Michael Port is a best-selling business author. His first book, Book Yourself Solid was on the best seller lists for months, and this week he’s publishing his latest, The Think Big Manifesto. Its subtitle says it all: “Think you can’t change your life (and the world)? Think again!”
I’m thrilled that Michael wrote a piece for Do More Great Work.
In this interview Michael and I look at:
- Why you should know your limits and avoid the Bonk
- The power of goal setting
- How to create a To Not Do list
- The Think Big Revolution
This interview is approximately 20 minutes long.
Posted on February 11, 2010
Tags: Author,
Coaching,
Goals,
Happiness,
Impact,
Marketing,
Right People,
Satisfaction,
Self-reflection,
Support,
Think Big
Dave Ulrich is a titan in the world of HR, a champion for HR to get out of the ‘comp and bens’ ghetto to have a strategic impact. I first met him when we were both speaking at a conference in India. A big crowd, all ready to be lectured for the day by Dave. And the session was electric. Dave found the perfect balance between sharing wisdom, being provocative and being playful with the group. He is a prolific writer, with articles and books on many aspects of HR and leadership, his most recent book is The Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead By. Dave is a partner and co-founder of The RBL Group and is also a professor of business at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Dave and his wife Wendy have written a lovely piece in Do More Great Work.
In this interview we discuss:
- the art of finding simplicity in complexity – and how that fits with system thinking
- the value of staying in a place of ambiguity rather than rushing to decisions
- the link between energy and engagement
- and why, at the end of the day, you shouldn’t take things too seriously
You can find Dave at on his website.
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with:
- Dan Roam, author of ‘The Back of a Napkin’
- Julia Claydon, Head of HR of Nandos UK
- Kevin Cashman, author of ‘Leadership from the Inside Out’
Posted on February 11, 2010
Garr Reynold and Nancy Duarte are the two people who’ve done the most to change how presentations work in organizations today. Garr’s book Presentation Zen and his excellent blog help to champion a style of presentation that is to the point, elegant, has an impact and is beautiful to boot. A selection of his interests – and I love this list – includes: “beautiful design, philosophy, branding, great presentations (and doing my part to help rid the world of boring, ineffective, ridiculously bad, amateurish PowerPoint presentations) Zen in daily life, the Blues, playing the drums, Japanese pop music (save SMAP and Ayumi Hamasaki, of course), Japanese traditional music, Okinawa music, Plato, American college football (especially Oregon State Univ.), Earth Wind & Fire, early morning coffee, reading or working in a downtown café and learning something new everyday.” Garr lives in Japan and is the Associate Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai University.
In this interview we chat about:
- The paradox of restrictions as a form of liberation
- Why “Failure is not an option”
- The strategy of “plus alpha” to help do more Great Work
- Why pen and paper can often trump using a computer
- And the role of elegance in design
You can follow Garr on Twitter at @PresentationZen and on his blog at Presentation Zen.com
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with:
- Nancy Duarte, author of Slide:ology
- Dan Roam, author of Back of a Napkin
- “Mr Simplicity” Bill Jensen, author of The Simplicity Survival Handbook
Posted on January 20, 2010
I like napkins. I spend time in coffee shops and inevitably end up showing ideas and sharing models on napkins. The subtitle of the first version of Do More Great Work was “napkin-size solutions to stop the busywork”. So I was delighted to speak to Dan Roam, author of the deservedly popular book The Back of a Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. Dan – who’s just released a workbook version called Unfolding the Napkin – has done a masterful job at explaining just how to make your ideas – your Great Work ideas – powerful, focused and useful.
In this interview we get into:
- Why we must abandon our “endless bullet points and endless paragraphs” if we want our ideas to stick
- Why simplicity isn’t a goal in and of itself – but clarity is
- How drawing a circle – and another and another – can help untangle any problem (Dan explains just how)
- And why we need to stop the meeting madness!
You can follow Dan at Digital Roam and on his blog.
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with:
Posted on January 19, 2010
