The What, Why And How Of Learning

In his book, Education is Freedom, author James W. Keyes recaps his learned business lessons for top management and CEOs at companies of all sizes. He covers:

Discovering what customers truly care about. It’s convenience, not products.
Leading during times of turmoil.
Developing the confidence to try again after a failure, and to maintain composure in the face of critical media coverage.
Forming strategic collaborations to rescue a dying company.

Plus, Keyes states that Education Is Freedom provides the “what,” “why,” and “how” of learning. He outlines the importance of education for all humankind and the power of education to change our world.

Because of his lifelong commitment to education, Keyes founded the Education is Freedom Foundation, which provides college scholarships for hard-working young students. In over 20 years since its inception, the foundation has helped nearly hundreds of thousands of students find their path to higher education.

Keyes also served as chairman and chief executive officer of Blockbuster, Inc., from 2007 to 2011. And in his book, he shares much about his time at Blockbuster and that company’s journey, including this important insight in response to my question to him:

Question: Fair or not, “Don’t become another Blockbuster” is often a phrase used to warn business leaders to not let their business become obsolete or to not miss an opportunity to change their business model. What do you want business leaders to know about why that phrase may be unfair or why Blockbuster’s journey is misunderstood?

Keyes: Fair…but for all of the wrong reasons. Most people leap to the conclusion that Netflix killed Blockbuster…or that the company’s inability to change caused its demise. Both are incorrect. Within the Blockbuster story is a rich set of lessons for every businessperson but it has nothing to do with the change to streaming technology.

The real story of Blockbuster is a story of the importance of cash flow and balance sheet management during times of macro financial disruption.

“You’ll find...in Education is Freedom...personal anecdotes from my own journey, and the experiences of friends and those throughout history who have successfully used education to change their own life and to enrich the lives of others,” shares Keyes.

“The book is not a memoir, but instead intended to provide examples from my life journey to show what is possible even with seemingly impossible odds. It is intended to inspire others to accomplish the impossible and to use education as their path to freedom.”

Keyes calls his “C-Suite Learning” as the heart of his book and a valuable road map to help readers form a path to his/her own learning journey. The C-Suite Learning is:

What to Learn

Change: embracing change and growing from adversity.
Confidence: the inner strength that makes us believe in ourselves.
Clarity: making the complex simple through communication.

How to Learn

Critical Thinking: the algebra of thought.
Curiosity: discovering the joy of wonder.
Creativity: enabling our inner child; this is intelligence at play.

Why We Learn

Collaboration: leveraging the power of others working together.
Cultural Literacy: growing from the richness of diversity around us.
Character: establishing trust in ourselves and integrity among all.

One of the key takeaways from the book for me is where Keyes explains that companies must find ways to have everyone embrace open and honest communication. He states that building a culture of success also requires:

Engagement – Team members must be in or out. Even those on the sidelines for any given play must be engaged, at least mentally if not physically. The team must be fully vested in collective success.
Communication – from the top, from the bottom, and from peer to peer—is fundamental to the collective success of the team. Team members must feel comfortable communicating openly. They must feel safe expressing their ideas and trusting each other to fulfill their respective roles.

“Information sharing and the proactive dissemination of knowledge among the team will contribute to the culture of mutual benefit. This environment will reward competency and the open sharing of best practices. These behaviors result in a culture that those on the outside can see and feel. They will notice a group, a company, and a team, that can accomplish any task,” explains Keyes.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Book Review: The Elephant In The Room

Diana McLain Smith's new book, The Elephant in the Room , explains how relationships make or break the success of leaders and organizations. It's not a light right. For those who really want to understand relationships, however, this book, based on Smith's clinical research and a wealth of in-depth observational studies, is both insightful and worth the effort. Smith explains that when people click or clash, we typically chalk it up to chemistry and leave it at that. But, she knows there are many dynamics within that relationship that need understanding by a leader to create success. In fact, she says it's possible to identify and analyze the seemingly mysterious ingredients that go into the makings of a relationship. And, given the right tools, it's possible to understand what happens when a relationship forms, and then to actually anticipate what might happen next . That anticipation is critical, claims Smith. Smith also shows read...

Decision-Making Lessons From History

As seen on Public Television, the book, Decisions , by Robert L. Dilenschneider , features vignettes on 23 individuals who made decisions that shaped the world. Each chapter offers practical thinking on how these women and men made decisions. You can use their decision-making skills as guidance at work, in your leadership role, and in your daily life. You’ll learn decision making tips from Harry Truman , Margaret Thatcher , Mohammed Ali , Rachel Carson , Pablo Picasso and others who made decisions during war and peace, and in fields of science, commerce and invention. Author Dilenschneider suggests takeaways about decision-making from each featured historical figure. Some of my favorite decision-making lessons from history and from the book include these: Own your decisions . Be responsible for them and for their implications. Do not be reactionary—that is, making decisions to spite others or because of outside pressure—but do be r...

How To Uncover Your Blindspots To Become A Better Leader

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we can't see: we have blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success. “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains Martin Dubin , author of the new book, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own blindspotting .” “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin. “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are...

Q&A With Best Selling Author And Expert Storyteller, Paul Smith

Paul Smith Paul Smith's book, Lead with a Story , is one of the top 10 books I recommend every leader should read. In his book, Paul demonstrates how storytelling is a powerful business tool that can mean the difference between mediocre results and phenomenal success. Since the book was published about three years ago, my admiration for Paul's passion for storytelling and helping to teach people how to effectively tell stories has only but grown. Today, Paul was kind enough to share his thoughts about: that best-selling book how storytelling is growing in the business world his latest book how to use stories during job interviews how Lead with a Story totally changed his carreer 1. How would you summarize the overall reaction to your Lead with a Story book? Any surprises? Paul : Everything is a surprise with your first book. Being a new author, you don’t really know what to expect in terms of book sales, marketing effort...

One Minute Mentoring

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book, One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . The book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships across generations through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author, Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with Claire Diaz-Ortiz to write One Mi...

The Three Pillars Of Executive Presence

After two years of research, forty focus groups and a national survey, author Sylvia Ann Hewlett contends the three pillars of Executive Presence are: How you act ( gravitas ) How you speak (communication ) How you look ( appearance ) All three work together to help you telegraph (signal) to others that you have what it takes and that you're star material. "One thing to note at the start is that these pillars are not equally important--not by a long shot," explains Hewlett. "Gravitas is the core characteristic." And according to the senior leaders that Hewlett researched the top aspects of gravitas are : Confidence and "grace under fire" Decisiveness and "showing teeth" Integrity and "speaking truth to power" Emotional intelligence Reputation and standing/"pedigree" Vision/charisma In her book, Executive Presence , she teaches how to act, communicate and look your best while avoiding the most comm...

The Rainmaker's Credo

How To Become A Rainmaker is a quick, instructional book that reveals the rules for getting and keeping customers and clients. Written by Jeffrey J. Fox , the handbook format provides you the best approaches to take to become a true rainmaker – one who brings clients, money, business, or even intangible prestige to an organization. One of the real gems in the book is Fox’s The Rainmaker’s Credo , which includes: Cherish customers at all times. Treat customers as you would your best friend. Listen to customers and decipher their needs. Make (or give) customers what they need. Teach customers to want what they need. Make your product the way customers want it. Get your product to your customers when they want it. Give your customers a little extra, more than they expect. Thank each customer sincerely and often.

Business And Life Lessons From Entrepreneur Miguel Leal

What I like most about Miguel Leal ’s memoir, aside from its overall compelling and inspiring information, are the business and life lessons he shares. Those lessons are found throughout his recently released memoir, The House That Cheese Built . The book is a quintessential American dream story from a Mexican entrepreneur who shares the tale of building a multi-million-dollar business from scratch, complete with both success and failure, and always a vision of hope. Leal came to the U.S. penniless as a teenager, speaking almost no English; he literally slept in the boiler room of a Wisconsin cheese factory for months before he was caught. Through hard work, grit, and ingenuity Leal would go on to launch his own business. He is widely credited with introducing Mexican cheeses to the U.S. market and grew his company to a multimillion-dollar success story that defined an industry. Yet, like many successful entrepreneurs, Leal’s great successes were matched by a variety of ...

Book Review: Conflict 101

Handling conflict is one of the most difficult things a leader has to deal with. Unfortunately, conflict in the workplace is inevitable. In fact, research shows that 42 percent of a manager's time is spent addressing conflict . And, over 65 percent of performance problems are caused by employee conflicts . Managers new in their leadership role typically have had little to no training on how to deal with conflict. Fortunately, in Susan H. Shearouse's new book, Conflict 101 , you can learn: How conflict is created How we respond to conflict How to management conflict more effectively Shearouse explains that even though conflict is inevitable, it can lead to both growth and progress . "There is little progress that is not preceded by some kind of conflict," says Shearouse. I found particularly helpful in the book the definitions of the following five different types of conflict and then how best to deal with each: Problems to solve Disagreem...

How To Achieve Success Through The Power Of One More

“You are one more intentional thought and action away from discovering your best life,” explains author of the new book, The Power Of One More , by Ed Mylett – released earlier this summer. “You can find your best life by doing ‘one more’ than the world expects from you,” he adds. In his book, he further explains that your individual thoughts and actions you take don’t need to be profound. However, when you compound these small thoughts and actions and stack them up on top of each other, the resulting changes over time are profound. Mylett reveals strategies chapter by chapter and covers goal setting, habits, emotions, relationships, are more. Strategies include those on how to: Slow down time and spot new opportunities Use time to your fullest advantage Find deeper purpose in life Be sure to check out Chapters 15 and 16, which focus on leadership . Within those, Mylett shares his thoughts about leadership: You are a leader if y...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog