#readmorebooks

Eat That Frog! 9 tips from an epic time management book

Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy has a catchy title for one of the best time management books on the planet. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It is a short 144 pages that can be read in a couple of hours. I try to read this book annually, because it has so many great productivity tips. Below are 9 takeaways and quotes from this epic book that can easily double your productivity - if you'll apply its teachings.

1. Eat that Frog is comprised of 21 short chapters, all on the topic of productivity and time management. Brian gets to the point quickly in each chapter, which I appreciate. He doesn't belabor each chapter with long stories, but quickly explains the productivity tip and how you can apply it right away. I find that many nonfiction books are about twice as long as they need to be, due to long stories. This book is just the right length. Brian is a prolific author and teacher who has written 70 books. Learn more about him here: www.briantracy.com

2. “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first.” The title of this book is based on the concept that it is best to tackle your most important priority at work first thing in the day. Get it done before you get sidetracked on other less important but perhaps more seemingly "urgent" tasks that come up. If you have two important tasks, do the most important one first. Eat that frog!

3. “One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not to be done at all.”  This is one of my favorite quotes of the book. It's simple and yet so profound. How much time do we each waste doing things that don't need to be done at all? This quote reminds me of Jim Collin's advocating in his classic book, Good to Great, that we each should have a "stop doing list." What are some tasks in your life you should simply stop doing? We all have some. Perhaps many things we should stop doing... 

4. “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. The bigger your goals and the clearer they are, the more excited you become about achieving them. The more you think about your goals, the greater becomes your inner drive and desire to accomplish them.”  Brian Tracy is a big believer in goal setting. In fact, he wrote another favorite book of mine, Goals, which I heartily recommend to you. I confess that I haven't been the best goal-setter in my life. I'm naturally driven, which is generally helpful, but I see the wisdom in setting big and clear goals. As I type this, I realize that I need to read Goals again too... :) 

5. “Rule: Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.” This is such a powerful quote and is so very true. We need to be continuous learners in our lives.  Never stop learning and growing. In fact, this is why I advocate on this blog that we should all #readmorebooks. :) Reading books is indeed one of the best ways to continually improve yourself. Brian does make the point in this book that you should aim to read 1 hour a day materials that are related to your career: books, articles, blogs, etc. 

6. “The Key to Success is Action." Okay this might seem like a no-duh quote, but it gives a great snapshot of this book. This is an action-oriented book that will encourage and propel you toward action. Planning is nice, but execution is everything. You will only be successful in work and life to the extent you are action-oriented. This book will give you some great tools to not only take action, but take the right actions every day. Go the extra mile. As another great quote says: "There are no traffic jams on the extra mile." :)

7. “Rule: It is the quality of time at work that counts and the quantity of time at home that matters.”  I will close with this quote from Brian because it is again epic. Work hard at work. Work smart at work. But then when you are at home, just spend time with your family. Don't try to be "efficient" or just have "quality time" with your family. We need to have "QUANTITY time" with our family. The hours matter. Be present with your family. Be efficient at work so you can spend more time at home with your family.

8. A fun animated 7-minute video overview of Eat that Frog is below:

https://youtu.be/y6mGuFe5YNc

9. Eat that Frog's 21 chapters, listed below, will give you a good overview of this book's structure:

1. Set the Table

2. Plan Every Day In Advance

3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything

4. Consider the Consequences

5. Practice Creative Procrastination

6. Use the ABCDE Method Continually

7. Focus on Key Result Areas

8. The Law of Three

9. Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin

10. Take It One Oil Barrel at a Time

11. Upgrade Your Key Skills

12. Leverage Your Special Talents

13. Identify Your Key Constraints

14. Put the Pressure on Yourself

15. Maximize Your Personal Power

16. Motivate Yourself into Action

17. Get Out of the Technological Time Sinks

18. Slice and Dice the Task

19. Create Large Chunks of Time

20. Develop a Sense of Urgency

21. Single Handle Every Task

 

Have you read Eat That Frog or any of Brian Tracy's other books? What are some of your favorite productivity tips? Please share in the comments section below, thanks!  

Read More Books,
Mike

p.s. I blog to encourage you to live a better life by reading more books. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

 

Digital Minimalism! 10 tips to break your social media addiction.

Do you have a Facebook-Instagram-Twitter-LinkedIn account? If so, you need to read Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport! This book opened my eyes to the truly addictive nature of social media. Guess what? You are the product on social media. You essentially have no privacy, even if your account settings are set to private. Your data, your posts, and your likes are all being aggregated by massive advertising databases and algorithms so that products can be target-marketed to you. Worse than the privacy risk is the risk of literally wasting hours of your life on social media. Digital Minimalism is call to action to live a deeper life offline by minimizing or even quitting your use of social media. Below are 10 tips from this powerful book, including several quotes, a video and some actions I personally have taken recently to reduce my use of social media.

1. Cal Newport is one of my favorite authors on the planet. He blogs at www.calnewport.com and wrote Deep Work, which is a terrific book about personal productivity at work. Deep Work advocates that we each aim for 4 hours a day of "deep work," to truly make a difference in our jobs and world. Most of us do "shallow work" most of the time: meetings, emails, and low priority tasks. Deep Work has changed the way I work. I make sure not to over-schedule myself with shallow tasks during the day and I do seek to schedule at least 4 hours a day of "deep work." At the end of Deep Work, Cal advocates quitting social media, which is a very shallow activity. Digital Minimalism picks up where Deep Work left off. (If you liked the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown, you'll appreciate Deep Work.)

2. “The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd gods building a better world and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in T-shirts selling an addictive product to children. Because, let’s face it, checking your “likes” is the new smoking.” This is a bold quote from Bill Maher at the beginning of Digital Minimalism which throws down the gauntlet on Cal's views of social media. Social media is engineered to be addictive. Cal describes how Facebook changed their notifications from the color blue to the color red, because they found that the color red created a more urgent response in social media users to check their notifications. This is one small example of many ways that Digital Minimalism details how social media is engineered as a "virtual slot machine" where we keep scrolling and scrolling while looking for that next jackpot of a dopamine hit. 

3. “Digital Minimalism is a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.” Cal doesn't suggest in this book that we try to live life without the internet or digital tools. He recognizes that there are many technological advances that save us time. The challenge is when we can't turn off our connection to the internet, primarily due to our smart phones and social media usage. One of the problems with social media is FOMO: the fear of missing out. You will always see someone posting something on social media that you might wish you were doing, buying, or consuming. Cal gives some great tips in this book on how to turn your smart phone into a "dumb phone" so that you can focus on living a full and deep life offline. This book can help turn your FOMO into JOMO: the joy of missing out! :-) 

4. “Where we want to be cautious is when the sound of a voice or a cup of coffee with a friend is replaced with ‘likes’ on a post.” I appreciate that Cal doesn't simply malign social media in this book, but he explains what we might be missing out on in real life if we spend too much time online. Cal worries, and I think we'd all agree, that there are times when we or our kids or friends are looking at our smartphones when we should be actually talking to each other. This book does a great job of giving tips on how to turn off the phone and turn on real life engagement for a rich life. Social media promises friendship and engagement, but if we're not careful it can leave us feeling quite empty. 

5. "By cultivating a high-quality leisure life first, it will become easier to minimize low-quality digital diversions later.” Cal advocates in Digital Minimalism that we all develop offline hobbies and friendships to live a full and deep life. These high-quality leisure activities are so much more fulfilling than the low-quality digital distraction of social media. What are some hobbies, activities (exercise...) or friendships you feel like you never have time for?  Might cutting back your time spent online give you back the time you crave? (The answer is... Yes.)

6. Digital Minimalism describes how you can undertake a digital declutter:  "Put aside a thirty-day period during which you will take a break from optional technologies in your life. During this thirty-day break, explore and rediscover activities and behaviors that you find satisfying and meaningful. At the end of the break, reintroduce optional technologies into your life, starting from a blank slate. For each technology you reintroduce, determine what value it serves in your life and how specifically you will use it so as to maximize this value." Cal led this digital declutter experiment with readers of his blog and learned that many of his readers never went back to social media after taking a break from it for 30 days.  Others found that they could check social media for only 30 minutes total a week and get the same benefit of their prior 30+ minute daily usage before the digital declutter. 

7. Digital Minimalism's chapters, listed below, will give you a good overview of this book's structure:

1. A Lopsided Arms Race
2. Digital Minimalism
3. The Digital Declutter
4. Spend Time Alone
5. Don't Click Like
6. Reclaim Leisure
7. Join the Attention Resistance

8. After reading Digital Minimalism, here are the actions I have taken. I started with simply deleting Facebook and Instagram off of my smartphone. This is one of the most powerful steps you can take: get social media off of your phone. You won't have the compulsion to check it throughout the day. I haven't quit Facebook or Instagram, and still check them maybe once day on my computer, but my usage is way down. I am now also in process of getting family photos off of my social media accounts, primarily for privacy reasons. It has been a joy to share our family's adoption journey this past several years on social media, but I'm now wanting to protect my family's privacy going forward. 

9. Digital Minimalism doesn't go into details of cyber security, but it is a personal passion of mine at work and now personally too. I found a terrific 10 point guide that I shared with my team at work and I recommend you read it to protect your privacy and data online at this link.  You might also want to consider how your web browser is tracking your online activity data for advertising purposes and decide to switch to a privacy browser.

10. Check out this video interview with Cal Newport below, which gives a great overview of the book:

https://youtu.be/lHLoE4fCuZ0

Have you taken any steps in your life to reduce your usage of social media? Does anything above stand out to you as an idea you might want to implement? Have you read read Digital Minimalism or any of Cal Newport's other books? Please share in the comments section below, thanks! (I should note that Cal's 2012 book, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love, is fantastic too! It is particularly great for 20-somethings embarking on their careers.) 

Read More Books,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog regularly about #readmorebooks in 2019. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Measure What Matters! OKRs + Google + Bono + You?

This is one of those rare books that I heard rave reviews from friends in a diversity of sectors: startup technology companies, higher education and nonprofits. Measure What Matters by John Doerr is a book that describes the powerful concept of OKRs: Objectives and Key Results. John is the Chairman of Kleiner Perkins, which is a very successful venture capital firm. I heartily recommend this book to you. Below are 7 quotes and my takeaways from this treasure trove of a book.

1. “Objectives and Key Results are the yin and yang of goal setting.”  OKRs are a simple concept that have fueled the success of Google, the Gates Foundation and Bono's ONE Campaign to end poverty.  John describes in detail how you too can set compelling Objectives (the yin) and Key Results (the yang) for your organization. Objectives are what you want to achieve and Key Results are how you are going to achieve the objectives. Google generously shares in depth how they use OKRs at this link.

2 . “Healthy culture and structured goal setting are interdependent.” This book does a terrific job of explaining how structured goal setting actually improves an organization's culture.  Employees want to know what goals they should be working on to move the organization forward. OKRs provide a framework for every employee to be involved in an organization's success. This process improves culture.

3. “Leaders must get across the why as well as the what. Their people need more than milestones for motivation. They are thirsting for meaning, to understand how their goals relate to the mission.”  This quote from the book reminds me of Simon Sinek's TED Talk and terrific book, Start With Why. Employees are indeed thirsting for meaning in their work, and OKRs are a simple yet effective framework for employees to see how their work directly contributes to the organization's success. 

4. “We must realize—and act on the realization—that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.” The book describes how you ideally want only 3 to 5 Objectives and then 3 to 5 Key Results for each Objective. Less is more. You want a few focused OKRs that are measurable, transparent, inspirational and achievable - with some stretch to achieve them. This concept of focus in goal setting reminds me of the terrific book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, which I reviewed at this link.

5. “Innovation tends to dwell less at the center of an organization than at its edges.” I absolutely love this quote and agree with it. Oftentimes leaders of organizations might think they have all of the answers, and won't listen to their front line employees. I have learned that often the opposite is true: the front line employees have the answers and the leaders simply need to stop and listen to them. OKRs are a way that front line employees can be engaged in an organization's goals and be heard by leaders.

6. “To win in the global marketplace, organizations needs to be more nimble than ever before.” Gone are the days of setting 3, 5 or 10-year strategic plans and thinking those will stand the test of time. Even in one-year goal setting, changes to the plan will come your way. OKRs advocate quarterly goals to be nimble. Every 90 days you set and review your OKRs.  I think there is a lot of wisdom in thinking about "90-day sprints" in goal setting.  Traction by Gino Wickman is another terrific book that advocates quarterly goal setting. 

7. “Annual performance reviews are costly, exhausting, and mostly futile.” I was pleasantly surprised to see this book discuss performance reviews in light of the concept of OKRs.  Instead of annual reviews, the book advocates the use of real-time CFRs: Conversations, Feedback, and Recognition. This is a process where you are having real-time conversations with your employees, giving them feedback right away and recognizing achievements when they happen. This builds culture and buy-in from employees more than the typical annual performance review process.

Check out John's 12-minute TED Talk below, which gives a great overview of the book:

https://youtu.be/L4N1q4RNi9I

Lastly, listen to this book on Audible if you can. Author John Doerr reads the book, but he also integrates in readers for their sections of the book, such as Bono reading about OKRs and the ONE Campaign to end poverty. It is fun to hear a rock star talk about Objectives and Key Results!  :)  There are also readers from Google, the Gates Foundation, and other tech startups in the book. This is a really well done audiobook.

Have you read this book? Are you utilizing the concept of OKRs at your organization? How is it going? Please share in the comments section below, thanks!

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog regularly about #readmorebooks in 2019. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Father's Day book recommendation: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

Dads of daughters: you need to read this book! Parenting is the most important job you have. Yes, I understand that you may be a CEO or doctor or whatever your job title is. It is not more important than being an all-in active Dad in your children's lives.  And when it comes to daughters, your role is critically important. Doctor Meg Meeker has specialized in treating girls and young women for over 30 years and describes in this book how a father's involvement - or lack thereof - profoundly impacts his daughter's life. Pick up your copy of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know at this link now. 

This book was gifted to me a few years ago by the pastor who officiated my wife and my wedding. He has three daughters and gave me this book after my wife and I adopted two daughters from Ethiopia. He said this book would be important in my parenthood journey, and he was so right. It is the best parenting book I personally have read.

I have since gifted this book to several Dads of daughters. One Mom came up to me recently and said that this book transformed her husband's relationship with their daughter. She said that her husband wasn't really connecting with their daughter, but that reading this book gave him the confidence and guidance on how to build their relationship. She thanked me profusely for this book recommendation. I simply got teary-eyed as she shared all of this with me. This is indeed one of those rare books that can change your life. If you are a Dad of a daughter, I trust it will change yours.

I won't write a full book review in this blog post, mostly because I don't think my review would do this book justice. You simply need to read it.  I will share the chapter titles below, just to give you a flavor of the book:

1. You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life
2. She Needs a Hero
3. You Are Her First Love
4. Teach Her Humility
5. Protect Her, Defend Her
6. Pragmatism and Grit: Two of Your Greatest Assets
7. Be the Man You Want Her to Marry
8. Teach Her Who God Is
9. Teach Her to Fight
10. Keep Her Connected

Again, pick up your copy of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know at this link now. Just do it.

Note that Meg Meeker also wrote Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men, which you can learn more about at this link.  I have not read this book yet, but hope to sometime. I trust it has great insights for Moms and sons. 

Has anyone else read Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters? Has it been helpful? Also, please let me know in the comments below any other parenting books you've read that have been helpful to your family? I would like to check out your recommendations. Thanks!

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog regularly about #readmorebooks in 2019. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Atomic Habits will change your life! 10 takeaways.

Atomic Habits by James Clear is one of those rare books that I immediately read twice in a row. It is filled with dozens of science-backed and actionable nuggets of wisdom. Do you want to improve any habits in your life? I heartily recommend Atomic Habits to you! We are all driven by our habits - many of which are unconscious. Below are 10 quotes and takeaways from this life-changing book:

1. "Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run." Atomic Habits explains why the little things you do every day matters. Your little habits matter. It may not seem like a big deal to skip a workout or to be kind, but it is a big deal. Imagine if you improved your habits by only 1% every day. You'd be dramatically a different person in a year. Then imagine if you let your habits decline by 1% every day. You'd be in a much worse spot in life overall a year from now. Your little habits - atomic habits - count for a lot in the long run. What little habits are you improving upon (or neglecting...) today?

2. "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." This is such an important point in the book. Oftentimes we focus on goals in our life, while neglecting to focus on the systems that help us achieve goals. As an example, I had a friend who had the goal to complete a triathlon.  He achieved this goal!  And then he quit working out for the next year and got out of shape... He was so focused on achieving a goal that he neglected his underlying systems of being healthy. Goal achievement can actually set us back if we don't get set up sustainable systems.  Get the systems right and then we'll indeed also achieve our goals. Systems > Goals. 

3. "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity." I love this quote from the book. Every action - every habit - you take casts a vote for the type of person you want to become. Do you want to be a more organized person? When you develop habits and systems that organize your life, you are casting votes for thinking of yourself as an organized person. You think to yourself, "hey, I'm an organized person." And then you reinforce that belief with your habits and actions - a virtuous cycle! The flip side of this can be true too. What if you often show up late to meetings? You're casting votes that may make you think "well, I'm just a person that is always late." An un-virtuous cycle.  Be careful to make sure that your habits and ultimately your beliefs cast votes for the type of person you want to become and, indeed, who you truly are.

4. "How long does it actually take to form a new habit? You just need to get your reps in." Atomic Habits answers the question of "how much time does it take to form a new habit" with a better answer of : X number of actions.  Meaning, you may need to simply complete a new habit 100 times for it to stick, which could be done in 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months, depending on the new habit. It is better to think of forming new habits in terms of consistently taking action, versus trying to stick to a habit for just X number of days. Get your reps in.

5. "Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits." The inverse of this is also true - increase friction between you and your bad habits! I think about this a lot when it comes to eating healthy. I need to reduce friction by having healthy food in the house and healthy snacks at work. And I need to increase friction by not having candy in the house or in my office! Out of sight, out of mind. In sight, and I eat it. :)  (which of course reminds me of the Dad joke I often tell my girls: "I'm on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it...) 

6. "Use temptation bundling. Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do." This is a powerful concept. I put this in practice by only "watching TV" when I'm on the treadmill. I am able to run at a 6 MPH pace and watch TV or videos on the iPad when I'm on a treadmill. So, I generally only watch sporting events or movies or 80s music videos on YouTube when I'm running on the treadmill. This approach actually allows me to run longer if I want to watch a full half of a game, for example. And 80s music videos will often give me the energy to run that extra mile. :)  Think about a new habit you want to start and how you can bundle it with an action you're already taking. Stack them together - i.e. habit stacking.

7. "Use a habit tracker. Keep track of your habit streak and 'don't break the chain.'" Atomic Habits does a nice job of explaining the importance of tracking your habits for success. What gets measured gets managed. One of my favorite habit trackers is a FitBit/Apple Watch, which tracks steps, heart rate, sleep, weight and can even track food intake/calories, if you input this data.  My behavior definitely changes thanks to these habit trackers. Atomic Habits gives you additional habit tracker resources.

8. "Never miss twice. When you forget to do a habit, make sure you get back on track immediately." We all will have days where we fall off the bandwagon and our habits go in reverse. Well, that's okay for one day. Don't let it happen twice. Get back on track as soon as possible. (And, yes, sometimes we miss a habit two days in row. Just don't let it become three days...)

9. Author James Clear gets to the point quickly in Atomic Habits and with actionable advice. James has been blogging about habits, health, happiness, creativity and productivity since 2012. Check out a sampling of his writing at www.jamesclear.com/articles.  (While you're there, subscribe to his terrific weekly newsletter with 445,000+ subscribers!)  James is also fun to follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JamesClear.  Atomic Habits has 20 relatively short chapters that open with compelling stories and end with helpful chapter summaries. If you listen to books on Audible, I highly recommend the audio book as James reads this book very passionately. 

10. Check out a great interview with author James Clear about Atomic Habits below:

https://youtu.be/xRse5I_p7tA

Have you read Atomic Habits yet? If so, please share your thoughts on the book in the comments section below. Thanks!

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog regularly about "Read More Books" in 2019. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Happy New Year!

Happy 2019! Welcome. The purpose of this blog is to encourage you to take action to live a better life.

Here I regularly blog about how setting clear priorities in your life and then being productive on those priorities will help you achieve happiness in your life. I'd be honored if you subscribe to my blog's periodic emails by using the Subscribe box to your right.

Linked below are my 10 most popular blog posts from 2018, in order of popularity:

1.  I lost 20 pounds in 2017. Here are 10 tips. 

2.  Email Inbox Zero! Is it even possible? 12 tips. 

3.  46 "This I Believe" reflections on my 46th Birthday.

4.  The 4 Disciplines of Execution is the best business book I've read. 10 reasons why.

5.  How's your Sleep? 12 tips + 2 books = Sweet Dreams!

6. Humble + Hungry + Smart = The Ideal Team Player! Productivity & Hiring

7.  Job Search in Denver Tips! Nonprofits & More. 

8.  12 reasons YOU need a coach! (life/business/health) What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

9.  30 books I read in 2017. Top 3. Reading tips. 2018 recommendations? 

10.  Jocko Willink's Discipline Equals Freedom will get you up early! +8 Navy SEAL learnings

I have a terrific list of blog posts queued up for 2019. I hope you will join me on the journey!

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog about Priorities + Productivity = Happiness regularly in 2019. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Humble + Hungry + Smart = The Ideal Team Player! Productivity & Hiring

Psssst.. Want to know the secret of how to hire the ideal person for your next job opening? It is a simple formula. Hire someone who is: 1. Humble, 2. Hungry, and 3. Smart.  While this sounds simple, it is rare to find these 3 traits well-balanced in a job candidate. When you do find someone with these 3 traits, hire that candidate fast! The framework of Humble + Hungry + Smart comes from Patrick Lencioni's book, The Ideal Team Player. This blog, Productivity Equals Happiness, exists to help make you more productive. Hiring "rock stars" or "A-players" is one of the most productive things you can do. The right hire can transform your team toward world class performance and absolutely make you more productive.

(image courtesy of www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player)

Presumably you've heard of Patrick Lencioni's terrific book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team? His more recent book, The Ideal Team Player, is also in a parable format and walks through each of the components of the formula humble + hungry + smart, which I unpack in 7 points below.  The book and its companion website also give you practical tools, such as interview questions to help you determine if a job candidate is humble, hungry and smart.

1. Humble. You want someone joining your team who is humble. They're willing to listen to others and admit they don't have all of the answers. They appreciate the Stephen Covey principle of "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood." They don't have big egos. They want to see the team succeed and not just themselves. They say "we" more than they say "I." Caveat: don't hire someone who is only humble. They may be "nice" but may not get anything done.

2. Hungry. You want to hire someone who has the energy and drive to do their work with excellence. They want to learn and grow. They want to be promoted and grow in their careers. They want to take on new projects and new opportunities. They don't need to be prodded to work hard - they are wired to work hard. Caveat: don't hire someone who is only hungry. They may bulldoze over others to get what they want for their own selfish reasons.

3. Smart. You want someone who is smart in both technical skills for the job and people skills.  Technical skills are of course important for any given job, but equally important are people skills. You want someone who demonstrates emotional intelligence and works well with others. They are self-aware and know how their words and actions can impact others on the team. Caveat: don't hire someone who is only smart. They may be liked by many, but probably won't get much done because they're too busy playing politics.

4. Humble + Hungry + Smart. When you are reviewing resumes and in particular when you are interviewing a candidate, ask yourself frequently: "Is this person hungry, humble and smart? All three? Or are they missing one (or more) of the traits?" You'll want to hire candidates that are well-balanced in these three traits.

5. Interview Questions. Author Patrick Lencioni graciously provides 3 pages of interview questions that you can use in an interview to assess if a job candidate is humble, hungry and smart. Download a PDF of the interview questions at this link.

6. Self-Assessment. Patrick Lencioni also graciously provides a one-page PDF for you to assess yourself. Are you hungry, humble and smart?  Find out quickly at this link.

7. The Ideal Team Player. I encourage you to read the book to get a full parable about why it is important to hire job candidates that are humble, hungry and smart. It's a great quick read. I listened to the book on my commute to/from work via Audible.com. (I should note that the book uses a cuss word several times, which I found distracting to its overall helpful message.) Learn more about the book and additional resources at this link.

(image courtesy of www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player)

Do you agree with the concept of hiring job candidates who are humble, hungry and smart? Are there additional traits you look for when hiring? Do you have any other books or resources related to hiring that you would recommend? Please share in the Comments below. Thanks!

Productivity Equals Happiness!
Mike

 p.s. I blog about "Productivity Equals Happiness." I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails on my website at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

12 reasons YOU need a coach! (life/business/health) "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" by Marshall Goldsmith

Do you have a coach? You should. I'll explain why in this article. We all have blind spots. We all have rough edges. Working with a coach will help you improve your relationships or business or health much faster than if you try to improve on your own. I just finished coach Marshall Goldsmith's epic book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful. This book reminded me of the importance of coaches in our lives. I'll share 12 reasons below why you need a coach. I'll also share the names of 8 coaches I personally know and recommend below.

1. Read Marshall's terrific book. It is an important book about how we succeed early in our careers based on our technical skills. As we advance in our careers, technical skills are not enough. We need top notch people skills. And those aren't always easy or natural for smart technical people. You need to pivot from being a technician to being a diplomat if you want to advance in your career. This book will lay out why this is the case and what you can do about it.

2. You need a 360 degree review. Have you ever done one? It's not exactly fun. But it is critical to do. Marshall smartly shares in his book how we all have blind spots. We all have behaviors that can hamper our careers or relationships or health. And sometimes the only way to bring these blind spots into the light is through a 360 degree review while working with a coach.

3. Coaches aren't necessarily going to tell you what you need to improve. Ideally your circle of colleagues or friends will tell you what you need to improve through a 360 degree review. The coach will then share the themes of the 360 degree review. What you're doing well. What you need to improve. And the coach will work with you to decide which one or two areas you should focus on for improvement. Don't try to improve more than a couple areas at once or you'll likely fail at making significant improvement in any area.

4. Coaches will hold you accountable to your goals. Once your goals for improvement are set, the coach will work with you to think through what action steps you need to take to meet your goals. The coach will then check in with you regularly to ensure you're making progress on your goals. 

5. A good coach will not "go easy" on you.  Look, if you hire a coach you should expect to be challenged. This is good. This is healthy. This is what you need to improve. If you hire a coach that only says, "wow, you're doing great. You're great. Nothing you need to really improve." Well, then you've hired a "yes-person" and this is not what any of us need. We need to grow. We need some friction to grow, just like muscles need friction to grow. You need a coach that will challenge you while also encouraging your growth. 

6. You can work with great coaches for your business or relationships or health. It's probably a good idea to only work with one coach at a time. However, you may want to find great coaches for different arenas of your life in different seasons of your life. One coach may be great at helping you grow your business skills. Another coach for improving your relationship skills. And another coach to help you improve your diet and/or fitness. It's possible to find one coach that can cover all of these arenas, but somewhat rare I think.

7. Hiring a coach is a good investment. Coaches are not free. They cost money. But I think it is generally money very well spent that is an investment in YOU.  Is there a better investment you can make than an investment in yourself? 

8. Ask if your company will pay for a coach. While I think most of us will need to pay for coaching on our own, sometimes your company will help pay for a coach. Particularly if the coach is helping you improve your business or relationship skills at work. Put together a plan and request for your boss as to how and why the company could help pay for a coach. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that the company will pay for 100% or maybe 50% of the coaching costs. I also think your boss will be impressed that you want to continue to grow and challenge yourself through coaching. 

9. There is no shame in working with a coach. In fact, I think it says something great about you if you work with a coach. It means you want to continue to learn and grow. You want to get better. You are okay being challenged. And you are making an investment in yourself. There is no shame in your game!

10. Sometimes you need a therapist, and not a coach. Coaches are awesome. But they are generally not therapists. If you are going through a significantly hard time in your life, please hire a therapist ASAP. Therapists are trained to help your mental health. If you've lost a loved one or someone near and dear to you is sick or you're feeling depressed, please hire a therapist. Men, this includes you. I wrote a blog post for men recently about depression, panic attacks, mental health and suicide that I encourage you to read here: "Men, please read this! Man Therapy. Kevin Love's panic attack. DeMar DeRozan's depression." Let me encourage you to contact my wife, Marcia Pritchard, if and when you or someone you know needs a therapist. She's a terrific Licensed Professional Counselor! And she will keep your call in complete confidence. I have no idea who her clients are. Learn more about Marcia's counseling services here: www.marciapritchard.com

11. Coaches, what points have I missed about why someone would want to hire you? I am sure coaches will read this blog post. I'd love to hear from you in the Comments section below about what additional points you'd like to share? Are there books or resources you'd recommend? Thanks in advance for sharing!

12. You can be "coached" by authors, podcasters, YouTubers and leaders you've never met. I read a lot of books. One a week is my goal. And I do absolutely believe that you can be "coached" to a degree by authors or TED Talks or other leadership resources you consume. However, this is only a one-sided coaching relationship, so you are very likely not addressing your blind spots and you won't be held accountable for growth. That being said, I do encourage you to consider some of your favorite authors or podcasters as coaches. Their experience and great work can coach you from afar. A few of my favorite long distance "coaches" include: Chris McChesney, Sheryl Sandberg, Cal Newport, Amy Cuddy, Gary Keller, Carol Dweck, Jocko Willink, Angela Duckworth, Darren Hardy, Melissa Faye Green, and Jim Collins, to name a few. 

I'll close this blog post by sharing some names and website links of coaches I personally know and recommend. Please consider reaching out to one of these coaches TODAY! Don't procrastinate on this one. Take the next step by contacting one (or more) of these coaches. Most coaches will do an introductory meeting with you to make sure they're a good fit for you and your goals.

Jenn Peppers: www.vergecoaching.com

Doug Slaybaugh: www.thecpacoach.com

Renelle Everett: www.insight-cc.com

Clay and Philippa Cousins: www.elevatemomentum.com

David Dye and Karin Hurt: www.letsgrowleaders.com

Kendall Colman: www.colmancoaching.com

Jan Rutherford: www.selfreliantleadership.com

Tasha Eurich: www.tashaeurich.com

If you have a coach you'd recommend, who is not listed above, please share the coach's name and website and/or contact information in the Comments section below. Thanks!

Productivity Equals Happiness,
Mike

p.s. I blog about "Productivity Equals Happiness." I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails on my website at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

The Greatest Showman is The Greatest Movie! 11 magical things about this film.

What is the last movie you saw that was a truly magical experience? For me it was The Greatest Showman. I went with my daughter to see it on the big screen, not expecting much. I was absolutely blown away by the movie, as was my daughter. It is a musical set in the 1870s and inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum and his creation of the circus. I've now watched the film 5 times and will share 11 magical things about this movie below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr9QtXwC9vc&t

1. Hugh Jackman is phenomenal as P.T. Barnum. This might be hard to believe, but this is the first Hugh Jackman movie I've ever seen. I never saw Wolverine, but I do now plan to watch Les Miserables. Hugh is a terrific actor and singer in The Greatest Showman. This movie was a "passion project" for him that took 7 years to bring to fruition. It is clear that this is Hugh's movie and he's 110% into it.

2. Apparently Zac Effron and Zendaya are a big deal with kids these days. :) My daughter loved Zac Effron in the High School Musical movies and loved him in The Greatest Showman. Zendaya is terrific as a trapezist in the film. However, I think Keala Settle, who plays The Bearded Lady in the movie, steals the show. She is incredible.

3. The original music in this movie is so inspirational. While I've now watched the film 5 times, I've listened to the soundtrack in my car probably 25 times. The songs are so well done. They are fun to watch in the movie, and fun to listen to on their own. I've even heard my neighbors (the parents) drive down our street blasting this soundtrack! The Oscar-winning songwriters behind the move La La Land wrote the music for The Greatest Showman. I suppose I might need to watch La La Land now.

4. The movie is a celebration of humanity. There is a theater critic in the movie who hates the circus show, but recognizes that the crowds love it. He says to Barnum late in the movie: "You brought to the stage people of all types, shapes and sizes. I guess another theater critic might even say your show is a celebration of humanity."  I would agree.

5. This movie is a cautionary tale of rags to riches and back to rags again. P.T. Barnum starts the movie as a boy in poverty who dreams and works his way up to a mansion, before losing it all due to his unbridled pursuit of fame and fortune. By the end of the movie he learns what's truly important in life (his family), but he almost loses it all in the process. The movie reminds us all that workaholism and pursuit of money and fame are not good trades for your family. P.T. Barnum gained the whole world, but almost lost his soul in the process. Fortunately the movie ends redemptively. 

6. The Bearded Lady singing "This is Me" is an incredible centerpiece of the movie. In the middle of the movie the circus cast gets shut out of a high brow party by P.T. Barnum and they walk back to the circus singing a powerful song with the lyrics: 

"Well, fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in
We are bursting through the barricades and
Reaching for the sun (we are warriors!)
Yeah, that's what we've become (yeah, that's what we've become!)

I won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious!"

When they sing the last line the circus cast are in the middle of a raging snowstorm with fans and detractors all around them. It's an incredible movie moment. You've gotta see it.

7. The Greatest Show song in the movie somehow inspires me and reminds me that living our own lives to the full is actually the "greatest show." Sure, a circus or a movie can be fun for a couple of hours. But how much more fun is it to live your life to full? Your life is the greatest show. Not a movie. Not someone else's life. Your life is the greatest show! "It's everything you ever want. It's everything you ever need. And it's here right in front of you. This is where you want to be!"

8. The movie's cinematography is gorgeous. I'm not a big movie buff. My favorite movies are Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, so it is somewhat surprising that this musical grabbed my attention in such a big way. My daughter noted that the transitions are terrific in this movie. She is correct. 

9. Some have said that The Greatest Showman might be The Sound of Music for this generation. I have no idea if that will prove to be true, but it's an interesting comparison. I have no doubt that my daughters will watch The Greatest Showman many times over their lives and likely many more times than they'll ever watch The Sound of Music.

10. "The noblest art is that of making others happy." -P.T. Barnum. This quote ends the movie and definitely describes the life of Barnum, the circus (which ironically closed after a 146 year run in 2017, the same year this movie was released), and The Greatest Showman. This movie makes me happy when I watch it, and the soundtrack makes me happy when I listen to it. Noble art, indeed.

11. Interestingly, many critics didn't like this movie. Only 36% of the top critics on the website Rotten Tomatoes liked this movie. However, 87% of 22,500+ viewers on Rotten Tomatoes liked it. I can see how this is a movie that you either get into or you don't. So, if you end up watching this movie because of my strong recommendation here, I apologize if you don't like it. :) 

If you've seen The Greatest Showman, would you add any additional takeaways about movie to my list above? Also, what is another movie you've seen that was a magical experience? Please share in the comments section below!

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog about Work-Life Happiness weekly in 2018. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails on my website at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html

Jocko Willink's "Discipline Equals Freedom" will get you up early! +10 Navy SEAL learnings

Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who has inspired me to wake up early, which has been a game changer for my life. Jocko posts a photo of his watch on Twitter every morning when he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. I am not getting up that early, but I'm now waking up at 6 a.m. most mornings, including weekends, which has amped up my daily productivity significantly.  Jocko's Discipline Equals Freedom is the book that motivated this change for me, along with the 2 videos below. I'll share 8 great things about Jocko and this book below.

1. Navy SEALs are tough, obviously. I'm probably the opposite of a Navy SEAL. I wouldn't have made the cut. However, somehow Jocko's intensity has encouraged me greatly. Jocko believes that waking up early and exercising is the transformational habit for your day. I believe him. I've been what you call a "night owl" for most of my life. I'm now waking up early consistently. Apparently a Navy SEAL can still motivate me here in my 40s.  :) Below is a terrific interview Jocko did with Success Magazine where he discusses the book Discipline Equals Freedom and the importance of waking up early. Watch this only if you dare. It might change you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3UkRFyaALI

2. Jocko believes in the word GOOD, even when things do not seem good on the surface. I'm sure this is some sort of Navy SEAL training Jedi-mind trick, but it works. It's taking life head on and all that it brings you. And some good can be found in whatever it brings you. The Stoic philosophers approached life this way as well. They encourage us to embrace whatever life brings our way. "Embrace it all." Check out Jocko's GOOD Tube video with 1.6 million views below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8

3. Discipline Equals Freedom is split into three parts: 1. Thoughts, 2. Actions and 3. Workouts.  Jocko appropriately spends the first part of the book focusing on how important our thoughts are. We need to achieve discipline in our thoughts before we can hope to achieve discipline in our actions. This reminds me of Jim Collin's quote from his epic book, Good to Great, where he advocates for: "Disciplined People with Disciplined Thoughts taking Disciplined Action." Discipline your mind before you attempt to discipline your life.

 4. Jocko advocates that we all exercise daily. It doesn't have to be lifting weights daily, but some activity every day and ideally first thing in the morning to get your blood pumping.  It could be a walk. It could be a run. He does advocate for some strength training in the book, which I agree with. Jocko does have a number of daily exercise regimens detailed in this book that range from Beginner to Advanced. Most of these exercises can actually be done at home and don't require a gym.

5. Jocko writes about his passion for the martial art Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in this book. I have never done a martial art, but his advocacy for learning how to defend yourself by knowing a martial art is compelling. I am now motivated to find a self defense class that my whole family can take together.

6. I first learned about Jocko thanks to a terrific podcast interview Tim Ferriss had with Jocko about his first book, Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALS Lead and Win. (I hope to write a review of this great book soon on this blog.  Stay tuned.)  This podcast interview from 2015 was actually Jocko's first public interview ever. It is terrific. Check it out here: https://tim.blog/2015/09/25/jocko-willink/

(image courtesy of https://tim.blog/2017/10/20/discipline-equals-freedom/)

7. Jocko has written two books for kids titled The Way of the Warrior Kid, which I haven't read but several of my friends have and report that they are terrific. 

8. Jocko has a new book coming out this fall titled The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win, which I'm very much looking forward to reading!

9. Jocko served our country for 20 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL. He is a veteran and a hero. I thank him for his service to our country and thank him for his new mission of service to motivate and train civilians like me.

10. Read at terrific Success Magazine article about Jocko titled "The Jocko Willink Way" here: https://www.success.com/article/the-jocko-willink-way

I hope this article has inspired you to wake up early and exercise daily. If you need more inspiration, check out Jocko's book Discipline Equals Freedom. Are there any other Jocko fans out there? Has he changed your life in any way?

Be well,
Mike

p.s. I plan to blog about Work-Life Happiness weekly in 2018. I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to my blog's emails on my website at: www.mikepritchard.com/subscribe.html