Marc Sirkin's Mindnumbing Thoughts

I just finished reading a neat little book called " Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership through Storytelling " on a colleagues recommendation and really loved it. In short, it's a neat little fable about a Squirrel with a great idea on how to save her company, Squirrel, Inc. She thinks the company needs to stop burying nuts and start storing them! It's a quckie read but I took some key lessons in storytelling with me. How do you persuade people to change? How do you get people working together? How do you share knowledge? How do you tame the grapevine? How do you communicate who you are? How do you transmit values? How do you lead people into the future? Each chapter takes our hero through a different type of storytelling, each one optimized for the desired effects. It's a fun, quickie read that will leave you wanting to tell more stories!

Microsoft bought the entire terminal corridor at JFK and I just so happened to have my flip with me. Silly little video, but hey, I'm silly.

Cross posted from my golf blog ... I just finished reading a terrific book " How Tiger Does It " by Brad Kearns. It provides some great insights into Tiger's life and how he maintains his competitive edge. The book is much more interesting however, when read from a parent's point of view, I think. The author talks a lot about kids and parenting (he must have his own!) and translating Tiger's winning ways into tools you can give your kids. The biggest takeway for me, across the board however is the idea that your child must be internally motivated (pure motivation), and that motivation must come from inside them. My daughters both play sports (softball, basketball, soccer and golf) but never, ever practice on their own without being asked. Never. They do however, read, write and practice their instruments. My younger one draws pictures just because she feels like it. It's hard as a parent who knows that in order to get better, your kids have to practice - but t...