Book Review - The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family

The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable About Restoring Sanity To The Most Important Organization In Your Life by Patrick Lencioni

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought that this was an excellent book on how to strengthen your family and business with a similar type approach. As business leaders we need to strengthen our families as well to be able to reach our full potential. This book does a great job of taking a business consulting approach and applying it to ones family.

Most interesting to me from this book is the discussion of core values. I have fallen into the trap of having a long list of "Core Values". I like the way Lencioni describes values into 4 categories of values.

I also like the concept of the Rallying Cry, and can think back to times when I have provided a clear singular goal to a team and that was the focus. Our best results were in times like these. Along with this I appreciate the recognition of Defining Objectives and Standard Objectives under the Rallying Cry.

Great book, I highly recommend it. It is a very quick read.


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A Superfantastic Moment - My New Drivers Liscence

Well I had to go and get a new drivers license yesterday. There is not much that is great about the drivers license office, in fact I could share many of my rants about that place, but there was something that made be extremely happy. The man behind the counter checked my vision, still not problem without any glasses, that is pretty great. He then reviewed "my stats" hazel eyes, 5' 11" , brown hair (another pretty good thing that it is not gray) but then he got to weight.

This is where the super fantastic part comes in. I actually got to give him a lower weight, without fibbing than I had on my drivers license from 5 years ago. I believe that the average American gains somewhere between 1.5 and 2 pounds a year as they get older. I could have gone up as much as 10 pounds.

So I was pretty stoked and thought to myself that " Life is Super-Fantastic".

Quotes

You can have power over people as long as you don't take everything away from them.
But when you've robbed a man of everything , he's no longer in your power.

The Hamburger: A History

The Hamburger: A History by Josh Ozersky

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well this was a good history of how the fast food hamburger evolved in America. I thought that the information was helpful, but I felt like the author tried to write at a higher writing level than is necessary when you are writing about a patty of meat. This book has spurred an interest to read more about some of these business and cultural developments.


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My Blogs - Join in on the topics that interest you!

I have started a couple of blogs to provide in depth information about particular topics that are of great interest to me. Take time to visit these other blogs to see more details about what I am working on and learning. Remember that "Life is Good" and that today is the next day or the rest of your life.

A Cut Above - Woodworking
This blog is an depth look at my woodworking hobby. I like to make wood art called Intarsia. I also like to make furniture and many different gift items. I really enjoy the time I spend in my shop and want to share that with others.

Peak Achievement Today
This blog is a journal of my reading and thoughts about achieving your greatest potential in life. This is an ongoing process for me, and I have been reading and studying many personal growth topics since I started working.

Yackel's Yummies
This is my online recipe and cooking blog. All recipes posted here are tested by me and have my seal of approval. If you like cooking you should visit Yackel's Yummies.

Vocabulary Builidng

I was reading a book last night by Josh Ozercky called "The Hamburger". The book is a history of the fast food hamburger in America. Now who would think that a book on the history of the fast food hamburger would have vocabulary words that one would not know. Well in my reading I started writing down the words that I rarely or have never used and clarified there definition using Wikidictionary as my source. Here are the findings.

shibboleth (plural shibboleths)

1. A slogan, jargon word, or catchphrase closely associated with a particular group and not used very much, or at all, outside of it. Can also apply to ideas, customs, and uses of language.
2. A common or longstanding belief or custom associated with a particular group; truism, platitude

   It's about time we abandoned the bourgeois shibboleth that earning money makes you a better person.

3. A common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

stricture (plural strictures)

1. (usually in plural) A rule restricting behaviour or action.

   For them, parity is less an ultimate goal than a transitory and permissive springboard for testing Western resolve and pursuing whatever additional accretions of strategic power the strictures of SALT and American tolerance will allow.

2. A sternly critical remark or review.

to hew (third-person singular simple present hews, present participle hewing, simple past hewed or rarely hew, past participle hewed or hewn)

1. (transitive) To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down.
2. (transitive) To shape; to form.

bourgeois (comparative more bourgeois, superlative most bourgeois)

1. Of or related to the middle class, especially its attitudes and conventions.
2. Belonging to the middle class.
3. Conventional, conservative and materialistic.

   bourgeois opinion

4. (political, leftist terminology) Of, or related to capitalist exploitation of the working class.

Halloween was great!

I just love Halloween here in our neighborhood. Trick or Treating is the best experience ever here. It starts with having just wonderful neighbors, who all know the kids and are genuinely happy to see and talk to the kids. The parents are all out on the street with their kids, and many of them are dressed up in costume. In our group of 5 kids, we had three adults and we were all dressed up for the night

The kids are great as well. We do not get those teenagers who just put on a mask and call it good, or try to convince you that the skateboarder dude is anything different than their everyday wear. I saw some very creative outfits. One of the neatest groups I saw was a group of 7 boys and girls that had decided to all do the Wizard of Oz theme. They had all the characters including the wicked witch and the good ferrie.

The big bonus this year is that we finally had a warm Halloween. The temperature was just fabulous and the kids did not have to have layers of jackets on messing up their costumes.