BOOK OF THE WEEK: "Hidden Potential" by Adam Grant

Adam Grant has a new book out and it is perfect. 

I'm going to flip all the way to the end and start at the epilogue. Why? I'm built different. But no in all seriousness, this needs to be said first. 

For those that don't know the organizational psychologist, Adam Grant. He's a Harvard alum. But what you also probably don't know is, Grant failed his writing exam. Interesting. A New York Times #1 bestselling author failed his writing exam when he went to Harvard? Yes, it is true he did. But it was what he did afterward that made him into that bestselling author.

Sure it was probably quite humbling and a shot to the ego failing his writing placement exam. It's something that makes one feel as if they are an imposter and they didn't deserve to be at Harvard. But he met with his alumni interviewer again, the interviewer said the thing that he wrote to the admissions committee about Grant was not about being a magician. It was the initiative Grant showed in learning how to do magic and the courage he showed in the interviewer's law office to perform a magic trick. That's what made Grant stand out. 

That was one solid interview by the Harvard alum. But not surprising. It's not uncommon for Harvard alums to act in this way. Harvard alums are not uptight or stodgy as others may think they are. Just the opposite. Most would rather have you tell them a story about how you accomplished something. Grant's situation paralleled to a situation I faced this past summer. 

I had just shot my career low round of a 74, finished with +9 quota points AND recorded my first eagle (2-under par on hole) (outside of my hole-in-one from four years ago) on the Fourth of July. You could say I played well that day. Well the following Tuesday in the Tuesday night golf league, I got paired up with a pair of Harvard alums (Class of 81 and Class of 88). 

Riding around with the member of the Class of 88 for nine holes, it was only natural that the 74 and my first eagle came up (news spreads quickly around the course). But he didn't just ask. The words he used were clear, he said "tell me about the eagle." 

It's an interesting question. To the average person the response is "yeah well I got an eagle." But really the true answer was making it a story. A story that had a climax and some suspense to it. Because it's an eagle - 2-under par on a hole (so a 2 on a par four, 3 on a par five, 1 on a par three) - there has to be some dramatics. And there was some excitement. 

It was the shortest par five. It hit my usual drive - in the fairway. With a solid drive in the middle of the fair I was about 170 out from two cross sand traps so I hit a five-iron inside the 100-yard marker on the right, setting me up for a nice wedge to a front right pin. Anytime I'm within 100 yards or less, I always attack the pin and I did just that, that day. Ball is perfectly in line with the pin, takes one bounce and slight role into the hole.  

But that's it right there. That's what Adam Grant's Harvard alumni interview saw in Grant that day of his interview

BLOG: Be Versatile

Back during his playing days, the Red Sox continuously re-assigned Lou Merloni their Triple A affiliate so frequently that the route between Boston and, then, Pawtucket had been colloquially re-named as the "Merloni Shuttle." Merloni wasn't all to happy about being shuttled back and forth, who would, but the reason was simple: he had options that allowed the team to adjust the roster without fear of losing players to the rest of the baseball market. 

It's not fun to be this person. There so much uncertainty. One never knows how long they will stay in the big leagues before they getting shipped out. It's stressful. 

While there's a name for the the player who is on the cusp of Triple A and the Majors (Merloni Shuttle), what about those pitchers who on edge of being starter and reliever? Those pitchers who are good enough to be starter, but when other starters either return from injury or just better pitchers are acquired, that pitcher gets sent to the bullpen. 

Well that scenario was right there was Tim Wakefield. 

He was a starter, reliever and even a closer. Still pretty mind-boggling that a guy who threw a pitch that no one has any control over was chosen to pitch the last inning of the game, but hey that was Jimy Williams for you. 

It's no surprise since the man was drafted by the Pirates as an infielder. But when it was told to him that he may never make it to the majors as position player, he shifted his eyes towards pitching. Wakefield was an innovator. And it was what kept him in baseball for 19 years. 

Laggers build walls when they feel winds of change. Innovators build windmills.

— Imry Halevi (@imryh) August 26, 2023

Wakefield was always the man on the move. Shuttling back-and-forth between in the rotation and the bullpen, is not ideal. No one dreams of being a relief pitcher. They always dream of being a starter - taking the mound every five days. So when you're in the bullpen you can feel lost.

But just like he did in the minors when told he wasn't going to make it as a position player. He pivoted. Wakefield used his versatility to his advantage. And it is something that needs to be studied by anyone who plays a sport from the youth levels all the way to the professional levels. 

In this day when it is pays to be highly specialized we come to forget that it is the versatility that is the true marker of success. 

Book of the Week: "The Light We Carry" by Michelle Obama

 Former First Lady Michelle Obama has certainly been an icon and an inspiration to many people out there - particularly women. She proved that as a woman you could have it all. You could have a killer career, be a powerful career woman and a mother all at the same time. But it came with a cost and there were many bumps in the road as she described in her first book "Becoming." 

Her second book, penned out of the pandemic, Michelle described life as she attempted to navigate one of the worst international global health crisis in the last 100 years. There was so much uncertainty and with that lack of knowing what the future held for her and rest of the Obamas came a new diagnosis of low-grade depression (along with a new passion for knitting). 

In times of uncertainty and you don't know what is right in front of you, it is paramount to slow things down and take things one step a time. It is not much different than the sport of golf. 

Golf is a counterintuitive sport. If you want to hit the ball in the air, then you have to hit down on the ball. And it goes for all aspects of the game. 

If you find yourself on the golf course and you're hacking away, hitting low rollers and making little progress, the solution to that is slow things down. It's certainly frustrating when you're playing poorly, you want to get to your next shot quickly and hit fast hoping that the next shot will be one that turns everything around. 

Well that's the wrong approach. Increasing your speed is only going to make your game spiral further south. Now it's hard to slow down. You don't want to slow down the pace or hold up the group behind you, but that is precisely what you need to do. And if you do that you will find you will be playing faster (and better). 

"Slow down to move fast."

An that is exactly what one needs to do in times of uncertainty. It's what the Commonwealth of Massachusetts did when re-opening the state. It's what brought athletics back to many colleges that put sports on the back-burner for a year. Slowing yourself down, but not stopping and taking one small step at a time. May I remind you of the phrase "little drops make big drops?" 

BOOK OF THE WEEK: "Full Circle: From Hollywood to Real Life and Back Again" by Andrea Barber

Kimmy Gibbler. 

If you grew up in the 90s you know who Kimmy Gibbler is. She's the wacky, annoying neighbor of the Tanners who always seemed to irk one member of the Tanner family with her antics. But she was also D.J's (the oldest of the Tanner girls) best friend, so it's not like she wasn't welcome in the Tanner household despite Danny Tanner's pleas to D.J. in one episode "make new friends." 

It's unsure on how exactly Kimmy and D.J. became best friends. Their personalities aren't all that much alike. D.J. is the studious, straight A, do-gooder, who always want to please her father; whereas Kimmy was not that academically structured with a vibrant personality and was not afraid to show it. But maybe, just maybe, that is what drew the two together? 

However, this was a TV show and Andrea Barber, the actress who played Kimmy. was nothing like her character at all. Where Kimmy was her extroverted self, Andrea was far more reserved. In fact, Andrea actually auditioned for the role of D.J., but impressed the writers and producers enough that they cast her for the role of Kimmy. 

For those who aren't familiar with Full House or its sequel Fuller House (which I have a hard time believing people aren't familiar with it), you may remember there was love-hate relationship between Kimmy and D.J's next younger sister, Stephanie. Stephanie loved to hate on Kimmy. The quips between the two of the were gold. But the quips, despite being in good fun, could be brutal. 

There was one episode of "Full House" Kimmy was writing the horoscopes section for the school newspaper and Stephanie chimes in and asks "horoscope is that a telescope that can only see your face?" Ouch, that is a pretty tough wise crack for a family show. 

But the one thing everything boils down to is being being strange is a superpower. It's easy to go with the grain and go with the rest of society, but it is very difficult to be the one who stands out. The character of Kimmy Gibbler made it easy for people to be different. 

BOOK OF THE WEEK: "You Can't Be Serious" by Kal Penn

How does an Indian-American actor turn into a community organizer, who gets noticed by the 44th President of the United States and offered a position in the President's administration? If you ever seen the stoner comedy Harold & Kumar or a fan of the T.V. series House, M.D., you'd recognize the name Kal Penn. 

Penn takes us through his life growing up as an Indian/Asian-American and the stigmas he faced while trying to make it in the world of Hollywood with his background. After years of countless rejections, he finally landed the prominent role of Dr. Lawrence Kutner, an Indian-American diagnostic fellow on Dr. House's team on the hit medical drama, House M.D. 

If you're not familiar with the show House, what led to Penn's character Kutner's involvement with the show happened at the start of the season four. The previous season ended with the show's lead, Dr. House, looking (or forced to look) for a new team. The ever misanthropic, curmudgeon of a doctor decides to make it a Survivor-style game, bringing in 100 candidates to compete for the three positions. Originally, Kutner's character was axed, but returned when he flipped his first number six upside down to become nine, which essentially won him a spot on House's team. 

Behind the scenes the crew was actually very close. Coming up and playing mini-games in between shoots while on set. It was Olivia Wilde, who played Thirteen on House, who urged Penn to attend an Obama campaign rally that included many Hollywood celebrities with her, knowing his interest in politics and current affairs. He, reluctantly, attended, but found that he actually enjoyed it and it turned out to be the best of both worlds. 

Penn was able to participate and volunteer to support the Obama Campaign, and continue to fulfill his responsibilities on House because the screen writers were on strike and not writing any new scripts. It was even brought up by President Obama himself during a campaign event in Iowa. Obama inquired that it must be slow with the writers' strike, but Penn added they were still filming episodes before the strike. Soon after, Obama said, if they finish and they are still on strike, he would love to have Penn as an organizer more. 

It was interesting to see how Penn approached the the House executives when he told the producers he was offered the position with the Obama Administration. They had no knowledge of the position. Even though Penn told his agent, who informed him that he would not be able to get out of the contract, it was not because the show executives were blocking his exit so he went straight to the show's creator, David Shore. 

Contrary to what what his agent said, Shore was excited for Penn and thought of ways to write Kutner out of the show. But everything was not in the clear just yet, the waters were about to get muddier. The exact way Kutner's character was to be written off the show was going to be sudden and straight to the point, but with one caveat, Penn could not accept the White House job until the show aired. That was four months away. Would the job still be there? 

It was definitely one of those moments, that we've all had: do you accept the sure-thing (your current role on a hit TV show or whatever it may be) or go all-in for something that you really want? 

BLOG: My Top 10 Books All-Time

I've read a lot of books over the past three years and written about many of them. When I'm reading books, I'm present in the moment, the book sitting in my hands is my all-time favorite, so one can see how my "favorites" can change overtime. But three years later, there are 10 books that are still tops on the list. 

In no particular order, here they are: 

"How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

This book is a forever classic and heard great things from many about it, but I never read it so in summer of 2018 I knew it was important to pick up and read. Although Dale Carnegie published the book 85 years ago, many of the the principles are still applicable today. Of the 10 principles Carnegie mentions, there are two that really stick out and I try to incorporate everyday. 

The first one is "making people feel important and doing it sincerely." Anytime you're talking to someone, it is your job to make that person feel as they are the only person in the world at the time. No checking your phone. No looking at your watch. Your attention should be directed at that person in the moment. We can all think of one person in our lives who exemplified that and we remember how they made us feel when they did that. This principle piggy-backs on another Carnegie principle is remembering people's names. A person's name is a the sweetest thing to them and when you remember their name it shows that person you care. 

And the second principle that sticks out is, about becoming the type of leader who can get people to change their behavior without causing resentment. There comes a time when others will do things that will upset you, but a great leader will be able to express their frustrations in positive way to get the change they want. Similar to when it is a beautiful day for golf and there are many people on the course, which leads to slow play. If you want the group to speed up, approaching them in a hostile way is only going to piss them off and in defiance they will play slower. Engaging in friendly conversation will be much more effective. 

"How Schools Work" by Arne Duncan

In September, 2018, I had the privilege of listening to the form U.S. Secretary of Education, under Barack Obama, Arne Duncan speak at the Harvard University Institute of Politics. Duncan spoke of why he was so passionate about education and bettering the lives of all of our youth - not just the privileged few - growing up as the child of a teacher and spending years working directly with underprivileged youth in his younger years. It is definitely a book, I would encourage others to pick up and read. 

"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell 

I never did a "book of the week" post on this book, but "Outliers" is the first book that drew me to the mind of  Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell opened the eyes of many as to how people obtained their success. What separated good Canadian youth hockey players from the elite players who joined the Junior teams to Bill Gates' rise to his success and his path to starting Microsoft. It all came down to the 10,000 hours of practice concept. Those people who were afforded the opportunity to practice their skills over and over again were eventually the ones who received the coaching and ultimately achieved success. 

It's eye opening because pairing it with Duncan's book, we see the importance of investing in those youngsters, who through no fault of their own, may be a step behind their peers, who may be of a higher socioeconomic standing. 

"Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The former U.S. First Lady may be a polarizing figure, but she is far from political unlike her husband, the former President. Michelle's autobiography (which yes I am ranking it higher than her husband's) is so real. She came from very humbling beginnings as a the daughter of father with multiple sclerosis and a young African American woman at an Ivy League institutions. She writes about her constant struggle with "imposter syndrome" as well as being judged by others about how she raised her daughters Malia and Sasha. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, this is another must read from a pretty successful woman. 

"The Infinite Game" by Simon Sinek | Part II

This book definitely has to be on the list. It was one of the few books that I wrote back-to-back posts on - mainly because I wanted to cover two different topics and one post would be too wordy. Much like Malcolm Gladwell, Simon Sinek is an excellent mind and makes people think about things they never would have dreamed of thinking about and is not different with his book "The Infinite Game." 

There are two types of games - a finite game or an infinite game. Players in a finite game are playing with a fixed outcome. In the sporting world, basketball is a finite game there is a clear objective, set duration and a clear winner and loser at the end. Finite games work well for sports, but not so much in the world of business. 

Businesses who try to play a finite game and want to be the best by beating out their competition are going going to lose in the end. But those companies, like Apple, don't believe they are playing to be number one, they play to keep the game going. They don't focus on being the best, but trying to keep the game moving. 

"Talking To Strangers" by Malcolm Gladwell

What can I say I really enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's work. Similar to "Outliers," Gladwell's 2019 book "Talking to Strangers" takes readers through many different historical scenarios as he attempts to show us that people are not as transparent as we may think. Gladwell opens and closes the book with the Sandra Bland case and how she tragically took her own life after a police officer arrested her in what should've been a routine traffic stop. He mentions Bernie Madoff and how Madoff was able to swindle so much cash from hardworking people because of his charm or how Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier were able to cover up for Jerry Sandusky all those years. 

"Surrounded By Idiots" by Thomas Erikson

It's not a coincidence that "Surrounded By Idiots" is directly following "Talking To Strangers" amongst my all-time top 10 list. The two books have a lot in common. Erikson explains to his audience in "Surrounded By Idiots" there are four distinct types of human behavior and figuring out how to communicate effectively with each one leads to success of the business. Not everyone is the same and just as Malcolm Gladwell taught us in "Talking to Strangers," people aren't as transparent as others may believe. (Also if you didn't read my blog post on this book the first time around, I suggest you do so now because each of the DudePerfect team members fit into one of the four categories perfectly. Link is in the title. 

"Kindness and Wonder" by Gavin Edwards

Anyone who grew up in the 80s or 90s definitely remembers watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Those carefree days as a young toddler, before you were even enrolled in school, well this book takes you back to those days and let's you re-live a time where you legit did not have a care in the world. Sometimes it's a good thing to re-visit those days and you can with this book. 

"Think Again" by Adam Grant

Adam Grant's latest book teaches us how if we constantly want to be learning and be life-long learners, we have to be open to re-thinking our thinking. That some of the things we once believed in may not very well be the case at all. Using Red Sox and Yankee fans as an example, he attempts to make a Sox fan like the Yankees and vice versa getting them to realize that they have more in common than they really think. We have to admit when we are wrong, or don't know as much as we perceive. That's when we know we are truly learning. 

"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch 

Seriously, how can I have an all-time top 10 book list and not include the man who inspired the name of this blog? It's inconceivable! I never did a post on the late Carnegie Mellon professor's book, but the fact his brick wall concept was the inspiration for the blog name automatically makes it an all-time top 10 and probably will not be leaving the category any time soon (or maybe at all). While many of these other nine books may change over time, not sure "The Last Lecture" is going anywhere. With "The Last Lecture" Professor Pausch really teaches us how to live our lives so all of our dreams can come true. 

Honorable Mentions: 

"13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

"Zilosophy on Golf" by Michael Zildjian

"The Ideal Team Player" by Patrick Lencioni

"Help Them Up" by Dan Horwitz

"Hitting Made Simple" by Kraig Kupiec

"American Crisis" by Andrew Cuomo

Book the Week: "The Ideal Team Player" by Patrick Lencioni

All businesses out there want team players, but what exactly is the ideal team player and how does a company go about finding the right person? 

The book begins with a story of Jeff, who has been picked by his uncle, Bob, to take over his construction business when Bob was forced to retire due to health issues and upcoming surgery. However, Bob had left Jeff in somewhat of a predicament. The business was doing extremely well, so well that it had two MAJOR projects lined up. Jeff, alongside with his two other upper level administrators (Bobby and Clare), knew they had to hire a lot of people, including another senior management position. 

One of the top priorities of the company (VB) under Bob's leadership was teamwork and stressing the importance of being a team player. It was something that Jeff wanted to continue to push at VB. But first he, Bobby and Clare had define a team-player. 

Coming up with their model of the ideal team-player and the type of person they wanted at VB, they put it to use to find their new senior manager. They quickly were drawn to a fellow who had loads of experience in the industry, Ted Marchbanks, a man who had recently retired from a bigger firm. Ted checked off all the boxes, but to Jeff there was something missing that kept him from pulling the trigger and hiring Ted. 

One of the biggest conversations that he had was with Clare's assistant, Kim. When asked what she thought of Ted, Kim mentioned that she thought there was something off about him. On the day of Ted's interview, the two of them were in the lobby for 15 minutes and he came across as less than sociable. Kim's interaction with Ted confirmed Clare's earlier suspicion when he had no idea who Kim was after Clare dropped Ted off, following their interview, for his next one. 

There are three things current manager can from this one piece of information from Kim. First off, why was there no small-talk between Kim and Ted in the lobby? Did Ted think it was beneath him to chat with with receptionist? There's a red-flag right there. Why would you want someone on your team who belittles a fellow colleague just because he holds a higher title? Probably not. 

One could also make an argument that it's not in Ted's personality to engage in conversations as such, but this throws up a red-flag again. If Ted's being looked at for an upper management position, then it is paramount that he have some interpersonal skills, be friendly and engage in some small-talk while he's waiting. 

Second clue that comes out of Kim's piece of information is, Jeff valued input from EVERYONE on his staff not only his senior managers. Those front line workers (i.e. receptionists, custodians) are the face of the business. They are the people that everyone sees and they see everyone. They know exactly what's going on at any given time during the day and their opinions need to be valued. 

And third, Kim's involvement was huge. She actually, personally, knew people who worked at the firm Ted was previously at, who she could ask for information about Ted's character and personality. This is important for all hiring managers to take into account. When it comes to references, job candidates will only list people who will give them a favorable recommendation. If you want to truly know what a person is like, instead call the mutual acquaintances - people who you know work in the same company, but the candidate does not know you know them. You'll get real feedback and information this way. (Learned this last point from a former athletic director.) 

It's a must read book for any manager, coach, or someone who wants to be an elite manager or championship coach.