Written by Michael Bungay Stanier.  Follow me on Twitter

I’ve spent the last three days training an excellent group of folks from Gartner. They’ve been the perfect bunch to work with – thoughtful, smart, both willing to challenge and willing to trust the process.

At the end of the three days I was offered up a piece of feedback that I’m still chewing over:

“It was obvious that you knew most of our names – but not all of them.”

It was true. There were two or three people who’s names I knew – but only sort of. And I didn’t want to get it wrong, so I didn’t say their names. And in a gracious way, they let me know that they knew that.

One of the truths about Great Work is that you can’t do it alone. This training, on coaching and engagement skills, is part of my Great Work – and the people who show up willing to be trained are as much part of “the mix” as my fellow trainers. The least I could do is know their names.

=> Is there anyone supporting you in your Great Work that you need to get to know a little better?

Michael Port is a best-selling business author and a smart guy. His first book, Book Yourself Solid was in 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 chatted with Michael a couple of months ago, and it’s prefect timing to release the interview in conjunction with his new book. 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; and
- And of course … the Think Big Revolution

=> Listen to the interview here.

=> And don’t forget to check out Michael’s new book The Think Big Manifesto: Think You Can’t Change Your Life (and the World)? Think Again

Written by Michael Bungay Stanier. Follow me on Twitter.

Michael Chabon is fantastic. He wrote The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. He wrote The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Both extraordinary novels.

And now I’m reading his first book of non-fiction, Maps and Legends – a book (so far at least) of literary and cultural reference.

Here’s the paragraph that made me laugh out loud with delight, because this is EXACTLY what blows my mind. Gabon is describing what his goal would be in creating a new generation of comic books for children.

Let’s blow their little minds. A mind is not blown, in spite of whatever Hollywood seems to teach, merely by action sequences, things exploding, thrilling planetscapes, wild bursts of speed. Those are all good things; but a mind is blown when something you always feared but knew to be impossible turns out to be true; when the world turns out to be far vaster, far more marvelous or malevolent than you ever dreamed; when you get proof that everything is connected to everything else, that everything you know is wrong, that you are both the center of the universe and a tiny speck sailing off its nethermost edge.

I wish I’d written that.

What blows your mind?

Written by Michael Bungay Stanier. Follow me on Twitter

Here are three useful and provocative bits of writing for anyone interested in a little more Great Work.

1. Seth Godin on the hierarchy of presentations

Because if you’re spending time creating long, pointless, ugly powerpoint slides, you’re truly not doing Great Work. Here are some other options on how to persuade people to come and play.

2. Are you a wolf? Or a sheep?

Hugh MacLeod asks this question – and more interestingly, tells you the price of being either of them. (And you can see how he’s turned his back-of-a-business-card blog into a business too).

3. Bob Dylan’s words of wisdom

I’m not sure I agree these are the top three of the Bobster’s musings. Here’s my favourite stanza, or at least my favourite right now, today.

Most of the time
I’m clear focused all around,
Most of the time
I can keep both feet on the ground,
I can follow the path, I can read the signs,
Stay right with it, when the road unwinds,
I can handle whatever I stumble upon,
I don’t even notice she’s gone,
Most of the time.

A couple of years ago I contributed a chapter on “catastrophizing” to 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life Vol. 3 – and the publisher is offering a 24 hour bonus sale on the series which you might be interested in checking out. Here’s the deal…

There are three books, and each one has a 101 short chapters.  Some are from famous folk in the self-help world (Byron Katie, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar and more) and most are from not-really-famous people like me.  Having read all three books, I can say there a mix of content – much is very solid, there are some gems on what it takes to better your life … and there’s a bit of chaff as well.

During this 24 hour period, the creator (who’s behind selfgrowth.com) is offering a bunch of bonuses:

• “The Success Principles” from Jack Canfield
• A 14 day self-improvement boot camp
• And a bunch of other things you might find valuable.

You can check out the offer for yourself here.

(This is one of those annoying-yet-seemingly-effective sales pages with yellow highlights and over the top testimonials.  That all said, I think the books do have something to offer as do the bonuses on offer)