Two posts in one day! I’m on a roll!
Just curious…is there anyone out there who has read the book, “Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall? I just finished reading it and found the philosophy absolutely FASCINATING! I would love to hear other people’s thoughts about it, especially how it relates to higher education.
And if you’re wondering about the nine lies, here they are:
- People care which company they work for.
- The best plan wins.
- The best companies cascade goals.
- The best people are well-rounded.
- People need feedback.
- People can reliably rate other people. (Yeah, right!).
- People have potential.
- Work-life balance matters most.
- Leadership is a thing.
Remember, they are NINE LIES – and the authors definitely share ideas on how to think about each differently. Most I agree with, a few I do not. But it really does get me thinking about how I work with my superiors, my colleagues, my students, my family, and my community/tribe in a unique way. For example, here’s my favorite excerpt from the book (from the section, “Work-Life Balance Matters Most”):
“We ask the same of you. Spend a week in love with your work. Hold tightly to your red threads. Yes, so you can blossom. But mostly, so you can figure our ways to share what’s unique about you with the rest of us. The power of human nature is that each human’s nature is unique. This is a feature, not a bug. So your responsibility is to take seriously the uniqueness of your uniqueness, and design the most intelligent, the most honest, and the most effective way to volunteer it to the rest of us. We – your teammates, your family, your community, your company – are waiting for you to share with us your unique loves. We’re here for but a few short years. Please don’t make us wait to long.”
What if we could help each student find and share their uniqueness? What if that’s not our job, but our duty? How would that impact education – and our world?
Food for thought…
The Dream Dean 
Wow, Bill. This is crazy provocative!
Hi Kara! I thought the same thing when I read the book! Needless to say, it’s really getting me to think how I need to work with other in a more meaningful way! I hope all is well with you! Look forward to connecting again soon, my friend.