Listen to my book report for this week – Gung Ho by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles – a book that helps you increase productivity, profits and your own prosperity. This is not a new book, but is a very easy read AND provides great insight and advice on how to energize and empower people.

1. Gung Ho by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles

2. GUNG HO As is the case with all of my reports, this is NOT intended to replace your reading the book – rather, it shares the main concepts with you so you can use this as you are reading.

3. GUNG HO A promise made is a debt unpaid.

4. GUNG HO If you are not the lead dog … the scenery never changes!

5. GUNG HO The Spirit of the Squirrel There’s more to a squirrel’s work than just moving seeds – they are motivated because their work is important & worthwhile.

8. GUNG HO If you want people to be GUNG HO, to work with the Spirit of the Squirrel, they must first understand why they are needed.

9. GUNG HO You have to learn to see how what you are doing is helping others.

10. GUNG HO One of the fastest and surest ways to feel good about yourself is to understand how your work fits into the big picture.

12. GUNG HO Goals are marker posts you drive into the future landscape between where you are and where you want to be.

14. GUNG HO People need to do what they do because they decide to – NOT because they’ve been ordered to. You HAVE to let the people who really do the work do the work!

15. GUNG HO Your goals and values should be like the sidelines in a game – as long as your players “follow the rules,” they can play/go anywhere within the lines. They have to know that when the ball is in play, YOU will stay off the field!

16. GUNG HO The real secret of successful management is discovering what people do naturally and then figuring out how to adapt the organization to take advantage of natural behavior. Too many managers go at it the other way around.

17. GUNG HO People who are truly in control work for organizations that value them as persons. Their thoughts, feelings, needs and dreams are respected, listened to, and acted upon.

18. GUNG HO Just asking people to do what they are able to do easily won’t give people the feeling of accomplishment they need. You have to stretch them – give them work that demands their best and allows them to learn and move ahead into uncharted territory.

19. GUNG HO Good teams always have a game plan and some form of huddle to be sure the players know what the next play or set of plays will be.

20. GUNG HO WOW… Canvas and wood make a boat, but only rapids make a canoe. Until you test a canoe in whitewater, you don’t really know what you’ve got and how well it will handle stress … the same goes with your real estate business!

21. GUNG HO Involvement vs. commitment A chicken and a pig agree to co-host a breakfast; the chicken suggests they serve bacon and eggs. The pig replies, “For you that means involvement – for me that means total commitment .” We NEED pig commitment!