The Cranky Middle Manager Show #212 Awesomely Simple with John Spence
Today Wayne Turmel talks to author John Spence about his book “Awesomely Simple- Essential Business Strategies for tiurning Ideas Into Action”. We also look at austrian philosophers and cavalry generals with a fear of horses. All just another day at the virtual office…..
John Spence joins us to talk about his new book, how to tell when you’re ready to start a business and why he’s the “human Cliff Notes” guy.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome in whatever language you choose, pull up a rolling chair and make yourself at home. This is a darn fine edition of the show, which we dedicate to Col Benjamin Grierson a grand example to middle managers who didn’t have the advantages of family connections or the right schools, took the lousy projects and still managed to have fine careers.
3:13 The quote of the week is from Ludwig Wittgenstein. The simple is often hiding in plain sight, or we pretend it is so we don’t have to do what we know we should.
3:45 A shameless commercial for www.greatwebmeetings.com. check out all the free resources as well as our Course Offerings. Tell the training people at your company about us, no matter where you are in the world.
4:55 Welcome John Spence to the show… so what’s the difference between simple and easy? Simple is easy to UNDERSTAND but that doesn’t mean the DOING isn’t going to be a real bear.
6:45 Business owners constantly claim they want their employees and managers to have an “ownership” mentality. We expose one or two basic flaws with that approach.
9:00 How is having a “vivid vision” different than having a fancy vision statement? Can you state it simply? Do you know what it means? After 200 shows my tolerance for consultant speak is about zero so I hold his feet to the fire.
13:15 It’s not every show that will quote Charlie Daniels and Steven Covey in the same conversation, but that’s why you listen to us….what’s the difference between having a “sense of urgency” and losing sense of what’s important instead of urgent? Oh, and I finally tell a story that has changed my training and speaking career, not to mention how I tackle emergencies.
21:00 John is the Executive in Residence at the University of Central Florida’s Technology Incubator. How do you know if you should stay gainfully employed and what’s the litmus test for going out on your own?
Here’s the answer: How do you feel Monday morning? How obsessed are you with your idea and where you want to go?
John’s Resources
October 29th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
1. Now I feel like a dope for acting like I have ownership in the business. After 20 years, maybe they own ME?
2. Vivid visions I think is a secret sauce to success. Now I just need one!
3. Thanks for the litmus test. I failed. Will stay at the job and enjoy my empty feeling of ownership.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Dave, thanks for posting as always. I love stirring up conflicting feelings in people…..I have always felt an “ownership mentality” in the good jobs I’ve had, but I’m all too aware that that is an elusive, rare thing and it’s hard to bottle. Also, so many of the people expecting us to have that mentality do little to actually encourage it. As for the litmus test, that’s what they’re for… you didn’t “fail”, you’re just a good employee and happy to be one. Love your responses, keep’em coming.