Branches & Roots Vol 1.1: A look at what we learned in the first 45 of 2014

A look at what we learned in the first 45 of 2014

Welcome to the end of the first 45 days of the year and the beginning of a fresh 45 days that will finish up Q1. We have been spending a lot of time with our clients on the importance the Calendar plays in life, sport and business and thought we would share a bit of what we have seen so far this year.

FULL DISCLOSURE:
We believe the last thing any of you are looking for is another email from someone telling you about their company. In fact the last thing most of us want is another email. Yet, we are always interested in quality content on subjects we care about from experts, and learning about people or teams that excel is inspiring and can be contagious.

With these principles in mind we offer you “Branches & Roots” an eight times a year “Brief” for the people that make up our network, and what we are learning from them. Content from you is welcome and encouraged.

For now the format will be as follows, a short quip about the people we have met in the past 45 days and what we have learned. This will be followed by an Interesting Articles section pulled from our network or others that we feel are worth your attention. An  Interesting Books section for the avid readers in the group with a short review of the selected titles. Finally we will close with a  golf tip, you will have to guess if the tip comes from Sara or Drew as we all know who is the better golfer in the family…

INTERESTING ARTICLES

News from Davos
January brings about as series of summits for industry as well as governments and in the span of a few days 2 very sharp women “in the network” were commenting on the same topic. Cari Guittard posted this article and Edie Lush posted this video, both of which opened our eyes to some rising tensions between China and Japan. Given that it is the 100 year anniversary of the beginning of WW1 which was supposed to be “short and not too difficult” we thought it worth a look…

An Interesting way to watch the SuperBowl
Have you noticed that football season is over? Did you watch the SuperBowl? What was better, the game, the commercials or the conversations you had with friends while watching? Our perspective on the game certainly changed after reading Jack Bowen’s comments that were posted just before the game. Jack coaches in Menlo Park and continues to offer great perspective for all athletes, coaches and especially parents…

INTERESTING BOOKS

“David & Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell starts conversations, and poses interesting questions. His research gets beat up by critics from time to time, but his place as a conversation starter is set. Whatever he writes about, people seem to talk about. His latest book has reminded us that every time we are in an authoritative position to be more empathetic and mindful of others, and when we are in a subordinate or minority role to be optimistic about our position.  The line of the book for us was “David was a slinger.” Here is the Google Talk.

“Focus” by Daniel Goleman
Goleman and his peers are breaking ground in how humans interact with each other and what the brain is doing while we are both social and alone. His earlier works on Emotional Intelligence are excellent. In this book he takes on the trendy topic of Focus and falls a bit short. The second half of the book gets way off base (a bit ironic) but the first half is worthwhile. We suggest watching his Google Talk. 

Give & Take” by Adam Grant
This was our book of the year in 2013 (I had to nudge Sara off of a few of her favorite sci fi selections) and I am listening to it for the third time on my walks. Grant challenges you to not get too far ahead in your thinking as he has plenty of twists and turns which is rare in a business book. Are you a Taker, Matcher, or Giver... Which should you be… Can you change… He presents data and stories which will leave you asking all these questions. For a sample watch his Google Talk. 

GOLF TIP

A Fresh Look at Feet
How many feet of putts did you make the last time you played? Seriously, add up all the putts you made in feet. Was it 10 feet or 100? What does it take to make $$ in the game of golf. You need to be a good putter. Yet most people never jump the shark of taking on the hole because the embarrassment of three putting is too much to handle. Consequently they never really roll their ball with the speed necessary to go in. 

Consider this option, look at putting like playing HORSE in basketball. Your score goes into your handicap and your handicap doesn’t change much over time. What you feel is more important, and the feeling of a few 15 foot or 30 foot putts that go in lasts for a very long time. 

So be a shooter, look at your 12 footers as free throws and roll your ball for the joy of making a shot. Your 3 or 5 footers coming back…just watch the line as the ball goes past and you just gave yourself a great read on the line.