2. Tom Hood and Bill Sheridan
Business Learning Institute
“Think before you speak. Read
before you think.”
-- Fran Lebowitz
“Never trust anyone who has
not brought a book with them.”
-- Lemony Snicket
“Leaders are readers.”
-- Tom Hood
3. Tom Hood and Bill Sheridan
Business Learning Institute
Tom’s picks
The Connected
Company
By Dave Gray
Follow the Leader
By Emmanuel Gobillot
Leading the Learning
Revolution
By Jeff Cobb
Ulysses S. Grant:
Soldier and
President
By Geoffrey Perret
Awesomely Simple
By John Spence
4. Tom Hood and Bill Sheridan
Business Learning Institute
Bill’s picks
Flash Foresight
By Daniel Burrus
Quiet
By Susan Cain
Start With Why
By Simon Sinek
Lincoln on Leadership
By Donald Phillips
Linchpin
By Seth Godin
Give and Take
By Adam Grant
5. Tom Hood and Bill Sheridan
Business Learning Institute
Your picks?
6. Tom Hood and Bill Sheridan
Business Learning Institute
Flash Foresight: How To See The Invisible And Do The Impossible,” by Daniel Burrus."We live in a transformational time,” says the futurist andauthor, who keynoted the 2012 CCH User Conference in San Diego. “In the next five years, guaranteed, we're going to transform – not change, but transform – how we sell, how we market, how we communicate, collaborate, innovate, train, educate. Is this just for the big companies? No. It's about relevancy in a world that's transforming.“This is a big deal,” he added. “It's the biggest deal that's happened since we've been around, and it represents amazing new opportunities for us to bring new value to our clients.”Here’s why:Burrus sees the value that CPAs add as a pyramid. The bottom part of the pyramid – by far the largest part – currently consists of the data and information that CPAs provide to their clients. The smaller, top part of the pyramid consists of knowledge and wisdom.Groundbreaking technological changes are making data- and information-management services obsolete. That leaves CPAs with the golden opportunity of using their knowledge and wisdom to provide clients with insight, foresight, and consultative value.“Before I had access to the data and the information, I needed you to give it to me,” Burrus said. “Now, we're heading toward real-time accounting and auditing. When we get that point, your value shifts to the knowledge and wisdom parts of the triangle. I need consultative value from you – and by the way, I'll pay more for that.2, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” by Susan Cain.Cain argues that we significantly undervalue the contributions of introverts. We’re an extroverted country. We value quick thinking and fast talking. But studies have shown that those qualities don’t translate to better results. Introverts have the power to change the world – if we give them the time to think, to reflect, and to present their thoughts in their own time. (Workspaces? How they recharge / energize?3. Start With Why: Simon Sinek:“People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” Our goal should be to hire and do business with people who believe what we believe. What you do simply serves as proof of what you believe.”You're not going to inspire people by the way you fill out that tax form. You will inspire them by living your passions and beliefs.Take Apple: If Apple were like everyone else, a marketing message from them might sound like this: "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?"Instead, here's what they said: "In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we do this is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”Or Martin Luther King: Why did he lead the Civil Rights Movement? He wasn't the only person who suffered in a pre-civil rights America, and he wasn't the only great orator of the day. But instead of saying, "I have a plan," he said, "I have a dream," and people responded.4. Lincoln on Leadership, by Donald PhilliipsChapter 12 of that book (titled "Encourage Innovation") leads off with this quote from Lincoln, delivered during his annual message to Congress on Dec. 1, 1862:"Still the question recurs, 'Can we do better?' The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."There's the answer, folks. You say all of this new stuff is getting you down? Time to think anew and act anew. Embrace new ideas. Seek new knowledge. Try new things. Always be prepared to act, and don't be afraid to fail.The nation's survival doesn't depend on it ... but your future might.5. Linchpin by Seth Godin, and Give and Take by Adam GrantGive stuff away.