Books

Conquer Resistance with “The War of Art”: Unlock Your Creative Potential

/ Jonathan Sachs

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

From time to time I come across a book that is so powerful, it feeds my soul. These books speak to me in ways that simultaneously inspire, challenge, and validate my thinking about my sense of self. Recently, I read The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield and the book did just that. It has become one of my four “Books of the Soul” that I will go back to and re-read for years to come.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a "Book for the Soul"

The War of Art Starts with Resistance

Pressfield begins The War of Art with a shot right between the eyes.

He describes an evil, vindictive force he calls, “Resistance.” Resistance is essentially self-doubt and self-sabotage fueled by fear.

If you have ever heard that voice in your head try to talk you out of doing what you feel is your purpose, that thought process is resistance.

He describes the many forms that resistance takes, like procrastination, addiction, and distraction.

One of the reasons The War of Art speaks to me is that resistance is a force in my life. For example, starting this blog was an act in overcoming resistance. When I started, I was 30 years old and filled with self-doubt. I told myself that nobody would want to hear from me. I asked myself, what could little old me contribute to the idea of leadership? Everyone’s going to laugh at you!

Here I am, overcoming resistance 107 posts later. It wasn’t easy to do.

Jonathan Haidt, author of the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, explains why. He writes, “The mind is divided, like a rider on an elephant, and the rider’s job is to serve the elephant. The rider is our conscious reasoning-the stream of words and images of which we are fully aware. The elephant is the other 99% of mental processes-the ones that occur outside of awareness but actually govern most of our behavior.”

The War of Art and the rider and the elephant metaphor

Said another way, the rider is the elephant’s press secretary, justifying its actions after a decision is made.

The elephant is all about resistance. The rider is resistance’s greatest ally, because it develops the logic to explain the elephant’s desire to maintain the status quo.

Pressfield discusses the many facets of resistance. The major benefit is that after looking for resistance, you become more aware of it as a force in your life.

The War of Art on Overcoming Resistance

So how do we overcome resistance?

Pressfield discusses that overcoming resistance involves transitioning from an amateur to a professional.

He describes it this way in The War of Art, “The word amateur comes from the Latin root meaning ‘to love.’ The conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation. The professional loves it so much, he dedicates his life to it. He commits full time.”

Pressfield then describes what it means to turn pro. Turning pro happens when we create a practice and a routine to do the work every day with focus. As you commit to this daily practice, you will know it is working if you get so lost in your work that you lose track of time.

He details the way to become a professional in the book Turning Pro.

The War of Art on Loving Being Miserable

One of my favorite ideas in the book was the idea of being in love with being miserable.

Pressfield describes how Marines love to be miserable and further explains how this applies to the “artist,” which includes the entrepreneur.

Pressfield writes, “The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.

The artist must be like that Marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier or swabbie or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.”

Elon Musk said it a slightly different way. He described running a start-up, “Like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. After a while, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends.” Musk is a billionaire who still chews glass. My guess is he’s a guy that loves being miserable!

I loved that description. I pull the covers up on cold mornings just as much as the next guy. Since reading this book, the idea of loving being miserable has helped me wake up earlier, run in the rain for exercise, and watch what I am eating more carefully. Sometimes the things you need most in life can make you miserable. Being in love with that feeling is a superpower I hope to develop.

The War of Art for Leaders

The implications for leaders are many. So much so, that I will be writing about them exclusively in next week’s post.

In short, The War of Art creates a distinction between amateurs and professionals. The hallmark of the professional is a dedicated practice. Some people in Senior Leadership roles are amateur leaders because they do not approach leadership as a practice and the consequences are severe.

Founders or senior leaders who are promoted because of politics or other social forces are rarely professional leaders. Meaning they made be technically or functionally professional, but that is different than what it means to be a professional leader. In next week’s post, I will describe what a professional leader looks like and how you can tell a professional from an amateur. You won’t want to miss it. Subscribe here to make sure you don’t.

Key Takeaways – The War of Art

“The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield is a powerful book that highlights the concept of resistance, which is fueled by self-doubt and fear, and inhibits us from pursuing our purpose.

Overcoming resistance involves transitioning from an amateur to a professional by dedicating ourselves fully to our calling, developing a daily practice and routine, and embracing the challenges and misery that come with it.

The book’s insights are applicable not only to artists and entrepreneurs but also to leaders, and the next post will delve deeper into the distinction between amateur and professional leaders.

The War of Art is available for purchase on Amazon

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Creating a Culture of Trust and Cooperation: Lessons from ‘Leaders Eat Last’ by Simon Sinek for New Leaders

/ Jonathan Sachs

Becoming an effective leader requires more than just holding a position of authority. To lead a team effectively, leaders need to inspire and motivate their team members to achieve common goals. One of the most insightful books on leadership is “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. In this book, Sinek shares strategies and principles that can help anyone become a better leader.

Why I refer this book to all new leaders I meet

Sinek’s most popular book, Start with Why, which accompanied one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time, is an essential read. I have even reviewed it on this blog! Start with Why contains extremely important information on how excellent leaders communicate, and Leaders Eat Last builds upon those concepts discussing the essence of what it means to be a servant leader. To a servant leader, being in leadership is not about a title, control, prestige, or advancement. It’s fundamentally about service, calling, and mission.

Sinek discusses lessons from government and businesses about servant leadership. He also discusses generational differences in the workplace, which I believe is an under-appreciated topic.

Summary of Leaders Eat Last

The book’s title comes from a practice in the U.S. Marine Corps where leaders prioritize the needs of their team over their own. This simple concept is the foundation of the book. Sinek argues that true leaders prioritize the well-being of their team members, which creates a culture of trust and cooperation.

Simon Sinek's book "Leaders Eat Last" takes lessons from the Navy Seals and US Marine Corps on what it means to be a servant leader. The book is an essential read for new leaders.
CORONADO, Calif. (Jan. 23, 2018) U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Abe McNatt/Released)

Sinek emphasizes the importance of creating a sense of belonging and purpose in a team. He gives the example of a company called Barry-Wehmiller, where CEO Bob Chapman created a culture of care and respect for his employees. By deliberately building trust, Chapman created a sense of purpose that motivated his employees to work harder and achieve more. This example illustrates that to get results as a modern leader, it is imperative to create an environment where people feel valued and inspired.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the book also discusses the concept of “servant leadership.” Sinek explains that servant leaders prioritize the needs of their team members, rather than their own interests. He says, “True leaders are not those who strive to be first, but those who are first to strive and who give their all for the success of the team.” By serving their team, leaders create a culture of trust and respect that empowers team members to take ownership of their work. When employees take ownership and responsibility over the work, quality tends to increase because they feel like the work reflects on them personally. That type of pride can help teams achieve tremendous results. Building an environment where people are empowered and feel ownership creates incredible results, particularly in customer service and experience.

Lessons Learned

In conclusion, “Leaders Eat Last” is an essential read for anyone looking to become a better leader, especially those who are new to leadership. By prioritizing the well-being of their team members, creating a sense of purpose and belonging, and practicing servant leadership, leaders can inspire their team members to work harder and achieve more. As Sinek says, “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” By following the principles outlined in this book, anyone can become an effective and respected leader.

Fundamentally, “Leaders Eat Last” discusses what it takes to succeed as a modern leader. By showing those on your team that supporting them is more important than hierarchy or command-and-control, it will help leaders accomplish broader and more complex goals.

Key Takeaway

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek shares key messages about effective leadership, including prioritizing the well-being of team members, creating a sense of purpose and belonging, and practicing servant leadership. By following these principles, new leaders can become an effective and respected.

Leaders Eat Last  is available for purchase on Amazon

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Book Review: Contagious – Why Things Catch On

/ Jonathan Sachs

One of my new favorite things to do is to wander around the Amazon Books store in our neighborhood. To the chagrin of my wife, anytime we go for a walk, I enjoy going into the store, always heading straight for the business/management section, just to see what they have in stock that day.

The store is small and is designed in such a way to encourage its customers to get-in, spend money, and get-out. Unlike most bookstores, there are no places to sit, no quiet nooks to hang out and read, and no coffee bar. This conscious decision for such a set-up has made me even more interested to try to figure out how they determine what books to keep in inventory.

I was doing my usual walk through a couple of weeks ago and stumbled upon an orange book called, Contagious by Jonah Berger. The book said “New York Times Bestseller” on the cover, but I didn’t recall ever seeing it on the list, which I check weekly. I thought to myself that I had already read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, which covers the same topic. Still, the psychology about why certain things “go viral,” has always interested me, and it applies to my everyday work of trying to spread a concept and story through the culture of a large organization. I added it to my audible wish list and downloaded it the next time I had a credit. I am so happy that I did.

contagious

When I started listening to it, I found out in the book’s introduction that Jonah Berger teaches at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He focused his research after reading The Tipping Point and wanted to learn more. After years of further study, Berger identified 6 principles to what makes something “go viral”. They are:

  1. Social Currency
  2. Triggers
  3. Emotion
  4. Public
  5. Practical Value
  6. Stories

Berger uses a variety of examples (the $100 cheesesteak and a hidden speakeasy called “Please Don’t Tell”) as well as anecdotes to explain how each principle works and how they fit together.

In addition to being an entertaining and easy read, Contagious holds valuable lessons on an extremely important subject. Knowing how ideas spread is one of the most important competencies of a leader. Setting a vision and a strategy to achieve that vision are insufficient if they are not communicated effectively to members of the organization. A vision and strategy will only ever be a thought exercise if the entire organization doesn’t know what the vision and strategy are or how to connect their work to the overall direction of the organization. Ideas, stories, and messages that are important to the future of the organization must be packaged in such a way that makes them contagious.

Some leaders assume that once a strategy is set, it will automatically cascade to the rest of the organization. But, a message going “viral” in an organization does not happen automatically. Leaders must use psychological principles, like the ones described in Contagious, to make change happen in an organization. Marketing a strategy to employees is equally as important as marketing the product to the customers. Contagious helps to uncover how to do both.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Leadership is about communicating vision and strategy so that it spreads to the entire organization. The six principles in Contagious can help leaders effectively package messages to proactively engage both organizational stakeholders and customers.

Contagious is available for purchase on Amazon for $17.00 (does not include Prime discount).

Can empathy be taught?

/ Jonathan Sachs / 2 Comments

On May 29th, I spoke to the leaders at Adventist HealthCare at our semiannual Mission in Motion conference where patient experience was the theme of the day. As part of the plenary session I explained to our leaders why I am so passionate about the work of improving patient experience.

One of the reasons, I explained, was that last year, we touched nearly 80% of our community within 1-degree of separation. By one degree of separation, I am assuming that each employee and each patient has at least, on average, one other member of their household. For example, if we treated a mother, her experience in our care would have influence on her whole family. Imagine if we demonstrated kindness and compassion in a way that exceeded the patient’s expectations. If our team and our patients take those behaviors home, imagine the multiplier effect it could have of people leading by an example of deep kindness.the war for kindness

If you attended the Mission in Motion conference, you would promptly leave the plenary for a mandatory breakout session on selecting the right employees for the job. The session educated attendees on certain behaviors, like empathy, which lead to kindness and compassion that can’t be taught. If leaders do not follow a good process for hiring, it may hurt the whole group. This conventional wisdom is present in the literature around excellent service organizations, like the Ritz-Carlton, that deploy a rigorous hiring process to prevent “bad apples” from entering the bunch.

Enter Stanford University psychologist Jamil Zaki, who presents a compelling challenge to the notion that empathy is not a learned trait. In his recently published book, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, Zaki describes how his work and research can help people become more empathetic.

Zaki describes his childhood living in parallel worlds after his parents divorced. He described this experience as an “empathy gym,” noticing how two people could have completely different and yet totally valid views of life. He has created a similar type of course at Stanford, sending students to various exercises and experiential learning environments to build their empathy muscles. While the work is rigorous and difficult, he has shown results.

Further, Zaki shows his work in a way that builds trust in the research. At the end of the book, he takes the reader through each study mentioned, chapter by chapter, and rates the quality of the research on a 5-point scale. While some of the research is yet to be validated, it is certainly interesting, controversial at times, and quite progressive.

The initial set up of the book is quite dense, describing several research studies, as well as a general orientation to historical notions on empathy. It was worth the dense crash course to get to the stories and real world examples of building empathy. Zaki takes us through experiments in using literature to stop recidivism, truly understanding “compassion fatigue” in hospitals, and positive and negative impacts of technology on empathy.

The War for Kindness has many implications. It is a helpful roadmap for how we can be more kind, compassionate, and empathetic as a society. It has challenged my thinking on hiring in health care. While I still strongly believe that systems and processes help protect the team and enhance service, I now believe that a motivated candidate can be taught how to empathize. I also believe that we must coach motivated caregivers to have empathy in a way that does not cause burnout or eventually result in emotional numbness towards patients.

I have already bought copies of this book to give away to friends and colleagues, because it is powerful, hopeful, and challenges assumptions about how we can repair our seemingly broken world. It is surely worth the read not only if you lead people, but if you are interested in making society a better place (this should be everyone!).

KEY TAKEWAY: Can empathy be taught? Jamil Zaki in The War for Kindness argues that it can be. The implications in healthcare mean that our team members would benefit from a culture that has built in systems to train people on demonstrating empathetic concern for patients. This is a must-read book.

The War for Kindness is available for purchase on Amazon for $27.00 (does not include Prime discount).

Presenting information Exceptionally

/ Jonathan Sachs / 3 Comments

i-need-someone-well-versed-in-the-art-of-torture-do-you-know-powerpoint-new-yorker-cartoon_u-l-pgqcax0

The cartoon above is from the New Yorker and it is one of my favorites. For those of us whose days are spent in the Microsoft Office suite of applications, we know that “death by powerpoint” can feel all too real.

We have all seen the seemingly endless bullets and presenters reading off their slides as if we are illiterate. I have experienced countless presentations, especially at conferences, that are graphically busy or unreadable (my biggest pet peeve is the “Sorry, you probably can’t read this”), presentations that drag on, or do not reach a clear conclusion. Powerpoint has been so misused that some organizations have taken deliberate steps away from it, including the US Military in 2010 and Amazon who banned it for executive presentations in 2018.

I would argue that powerpoint is actually an important presentation tool, but only if used correctly. Organizations that use it well have developed a set of rules that keep the audience’s attention and helps to form a narrative. TED Talks, the popular and informative non-profit series of presentations encourages speakers to use powerpoint as a visual aid – no bullets. Many of the talks accomplish the goal of “spreading ideas” often because of the images on their slides.

By way of a quick example, On his show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver presents on a complex topic every week, using a presentation style where the “slides” he shows add to his narrative. During this current season of the show, he presented on Robocalls. Oliver used images and graphics that can be used in a powerpoint type presentation.

JohnOliverTA

There is no reason why we cannot present information like John Oliver. Oliver, like many other compelling speakers, uses age-old techniques that work to not only present information, but, more importantly, have the audience remember and internalize the message.

Thats where Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great by Carmine Gallo is most helpful. In his book, Gallo discusses age old techniques dating back to Aristotle that detail how to deliver information in a compelling and memorable way.

51rO+WElUrL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_Before I talk about some of the book content, it is important to note that this book is focused on presenting information in a way that customers understand. He references many different case studies, including one in healthcare, discussing excellent communicators and how they use presentation to create 5-star customer experiences. While there are tricks and tips in this book, they come at the end after he discusses the cultures of organizations whose team members consistently and reliably communicate with their customers in a service-oriented way.

My favorite anecdote on this point is one about  theonline shoe sales giant Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (pronounced SHAY). Hsieh believes in training customer service team members to present well, but that is not done by scripting them. To demonstrate how customer friendly the staff has been trained to be, he would call the Zappos customer service line in front of reports and ask a random question like, “can I order a pizza?”. The staff would then help the customer in any way they can, which in this case was to help them order a pizza.

With a supportive culture that engages and empowers, the tactics are simpler to learn and implement to create 5-star outcomes and are contained in this book. Those tactics include using compelling visual aids, crafting a story using the three-act-play narrative structure, and including credibility (ethos), emotion (pathos), and logic (logos) to keep your audience engaged and following along. Gallo also discusses how most compelling stories are presented in about 10 minutes or less.

At its foundation, a presentation, whether to a group or one on one is a form of a social contract. The presenter will offer the listener new information and hold their attention while doing so. In exchange, the listener will take their time to listen to the presenters ideas and engage with them. Presenters often take that for granted, but should not.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Presenting information, when done well, is a powerful tool for leaders who want to shape a culture of good communicators. Good presentations use stories as well as the credibility of the speaker, emotion, and logic to make its points and engage the audience. 

Five Stars is available for purchase on Amazon for $27.99 (does not include Prime discount).