesn't capture your attention after a few attempts, stop reading it. Pick out another one on the topic - there are always more waiting for you!

While the knowledge gained from reading is important, the real benefit is from the habit of reading. When you are continually reading, you condition your mind to keep taking in new knowledge. Your thinking remains fresh and sharp. Your brain is always churning on new ideas, looking for new connections it can make. Every day you pour in more ideas, which your brain must find a way to integrate into your existing knowledge base. Frequent reading fires up your neural activity, even during the periods when you aren't reading.

Reading is a gift that you can unselfishly give yourself, one that truly keeps on giving. Why don’t you bless yourself and those around you by reading a new book this week?

Then share it with someone!

Making the Grade

Spending Thanksgiving with my family in the house (four children, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren) was a great reminder about the power of lifelong learning.

• At two months, my granddaughter is a sensory sponge. She is attracted by bright lights and faces, a little jumpy at loud sounds, and likes to view the world from an upright position.
• At almost three, every experience with my grandson is a learning opportunity. Climbing in McDonalds's PlayPlace with his aunt, walking through the store amazed by all the things to look at, asking to read books all the time, and creating his own world with a firehouse playset, he is soaking it all in, learning and applying his lessons in life.
• At eighteen, my youngest son "volunteered" to ride with me to take my grandson back to his home after a spending a couple of days with us. The two hour ride started off with a couple of bouts of sickness, but all in all was quiet. Some lessons you can't find in books or on the cloud.
• All the rest of our kids - spread out from age 22 to 29 - through their stories of life, speak volumes of the learning that is occurring.
• As for my wife and I, well, we learned you can go through every dish and pan twice (or more) while preparing a big Thanksgiving meal; that the kitchen ballet to pull that off is funny to watch at times; that a long walk with kids of all ages running, walking, or being pushed in a stroller is one of the best sights of all.

I have deliberately focused on my family, but the idea behind this post is applicable to everyone of any age in any organization:

To Make the Grade, Lifelong Learning is a MUST!

The world we live in is accelerating; the pace of life is increasing, and to maintain this pace you must always be LEARNING.

Learning certainly means different things for different ages and stages of life, but I am going to suggest that one of the best ways to learn is to READ.

Want to know more? Come back tomorrow to begin a journey in reading!

Reading the Year Out

The love of reading is a gift given by my father at an early age and one I put to constant use. I'm closing out 2009 with my annual reading post: "How to Read a Book", and my Top 10 Books of the Year.

Reading is more than a hobby to me: it's a passion. To help feed this passion and not go totally broke, I am a frequent visitor to our local library. In 2009, I checked out 130 books, plus dozens of magazines. I also added another few dozen titles to my personal library. I'm grateful for friends who give me books and an editor who regularly sends me publisher's preview copies. In 2010, I'm looking forward to being a part of Multnomah Press's blog tour of their titles. In order to read this much in a year, I've learned a few things.

To get the most out of a book in the least amount of time, try this strategy:

1. Read the title.


2. Read the introduction.


3. Read the Table of Contents.


4. Flip through the material, scanning the chapter titles and sub-headings. Note the words that stand out as bold, different colors, underlined, or italicized.


5. Examine the illustrations, captions, charts and diagrams. Read the pull-quotes and sidebars.


6. Scan through the index looking for buzz words that interest you.


7. Read the first chapter.


8. Flip through the book and read the first sentence of each paragraph. In a well written and edited book, the most important sentence containing the topic is usually the first sentence of the paragraph — but not always.


9. Read the last chapter. If there is an executive summary, read it.


10. Read any other information on the cover or dust jacket.

If a book can capture your attention after doing the above tasks, then by all means dive right in!

Another reading guide: if a book doesn't capture your attention after a few attempts, stop reading and pick out another one - there are always more waiting for you.

In no particular order, here's my personal Top 10 list of books published in 2009:

• How the Mighty Have Fallen, Jim Collins


• Organic Leadership, Neil Cole


• The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten


• Strategic Disciple Making, Aubrey Malphurs


• Real Leaders Don't Do PowerPoint, Christopher Witt


• Trust Agents, Chris Brogan


• Word of Mouth Marketing, Andy Sernovitz


• Start with Why, Simon Sinek


• Rules of Thumb, Alan Webber


• Leaders Make The Future, Bob Johansen

As soon as I write the list, I'm not satisfied with it. There are many more candidates that had an impact on me, and literally dozens of books on my "To Read" list I keep in my journal.

A special mention to a visually stunning and intellectually stimulating book: "The Elements", by Theodore Gray.

Reading it - no, gazing at the beautiful pictures of all the known elements - almost makes me want to take Chemistry II!

2010 starts tomorrow - what will you be reading?

Read to Lead

Bob Buford, the entrepreneur behind the start of the Leadership Network and author of the Halftime series of books, had some very interesting comments recently about the future direction of learning by reading.

He recently spent the day with Moe Girkins, the CEO of Zondervan, the Christian publisher. Zondervan finds the world of the printed page changing rapidly as a new generation of nonreaders takes over So the Rupert Murdock owned print empire has gone for a new approach in running Zondervan. All of Moe Girkins’ experience and background is in technology -- Motorola, Wireless and Dell. She has no experience at all in books. Buford had the following comment:

I received a great lesson from Moe about the changing nature in the book world -- Amazon.com, Kindle, Walter Issacson, former editor of TIME, cancelling his years-long New York Times subscription – he gets his news on the Internet -- Facebook, ceaseless text messaging, on and on and on. Moe told me, what to me was, an eye-opening fact. She asked, “Guess how many books the average American reads after they leave formal education?” After I said I had no idea, she held up one finger. I said, “No!” She said, “Yes, just one.” I expect I spend about fifteen or twenty hours a week reading and this was a jolt to me. Though not entirely, because my friend, Tom Luce, recently the Deputy of Education in Washington DC, had told me that virtually none of his young politically absorbed associates read The New York Times, The Washington Post, or long David McCullough books about former presidents. They go directly to the Net.

I had recently read that statistic in a couple of other places, and was surprised. As I have mentioned before, reading is an important part of my heritage, present reality, and something that my children seem to enjoy as well. To me, reading is the ultimate way to develop yourself and get insight on becoming the best leader you can be. Steve Sjorgen noted these reasons for reading (from Community of Kindness):

• Reading increases your well-roundedness
• Reading gives you consistent sources to draw from
• Reading is very attractive to big thinkers and other highly skilled leaders
• Reading helps you develop insight
• Reading breeds wisdom

So how do these two very different realities co-exist? How do we communicate the importance of reading to a generation (or two) that no longer finds it important?

There's more to the Bob Buford story - but that's for tomorrow!