'If you double-cross me, I will destroy you'

Remember Atlas Shrugged?

It is Ayn Rand's 1957 novel about capitalism, her theory of objectivism, and the role of the innovator in business and society.  For a novel published over 50 years ago, it remains a consistent seller, still appearing in the Top 50 of Amazon.com sales rankings at times as recently as 2009.

'Shrugged' enjoys enduring popularity with college students, I think I read the book in college myself, and for many young readers it provides their first (made up) look behind the scenes of big business, government regulation, money and societal pressures, and the role of the innovator.

Whether or not you believe in Atlas Shrugged's Objectivist positions and Rand's political views is entirely up to you, and I don't really recall enough about the ridiculously long book (almost 1400 pages) to have much of a take, other than to observe that world of high stakes big-business, ultra-rich society, and global corporate domination that the book focuses on come off as WAY more exciting that what most of us do on a day-to-day basis.

And now in a move that is likely simultaneously absurd, and the smartest thing ever, a movie adaptation, 'Atlas Shrugged Part I', is slated for an April 2011 release.  As a novel, the artistic achievement of Atlas Shrugged is certainly debatable, but as a movie, if the trailer (embedded below, RSS and email subscribers click through), is any indication, 'Shrugged' is going to be an instant classic.

We love sci-fi and action adventure movies because for a couple of hours we suspend our disbelief and imagine ourselves battling super-villains, having insane car chases in crowded cities, and blowing up stuff, (while accompanied by Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt).  But obviously those are all fantasies that can never come true. Great fun for two hours, but then it's back to the minivan for the ride home.

But in the fake business world of Atlas Shrugged, rendered hilariously well in the trailer, we could sort of realistically see ourselves as global capitalist titans - wearing custom-made $4,000 suits, drinking 20-year old whisky served from crystal decanters, and putting our business adversaries in their place with jabs like 'If you double-cross me, I will destroy you'.

Don't lie - you know you have wanted to use a line like that in your last budget meeting. 

What do you think, will you see 'Atlas Shrugged' when it comes out?

Have a great weekend!

Cleaning off the bookshelf

I have been getting a ton of books lately, mostly sent by publishers or PR folks looking for help to spread the word about their latest works and even occasionally to pitch their authors as guests on the HR Happy Hour show.  

I spent quite a bit of time in the last few days trying to work through some of the growing pile of books that have come in, and since no one (including me) wants to read a week long series of book review posts, I am going to rip off some mini-reviews of the last five books that have been sent my way.

Must-reads

Get Rid Of The Performance Review - Samuel A. Culbert with Lawrence Rout

Culbert offers a no-nonsense evisceration of the traditional employee performance review as a one-sided, boss-dominated, ineffective, and emasculating process that serves almost no positive purposes. Rather than take the common position of 'performance reviews themselves don't suck, rather badly done performance reviews are the problem', Culbert recommends their total abolition, to be replaced with what he calls the 'performance preview'. The performance preview stresses looking forward, eliminating barriers to performance, and shared accountability between boss and employee. 

The Why of Work - Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich

In 'The Why of Work' Dave and Wendy Ulrich describe the importance of understanding the deeper motivations of employees and by extension organizations in crafting jobs, strategies, and structures that will lead to more meaningful and enduring success. This is a almost a kind of spiritual take on traditional workplace issues like job fit, teamwork, and even performance management. Dave and Wendy attempt to offer proof of the importance of organizations and leaders as 'meaning makers' and not just 'profit makers' and offer a roadmap to build those capabilities. 

Good reads

Get A Life Not A Job - Paula Caliguiri

The most important message in this book is simple - there is no more loyalty between employers and employees, the 'psychological contract' between the two is forever broken, and you and you alone are responsible for your own career trajectory and satisfaction.  Since no one is 'looking out for you' any longer, you have to look out for yourself, and subsequently need to craft a series of what the author refers to as 'career acts', defined as 'simultaneous and stimulating profitable activities'. There are plenty of practical recommendations for discovering motivation, professional development, and personal security.  

What I did not like about the book is that is comes off a bit elitist ' I teach, I write, I consult, I give paid speeches, see I am living this story', and it also tends to send a message that the things we do for fun and leisure (hobbies, travel, blogging, whatever), now all need to have an element of 'profit' in them, or they really aren't worth pursuing. Maybe in a terrible economy that may be true, but it still is a hard pill to take.

Multipliers: How The Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter - Liz Wiseman with Greg McKeown

In 'Multipliers', the central thesis is one that is easy to agree with - some leaders get the best out of their teams, making everyone feel able and willing to contribute their best, while others tend to actually diminish the motivation and capability of the team, mainly due to a relentless pursuit of personal power. I think most of us have encountered leaders and managers on both ends of the 'multiplier/diminisher' continuum, with most people falling somewhere in between.  The book offer some solid advice for managers to better self-evaluate their own behaviors to assess their performance as leaders that need and should strive to 'raise the game' of all the team's performers. 

Best Book of the Bunch

The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara

You know the story of Gettysburg, a devastatingly brutal and important battle in the American Civil War. Perhaps you have seen the movie adaptation of the book.  The Killer Angels puts context and insight into the leaders and men that fought in the battle, one that holds such significance in American military and political history.  A classic book, a fast and compelling read, and lessons that all Americans should understand.

Well that's it for now, until I get through the next batch of books comes in!

Note : I did receive free copies of all the above mentioned books.  In exchange I promised nothing - good deal huh?  Seriously, many thanks to the authors and publishers. 

HR and Indie Culture

One of the mainstays of the 'business' blog world is the occasional book review post.  Bloggers get pitched by PR agencies or writers all the time to see if there is interest in reading and potentially reviewing the latest work on management, marketing, leadership -  you name it.  Other times bloggers provide their take on one of the popular business books of the day that have a subject matter in line with their blog's focus and target audience.

Some recent (and good) examples of this kind of review are Paul Hebert's look at 'Switch', or Kris Dunn's take on 'Linchpin'. Switch is all about influencing people to change, right in Paul's sweet spot, and Linchpin, with its focus on results and getting stuff done aligns well with some of the recurring themes of Kris' blog.

I don't write many book reviews on this site, since in the case of books like Switch or Linchpin I am either a bit late to the party, or don't really have much to add to or improve upon what people like Paul and Kris (and lots of others) have already covered. More so, in the case of the majority of books I read, they are not really in line with the realm of what this blog is (theoretically) about, technology and HR topics.

So when I picked up Kaya Oakes' 'Slanted and Enchanted : The Evolution of Indie Culture' a few weeks ago I did not intend on writing about it on the blog. I am actually not sure why I bought the book, maybe I was a bit tired of reading about how to convince people to do stuff they really do not want to do, or undergoing more admonitions of how to be fantastic and awesome by just being fantastic and awesome.  Possibly it was the cool looking cover.

Either way, after completing the book I felt like posting about it. Not so much a 'review' but just some observations of the similarities between indie culture and what is going on in the HR space lately. The book is essentially about the history and evolution of so-called indie culture, that is creative works done outside the 'mainstream' of corporations and organizations and without much concern about the viability or financial rewards.

In the book's retelling of the origins, early heroes, development, and export of indie music, books, art, and design I saw some parallels in the creation, distribution, and eventual attempted absorption by big corporate interests of indie culture, and some of what is starting to happen in the HR and Talent world where this little blog (and hundreds of others) reside.

When I think about the growing influence of the HR and recruiting blogs, radio shows, and bootstrapped 'unofficial' Unconferences in the Human Resources community it seems to me not unlike some of the stories in Slanted and Enchanted. Death Cab for Cutie gets a major label deal and makes regular appearances on The OC, and HR bloggers now routinely get press credentials to 'mainstream' HR events, get asked to make speeches or sit on panels, and many major and entrenched organizations and associations are trying to figure out how to understand, embrace, and possibly even absorb elements of this growing 'indie' movement in HR.

I think it is fantastic the the 'Indie HR' community is getting more recognition, notice, and is gaining (subtly) in influence with the mainstream HR world.  But here is the thing, as 'Indie HR' gains acceptance and gets more intertwined with 'traditional' HR is it in danger of losing what makes it so vibrant and meaningful?  Will it get toned down, homogenized, or otherwise turned into just another extension of the status-quo?

Last thought, in 'Slanted and Enchanted' Kaya Oakes says this about what being 'indie' really means:

Independence means rebellion, risk, tenacity, innovation, and resistance to convention.

She was referring to art, music, and poetry.  For those of us in 'Indie HR' we could be talking about interviewing, social networking, performance management - you get the picture.

As Indie HR goes more mainstream, can it still remain rebellious?  Or will it resort to making VH1-friendly videos and counting the royalties?

Dinosaur BBQ Book Giveaway

This week I was the fortunate recipient of a gift card for Barnes & Noble, a token of appreciation for a presentation I helped to give on 'Innovation in the Classroom'.  I attempted to preach the gospel of blogs, twitter, and networking to a very skeptical crowd of faculty members.

I am not sure that I won over any converts that day, but I hope that it was just the first skirmish in a longer campaign.

At any rate, I picked up a few books for the family, and with the remainder I wanted to share some of the spoils with a blog reader. Since I received the gift card mostly for talking about the blog,  I figured

it was the least I could do.

Rather than give away a boring technology or business book, I went for something I can unequivocally give my highest personal endorsement.

The book I will give away to a commenter to this post (selected at random) is the Dinosaur Bar b que, An American Roadhouse cookbook, hardcover edition.

I received this book originally about three years ago as a gift, and I have probably made over half of the recipes in it, and the fundamental smoking techniques and advice are the basis for all the smoking that I do today.

It is a fantastic book and an even better restaurant, so if you ever get to Rochester or Syracuse be sure to check it out.

So if you are interested in winning a copy of the best barbecue book around, leave a comment on the post, I will select a winner at random on Monday morning, July 13.

Thanks very much for reading and for helping to give me content for my little 'innovation' presentation, and I hope you enjoy the Barbecue.