Framing the Dialogue

Posts Tagged ‘malcolm gladwell’

Lincoln On Leadership

“When Abraham Lincoln came to power in 1861, he found himself in a similar dilemma.  The first Republican president elected by a minority of the popular vote, Lincoln was viewed by many as a gawky, second-rate country lawyer ill equipped to handle the chief executive office – his own cabinet considered him nothing more than a figurehead.  Ten days before he took the oath of office, the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union, taking all Federal agencies, forts, and arsenals within their territory.  The country was so stricken that rumors of a military coup and assassination abounded at the inauguration.”

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What The Dog Saw

What the dog sawIt slices, it dices, it does the work of many other home utensils.  We have all seen the commercials and while we often turn the channel, a lot of times we watch…and even buy.  In the first chapter of What the Dog Saw I was treated to the fascinating background and life of world famous pitchman, Ron Popeil. 

Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and Blink is on my top ten list.  When I first saw his new book in the store I naturally picked it up to buy it, but was not enthused by the description and actually put it back down.  The description that this was “the best of his writing from The New Yorker” did not interest me. 

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Blink

Using the phrase “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” to describe your own book does not sound like a smart way to publicize your book.  I thought that there was far too much thinking without thinking going on in the world.  So why would I read this? 

I liked Malcolm Gladwell’s first book The Tipping Point not just for its information, but also because of his writing style.  Gladwell’s books provide a lot of information, but he writes in a very readable style and in an interesting way.  Based on this, I bought the book.

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Outliers

When my children were growing up, we participated in their activities.  My wife and I did the scout thing (both boys and girls) as den leaders, helped organize holiday events, did book fairs, volunteered as band parents, and lots of sports activities.  All of our children played soccer and I often volunteered to help coach.  As they got older and better, I was encouraged to take classes and get a license to coach.

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The Tipping Point

I remember taking over as the construction manager at my facility.  Our previous manager took another job and construction season was approaching.  I likened that summer to surfing.  I would get on the wave each day and see where it took me.  Schedules were often thrown out the window early each morning.  One of the tools I was given was a car phone (they weren’t cell phones yet).

I would use the phone and start making calls to subcontractors on my way to work, coordinate work throughout the day and end the day setting up the next day’s work. 
When the bill came that first month, my boss was a little upset since it was over $200.  That’s not much these days, but 15 years ago I took some heat. 

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