Why did I read the book?
What a fantastic book. Why am I on such a roll of great books? Well, it is not luck. A fellow inmate @
the LPC has been recommending ones that he is tailoring making for classes. His name is Matt Petersen
(must give him credit). He is a spectacular teacher and even better individual. I loved this book. Not all
of it…but most of it. It has some amazing leadership exercises that I am already using in RDAP. It will be
a class at the LPC eventually (I actually got asked if I wanted to teach it but FORTNATLY I will not be here
by the time it can offered with FSA credit). So thank you papa Carps for being so generous with the
books. I am reading over a book a week….It is been fantastic. I am a huge believer in the power of
teams and helping others reach their potential. I love books like this.
What did I learn from the book?
I am already a huge fan of teamwork. This book is hyper focused on the benefits of teamwork. It works
of the premise “Will your involvement with others be successful?” I consider myself a pretty solid
communicator….I am always looking forward for straightforward ways to teach people complex
issues…That’s what a great communicator does – he takes something complicated and makes it simple.
This book does a spectacular job at explaining very eloquently the different ways at excelling at
teamwork.
“In America, halls of fame exist for almost every conceivable activity, but nowhere do Americans raise
monuments in praise of teamwork.” Individuals play the game, but teams win the
championships….LOVE THAT QUOTE/idea.
The book hammers home the point that teams maximize a leaders potential and minimize his/her
weaknesses. Strength and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals. Teams can simply do more
than individuals. Most people’s natural inclination is to judge themselves according to their best
qualities while they measure others by their worst. I did this and I was not aware of how much I was
doing this (what a great lesson to learn at the randomness of times)
You cannot build a winning team or organization if you don’t know its vision, purpose, culture, or
history. If you don’t know where the team is trying to go – and why it is trying to get there – you cannot
take said team to the height of its potential.
How will it help me move forward?
I think I am a natural story teller….I have always believed in the power of storytelling to convey a point
or message. I am always striving to find new ways to be creative in my life…creativity is the one thing
that constantly inspires me (fires me up). This book has made me take a hard look at being more
creative as a leader. While most creative people have more than enough ideas, not all of them are good
at implementing those creative ideas. Like anything, being good at something requires working on it. I
feel like this book gave me plenty of ideas to work on. And I am in a spectacular place to try out those
ideas (I can’t believe I just said that…but it is true….Rdap allows for plenty of leadership opportunities).
So I work on being a creative leader and implementing that plan to be an effective leader in RDAP.
These books inspire me and help bring back my confidence (which has taken a beating….and It took that
beating far before my legal issues). So, I am hoping I can apply these lessons learned in the real world
when I get back there.
Lastly this book shines a light on an area I need to work on. Telling people “NO.” I have to many
negative relationships that are a drain. Anytime a relationship is unequal, it cannot last…whether you
are giving more than you get or getting more than you deserve. In either case, the relationship will
break down and be a negative drain. I need to stop devoting energy to these people that do nothing
other than come in and out of my life when they need something. A lot of it is my fault…I need to not
enable people (SAY NO).
Love you DAD!!!!
