Turning Pro: The Difference Between a Boss and a Leader
Photo by Mountian Goat Software
Today's second topic is a book review of Humor Seriously, Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life.
Word Count: About 1,100 words, with an approximate reading time of 4 to 6 minutes. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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Links to purchase the books discussed in this newsletter can be found on my website's recommended reading page.
Turning Pro: The Difference Between Amateurs and Professionals (Farnam Street)
This post has several one-line statements highlighting what makes amateurs different from professionals. With modification, these can adapted to describe the difference between a boss and a leader. Here are some examples.
"Amateurs have a goal. Professionals have a system." → "Bosses set targets, leaders create a vision." A clear vision enables everyone to make decisions and take action with limited guidance or oversight.
"Amateurs are reactive. Professionals are proactive." → "Bosses do what is expected. Leaders do what is needed."
"Amateurs focus on the outcome. Professionals focus on the process." → "Bosses focus on the day-to-day. Leaders focus on building the future."
"Amateurs focus on first-level thinking. Professionals focus on second-order thinking." → “Bosses schedule; leaders scenario plan?
"Amateurs make decisions in committees, so no one is responsible if things go wrong. Professionals make decisions as individuals and accept responsibility." → "Bosses go by the book. Leaders write the book and rewrite it when necessary."
These remind me of several quotes from Henry Gordon Selfridge. Selfridge was a partner when he left Marshall Fields to found Selfridge & Co. in London in 1909.
"The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown."
"The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
"The boss depends upon authority, the leader on goodwill."
Related Articles
7 Ways to Always Put Leadership First (Inc.)
Why The Distinction Between Leader And Manager Matters (Forbes)
The Best Managers Are Leaders — and Vice Versa (Harvard Business Review)
The Difference Between a Professional and an Amateur (Mountian Goat Software)
Book review of Humor Seriously, Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas.
Humor is one of the most powerful communications tools we have. Humor may also be the most dangerous. When a joke lands with a thud, the flow of your presentation stops. When humor crosses a line, it offends, and the audience will reject your message.
This book teaches you how to use humor effectively. Peter Ustinov said, "Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." This is perhaps the most important reason we need to use humor well. It enables us to talk about sensitive topics more easily. Leaders need to use humor without being tone-deaf. I remember once, at the start of a town hall meeting, a senior leader was jokingly complaining about no longer being able to fly first class. The reason for the town hall was to explain the reasoning behind the large layoff that happened the week before. You could almost hear everyone's eyes rolling.
Humor Seriously will help you learn when to use humor in daily life.
Easy exercises from Stanford’s humor course can immediately level-up your leadership (Fast Company)
What I'm Up To
An updated version of my book, The Leader With A Thousand Faces, is available on Amazon. I hesitate to call it a second edition because the changes are relatively minor.
Most of the changes are grammatical. My original copy editor left much to be desired. Thanks to those who help me spot these changes. Nothing is perfect; please keep the feedback coming.
I updated the graphics in the book to make them stylistically consistent. I updated the Suggested Reading list to include some of the books I have read since the original publication.
The most significant change is a new chapter in the Epilogue. Several people asked me about the cover art design and its meaning. The new chapter explains how Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night became the inspiration for the cover.
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
This article misses the point. It gets close in points three or four. Do not try to "be the most interesting person" or "own the room." Focus on others, not yourself.
Neuroscience Says These 4 Steps Will Make You the Most Interesting Person in Any Conversation (Inc.)
Disagree better. Everyone needs to practice this. Differences of opinion and thought combined with collaboration lead to better solutions.
Governor Spencer Cox -- How to Disagree Better (The Strategerist Podcast)
These may be true. My challenge is that I am a grazer.
4 Reasons Why You're Always Hungry (GQ)
Good metrics are hard. Understanding data requires a curious mind. On my website's recommended reading page, you can find a link to The Signal and The Noise, which explores this concept.
The Art of Success Measurement: Insights from Griselda and Google (Medium)
Whether you agree with Ray Dalio or not, he always provides data to support his articles. This is a long but interesting read. My risk concern is the concentration on what Dalio calls the Magnificent 7. A black swan event that undercuts any of those firms would have significant ripple effects on the broader ecomomy.
Are We in a Stock Market Bubble? (LinkedIn)
There was a lot of hype when the Las Vegas hyperloop was launched. The reality is very different.
Elon Musk's Vegas Tunnel Project Has Been Racking Up Safety Violations (Bloomberg)
Clueless is as clueless does. Many people who have never had to worry about money simply cannot relate.
Deals like this and reverse mortgages are slow oncoming disasters for homeowners. My wife was a realtor and has horror stories about homeowners forced to sell when financial triggers were met. They ended up with nothing.
Wall Street wants your home (Business Insider)
Being an entrepreneur is not for the timid.
Entrepreneurs' Stock Losses Bruise Their Businesses (Texas McCombs)
When I teach M&A Leadership Council classes on divestitures, I describe this as detangling IT. It is much harder than expected because no one deploys technology with the idea of breaking the company apart.
Carving Out a Business from an IT Perspective (M&A Leadership Council)
These are not habits. Habits, by definition, are done without thought. Leadership is intentional.
The 7 Counterintuitive Habits of Highly Effective Leaders (Medium)
Quotes
“Do not count the days; make the days count.”
- Muhammad Ali
“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.”
- Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
“A budget tells us what we can't afford, but it doesn't keep us from buying it.”
- William Faulkner
You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on the Recommended Reading Page of my website.
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