#100Books2018- Who?

#100Books2018

"Who" Matters

3 Take-Aways

1. "Who" influenced #Conversations 

Reading #100Books2018 has led to great conversations. I have a friend, Dr. Ric Stranges who is a high-school principal in a Columbus suburb. He and I got to know each other in this capacity and we would occasionally visit each others office when our high schools were playing each other. I found it interesting that he used to have his bag of golf clubs in the office. I inquired about his clubs and his veracity as a golfer. He informed me that he was not a particularly great golfer and did not go routinely (sorry, Ric, I am paraphrasing and hopefully am not oversharing- maybe you've gotten a lot better?!?!). 

He shared that the reason he kept the clubs in his office is that they were an automatic conversation starter for all students and parents. Inevitably, a HS principal deals with difficult conversations. The golf clubs represent a tool in creating a conversation that will disarm potentially hostile dialog. The golf clubs also added texture to the conversation in moments that were positive. Whether visitors to Ric's office were golfers or not, the clubs opened the door to conversations which had nothing to do with the intended purpose of the visit.

I have found that books have the same effect. Many professionals have books displayed.  These books might be on the corner of a desk, or on a shelf or sometimes, even displayed like a trophy or prize.  #100Books2018 expanded the chance that I could immediately engage in dialog with people.  Perhaps it is a contemporary author.  Perhaps it is even the same book.  But ultimately, like Ric’s clubs, engaging in a brief book conversation was a great way to level-set any conversation.  

2. #LessonsLearned from the "who"-

There have been numerous biographies and a few auto-biographies around important world figures and historical names like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Victor Frankl, General Macarthur, General Marshall, General Patton, Albert Einstein, Atticus Finch, Steve Case, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Nick Saban through these #100Books2018. Each subject is obviously remarkable. The point of this blog however is to try and deduce common threads throughout the extraordinary lives. 

A definite commonality in each stories is #Passion.  Ben Franklin did not set out to be an extraordinary statesman.  Albert Einstein did not dream of being a remarkable scientist.  And Nick Saban did not set out to be one of the greatest coaches of his generation. Instead, each of these people followed their #Passion and allowed that #Passion to lead them to greatness.

A second common thread is that each of these folks is that no one accomplished anything alone. Every success was built on #Relationships to someone else. As I read the story of each extraordinary person I found that I connected with the supporting players in the stories. Ben Franklin’s brother clearly impacted his trajectory. Jeff Bezos’ grandfather impacted his trajectory. #Relationships mattered in the lives and conditions of each extraordinary person whom I read about. It is critical to recognize those influencers in the individual process. 

A final common thread I found is the role #Adversity plays in the success story.  #Adversity was obvious and clear in the life of Victor Frankl. As a scholar he tried to evaluate his captors in his concentration camp and was able to frame his life view through that lens. #Adversity was also present at every turn in the success story of Elon Musk. He was close to bankruptcy and ruin at multiple times in his transformational journey.  And #Adversity was clearly present in the worlds of the military leaders. There were multiple times in each of their careers where failure was as likely an outcome as success.  

Ultimately, #Passion, #Relationships and #Adversity each play a role in the success of each person.  We need to seek these qualities in our own lives and celebrate those that help us along the journey.  

3.       "Who" keeps you #Accountable

I am very confident that friends and family helped keep me on task throughout the year. To be honest, I am not certain I would have finished all #100Books2018 without the positive feedback from friends.  Being accountable on #SocialMedia- especially #Twitter- kept me on track.  In addition, the vulnerability and openness that the platform provides were key in staying in seeing this task through.

#100Books2018- How?

It is my hope that through reflection and the writing of this blog that I will come to more deeply understand what I have learned as a parent, husband, professional and human through the process of reading #100Books2018. Future posts will be shorter...I promise Ryan!

But before getting to the lessons, I believe some attention has to be paid to the methodology of how to select 100 books. According to Google there are approximately 130 million books published in modern history. With all those books how can you choose titles or genres? As a proud educator will the focus be on professional readings?  Or will this effort be an escape from educational reading? Is it possible to read all the books I was probably supposed to read in HS (Sorry Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Blizzard, Mr. Miller and Mr. Queener)?  Should the focus be on classics? How about a focus on biographies? How to decide?

It was important to me to read a variety of books during the course of this year. I come from a line of strong readers. My grandmother was a voracious reader.  My mother always has a book in her hand and can tear through a book quicker than anyone I've known. One of her early jobs was even in a library. Today, she continues to read and purchases many of her books from Costco...if that tells you anything! These women influenced my life and set a positive example for me. However, they almost exclusively read in the "murder-mystery" genre.  They shared books back and forth by authors like John Grisham, James Patterson and Dick Frances. The occasional Stephen Covey book or religious writer would occasionally appear in their collection. These were the books they were comfortable with.

In my goal to read #100Books2018 I wanted to make sure to be intentional in selecting books within my comfort zone as well as writing that would push my thinking. I wanted to read a variety of books.

For me, I payed attention to books recommended friends.  Randy Rines and Ryan McLane both gave me many titles throughout the journey to think about.  Randy is an Executive Director with JP Morgan Chase and heads Subadvisory Client Services. It was in this capacity that he would share summer reading lists each year (for the 2018 list, click here). A title specifically found here was "Culture Code: Unlock the Secrets of the Most Successful Teams", #Book20.

Ryan is a fellow educator and a distinguished leader who has also written "Your School Rocks; So Tell So Tell People". He would routinely share his thoughts and promote books he was enjoying.  And, if the mention of his book prompts anyone to take a "deeper dive", please make sure to check out one of the parents who assisted with the forward of the book! That dude is cool! Ryan recommended so many books in this process that it is hard to account for them all. Some of my favorites have been "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" (#Book35), "Saban: The Making of a Coach" (#Book36) and "The Thank You Economy" (#Book55).

In addition, friends like Charity Dodd (@CharityDodd), Lori Vandeborne (@MsVandeborne) and Jeff Davidson also made outstanding recommendations on this journey. Charity is the inspiration for this blog and is the person who encouraged me to write insights beyond the 280 characters allowed by twitter. She also recommended "Where You Go is NOT Who You'll Be" (#Book22).  Lori recommended "The Gift of Failure" (#Book7) and Jeff recommended a book that has become one of my all time favorites, "Ready Player One" (#Book60).

In addition to the recommendations from friends I also payed attention to books being read by leaders, entertainment personalities and business icons. One specific call out is a reading list from Bill Gates (see this list here). I found this list to be particularly impactful and it really stretched much of my thinking. One of my favorites from this list is "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong about the World-- And Why Things Are Better Than You Think" (#Book17). Thanks Bill!

Books shared by colleagues also gave my reading flavor. I am blessed to work with some really smart, really well-read professionals. I'm pretty certain that many of my colleagues have read many more than 100 books in a year so I really enjoyed their recommendations. By adhering to some of their recommendations I was able to gain some insight into their thinking. I valued the opportunity to then converse with them on these titles.

I left the challenging role of a public school superintendent in the summer. I will absolutely treasure many of the relationships there and am proud of the work accomplished by a small group of committed leaders. And so friends made here naturally would make recommendations which I would take seriously.  One such colleague, The Assistant Superintendent, Jennifer Lawson (@ijennylynn) made a fantastic recommendation. She recommended "The Ideal Team Player" (#Book19). We used the learning in that book to converse about many of the situations we experienced together.

I left the superintendency and joined a fantastic organization with some amazing new colleagues. Dr. Karen Garza (@KGarzaBFK), Dr. Mike Nicholson (@mnicholson_mike), Dr. Colon Lewis (@ColonTLewis) and Jamie Meade (@Meade_Jamie) each made specific recommendations to this process. Dr. Garza and Jamie introduced me to books like "What School Could Be" (#Book3), "Coherence" (#Book2), and "Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children" (#Book43).  Mike introduced me to another book which is quickly becoming a favorite, "Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises our Achievement, Happiness and Well-Being" (#Book65). Colon and I read this one together.

Finally, I tried to make reading a social experience. I forced my wife and a few friends to read one of the books with me (see #Book4, "Beyond Measure: Rescuing an overscheduled, over tested  underestimated generation"). We used this novel as a launchpad to discuss the life we want to see for our kids. And speaking of kids, I made sure to read some titles with them. My daughter, Jillian, and I read together for a school assignment (see #Book71, "Of Mice and Men") and my son and I enjoyed reading together (see #Book48 "Fahrenheit451", #Book69 "Crispin: The Cross of Lead", a 2003 Newberry Award Winning YA novel and #Book60 "Ready Player One"). I was also stretched by reading #Book15 "The Hate You Give". This recommendation came from my God son and lead to great conversation.

I will absolutely describe some lessons I gleaned from this books and many others. However, I wanted to share with you the manner in which I tried to curate the #100Books2018. The books through the year ultimately found me. That may seem strange. But it is true and I couldn't be happier with the selections. And I will keep my eyes and heart open to the possibilities that more books will find me.

#100Books2018- Why?

As Simon Sinek would say (and as I learned on this journey- see #Book13), "Start with Why". Why set a goal to read 100 books?  Certainly there are many ways to spend time, right?  With two teenage children and a limited attention span, why devote hours to an endeavor which will undoubtedly take attention away from my beloved? Why spend time reading and not running or getting into better physical shape? Undoubtedly I could benefit from a focus on cardio and more intense conditioning.

So again, "Why"?

And the answer....well, the answer is that I don't know. I have spent hours in my youth trying to avoid reading assignments. I worked with friends in high school and college breaking down reading assignments in an attempt to glean the most information possible with the least effort (i.e. pages read). And evidently, from research from Pew, I am wasn't alone in my reading habits. While I had absolutely read a few books in the 12 months during 2017 it was never intentional.

So why embark on the effort to read 100 books?  I do not know.

I am now well past the half-way point in this journey and I can share that this goal is intense. There is a certain energy that is requisite in reading. To focus on reading means eschewing other habits such as passively enjoying movies and television programs. Choosing to read and spend time reading naturally takes time away from other pursuits. And during the summer months I started to loose focus.

To be accountable to this effort and see this challenge through I started tweeting my progress. I used the hashtag "#100Books2018" as purely a mechanism to keep myself honest because I was loosing steam in this effort in July. The tweets provided the much needed accountability. Then a twitter friend and longtime professional acquaintance recommended expanding thoughts beyond the 280 characters allowed in a tweet. That led to this blog.

Perhaps through the process of writing and reflection I will come to my "why". Perhaps the "why" will be the answer to some cosmic question I didn't even know I should ask.  Perhaps the "why" is to "hear" brilliant voices in pages.  Perhaps the "why" is to find new ways to socialize, meet new people and level-set with old and new colleagues. Perhaps the "why" is to scratch a little obsessive-compulsive itch out there. But rest assured, Simon Sinek, I will figure it out.