Tag Archives: knowledge

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Linchpin

Are You Indispensable?

The book review for this week is Linchpin by Seth Godin.

Godin is simply an outstanding author and this book proves it once again! Linchpin describes how each of us needs to approach how we deliver our unique genius to the marketplace. Linchpins are the mapmakers of society. They are the people who drive our world forward through the application of their skillsets and talents. Each of us needs to strive towards this mindset and build our organizations to create and develop Linchpins.

My takeaway from this book is that everyone can be a linchpin. Godin suggests that we need to do the following seven things in our quest to become an indispensable linchpin:

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How to Get a Free Education from World Renowned Leaders

There is unlimited expertise available from world renowned leaders on every imaginable topic . . . and it is all available to you for free!

This treasure trove of knowledge is easily available to anyone, anywhere through podcasts. All you need to do is subscribe and set time aside to listen and learn!

I listen to podcasts when I am driving, jogging, flying, or whenever I have a few spare minutes to sit, listen, and learn.

I subscribe to an eclectic collection of podcasts covering topics like business, religion, health and wellness, technology, history, politics, marketing, blogging, copyrighting, and many more! I find the wide ranging topics not only help me to learn but increase my creativity by finding connections between the diverse topics.

This instant access to free expertise is unprecedented and we, as business leaders, are doing ourselves a huge disservice if we are not taking advantage of it!

I am often asked what podcasts I listen to, so I have listed them below. I do not listen to each episode of these podcasts because there is simply not enough time in the day! I pick and chose the episodes that interest me and I delete the rest.

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Smart Thinking

Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done

This week’s book review is Smart Thinking by Art Markman, PHD.

Smart Thinking explores three essential keys to solving problems, innovating and getting things done. Basically, Smart Thinking requires developing Smart Habits to acquire High Quality Knowledge and to apply your knowledge to achieve your goals. A Smart Habit is the repetition of a desired behavior until it becomes an engrained habit. High Quality Knowledge is accurate and tested knowledge without gaps or inaccuracies.

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How to Use Active Reading to Improve Your Business

If a business leader wants to remain relevant in today’s dynamic marketplace they must always be learning.  One of the best ways to learn and increase your knowledge is by reading.

Active reading, where you highlight important information and take notes on what is being read, is even one step better! Putting the highlighted passages and notes into a format that can be shared with others or reviewed at another time kicks learning up to a whole new level!

I have always been a voracious reader but I lacked the discipline required to go back to the books and pull out the highlights and notes. Because of that lack of discipline, I often spent many unnecessary hours searching through volumes of books for something I had read that I needed for my business.

Then Amazon changed everything . . .

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How Smart Thinking Can Improve Your Business, Engage Your Employees and Satisfy Your Customers

Leaders of successful businesses foster innovative work environments where their employees are able to creatively apply their knowledge and strengths to solve their customers’ problems. This sort of work environment is motivating for employees, results in happy, repeat customers that are happy to pay for your services and products. It is a win-win-win for everyone.

Back in the early 90’s I worked for a consulting company that had this mindset. Employees were encouraged to work with customers to identify areas in their businesses that could be improved. We then proposed a number of solutions to deal with these improvement opportunities and the customers would hire us to implement them.