November Reads: Intentionality

If you've ever zoomed with me, you'll know all too well my proclivity for grabbing a book off the shelf to explore a theme or a perspective. Over the Halloween weekend I turned to my bookshelves and picked out the six books I plan to read (or re-read) in November and a host of others that I think will help inform my outlook. The common thread for me that runs throughout all of these books is 'intentionality'. They will help me define who I am and what my intentions are at this moment. I'm not looking to read about methods for now, though most of these books actually qualify as 'How To's'. The list isn't exhaustive, but I thought it might be fun to share and get some feedback on. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

1. Who Am I, Really?

Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out. by Tracey Lovejoy and Shannon Lucas: "We can't help but see potential change and set it in motion, wherever we are."

Tracey Lovejoy and Shannon Lucas define a Catalyst as "a person who takes in lots of information, sees infinite possibility and can't stop themselves from moving into action." I certainly identify with this description and fit into this way of working. When you're trying to create positive change in the face of resistance or just a lack of understanding, it helps to find a safe space and a tribe to explore your aspirations with. This is the essence of Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out.* Contained within are the tools to reflect, connect and rejuvenate and then create an action plan that propels you forward.

Honorable mentions:

Linchpin by Seth Godin: "Your choices, your future and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose."

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: "Find what we want to do now, at any age, and how to answer who we want to grow into tomorrow."

Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra: "Career transition is not a straight path toward some predetermined identity but a crooked journey along which we try on the 'possible selves' we might become."

2. How I'd Like to Show Up (Intentionality)

The Adaptation Advantage by Heather McGowan and Chris Shipley: "Stop defining ourselves by our jobs, extend formal education into lifelong learning and let curiosity lead us through the arc of our working lives. That way we remain resilient, no matter how forceful the waves of change become."

There are lots of wonderful paradigms and philosophies out there about being able to 'let go' in order to 'let new things come.' If you're a fan of Theory U or Growth Mindset or even just stoicism then this is the handbook for "letting go, learning fast and thriving in the future of work." the three parts of this book explore i) Adaptation at Speed, ii) Letting Go in order to Thrive and iii) Leadership through evolution. If you are out to seize VUCA by the horns and drive transformation then The Adaptation Advantage shows you how to thrive in the chaos through the power of continuous learning, awareness, aspirations and action.

Honorable mentions:

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown: "When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives."

The Creativity Leap by Natalie Nixon: "A creativity leap is needed to bridge the gap between the churn of work and the prize called Innovation... Creativity requires us to toggle between Wonder and Rigor."

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker: "It's our human-to-human links that make the most meaningful moments of our lives."

3. What Strengths Do I Bring?

Range by David Epstein: "In most fields - especially those that are complex and unpredictable - generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel."

Ok, an admission here. I really wanted to put Neo-Generalist in the main seat here because it's so beautiful and inspiring. But Range moves beyond the inspiring to the plan; Neo-Generalist is anthropology and art and Range is the engine room. Maybe I should say they go hand in hand. I read a lot of articles from HBR, McKinsey and so on that share all of these 'generalist' or soft-skill traits that supposedly businesses should really be championing, yet the vast majority of business conversations I've had or job specs I've seen focus on expertise and the '4 Ms' (Make Me More Money), influential soft-skills and generalists be damned. So in a world obsessed with specialists and experts, I want to bulk up on real stories of how generalists and adaptive thinkers (with kick-ass soft-skills) excel in the types of environments I find myself in - where these skills aren't readily recognized or valued.

Honorable mentions:

The Neo-Generalist by Kenneth Mikkelsen and Richard Martin: "The neo-generalist defies easy classification. They are tricksters who traverse multiple domains, living between categories and labels. Encompassing rather than rejecting, the neo-generalist is both specialist and generalist."

The Catalyst by Jonah Berger: "The best route to change involves removing barriers."

4. What Outcomes Can I Enable?

Unlearn by Barry O'Reilly: "The Challenge for many organizations and individuals is how to move from their current landscape to a new landscape without any guide. Many are falling back on outdated models and processes that are not delivering the outcomes they had hoped for."

Barry is one of those people with an absolute litany of legendary corporate innovation stories in his repertoire that we've probably all heard of without realizing the extent to which he was involved. The premise of this book is that the ability to unlearn is a critical component of success. Barry looks at behaviors, skills and habits that shape situations and explores what's needed to convert aspirations to outcomes. Again, this is no commentary. This is a practical 'how to' guide to help you 'unlearn' old habits so you can free up time and energy to learn new skills and strategies, letting go of the old to explore and embrace new opportunities. Clayton Christenson coined the term, 'the innovator's dilemma', and here, Barry provides a stellar guide for how we as individuals can stay fresh and avoid being trapped by past successes.

Honorable mentions:

The Innovators DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton Christenen: "The 'how to' manual to innovation and to the fresh thinking that is at the root of innovation."

A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger: "Questioning - deeply, imaginatively, "beautifully" - can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas and pursue fresh opportunities."

5. How Can I Bring People on the Journey - or Find a Journey worth Joining?

Cascades by Greg Satell: "To truly change the world or even just your little corner of it, you don't need a charismatic leader or a catchy slogan. What you need is a cascade: small groups that are loosely connected, but united by a common purpose."

I waited what seemed an age for this book to be published in 2019. Cascades not only is chock full of examples of the successful birth and success of movements large and small scale, ranging from useful to profound, but it is also a handbook of 'how to' build a movement. Simple insights like, making sure your movement is for something (Arab Spring/ Britain's NHS) instead of just being against something (Occupy Wall St./ Blockbuster Video) combine with strategic insights like defining a value 'genome' - not just shared values but other skills and attributes required to make them actionable - and managing your 'spectrum of allies' effectively. Cascades does for the founding of successful movements what the Business Model Canvas did for innovation.

Honorable mentions:

Strategic Doing by Ed Morrison, Liz Nilsen et. al.: "Shared leadership is the key to thriving in new times." (Hands down the most simple yet sophisticated book on Complex Collaboration I've ever read.)

When More is Not Better by Roger Martin: "Reveals where democratic capitalism has gone wrong and what new design principles we need to fix it."

The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson: "The only way human capacities can truly flourish is in an atmosphere free of fear."

6. How I'd Like to Show Up (In Practice)

Be Less Zombie by Elvin Turner: "Curate a culture of innovation and navigate against the headwinds of organizational status quo."

Elvin's book had me with the title alone. In short, I found this to be the ultimate handbook for converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. Successful knowledge transfer is the real, down in the weeds stuff of innovation. As much as I love reading about the inspirational, global superstars of innovation - the Eric Rieses, Steve Blanks, Elon Musks et. al. - I wanted to read something that helped me do my job in practical ways that help me connect both credibly and with influence to the constituencies I engage with everyday. You can tell Elvin has walked every footstep of what he's written about and in Be Less Zombie he covers the entire gambit. And it's a perfect amalgam of the five books that precede it on this list. Essential 'Innovation-doer' material.

Honorable mentions:

Seeing Around Corners by Rita McGrath: "Inflection points, though they might seem sudden, are not. Every seemingly overnight shift is actually the final stage of a process that has been subtly building over time." (I think this is a book that's going to become foundational for me in the coming year)

The Stupidity Paradox by Mats Alvesson and André Spicer: "Why do smart people do stupid things at work? ... Make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity."

7. I Wish It was Published Already!

Social by Design by Mark Britz and James Tyer. There are two books on the list above that I waited along time to see published. Social by Design falls into this category. I'm a huge advocate of collaborative, open-network innovation built on the premise of Learning. Combine all these things and you are VUCA-ready. Mark is an absolute native in these spaces and now the book is coming.

Undistuptable by Aidan McCullen I seriously doubt that anybody has read more books or interviewed more people on the topic of innovation than Aidan McCullen. The blurb says that Undisruptable will prepare you to handle and embrace change as an opportunity, which in today's world is pretty useful! Aidan's immense podcast series, The Innovation Show - 245 episodes and counting - is testament to how well versed he is in this space.

And That's It!

Like everyone else, 2020 has been one long grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre and unbelievable year for me too. I want to be prepared as best I can for more of the same and to be honest, to be as Forever Employable as I can possibly be. I've given myself the month of November to get a clear handle on my intent so that I can move forward and double down on the direction and methods that will help me face the future with competence... a hint for December's reading list perhaps?

If you've got some thoughts and recommendations, I'd be delighted if you added them below!

* * *

*Disclosure: I am an advisory board member to Catalyst Constellations and feature in Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out. This book is quite literally the handbook for how I manage my aspirations and goals and determine which tribes I want to participate in.