Talk to the Human™

Super Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is a interesting and entertaining follow-on to the original Freakonomics. The underlying theme, that we (as humans) respond to incentives in every action we take, really struck a chord with me. The authors were able to apply that to each of their cases, including the cover topics such as Global Cooling, prostitution and terrorism.

There is one section where the authors chronicle the evolution of our understanding of Altruism. I especially liked this explanation, because it shows how statistical methodology can “evolve” (read: be fixed) over time. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that over the years, research has uncovered what incentives (there it is again!) drive altruistic behavior. You may already know some of those answers, but one or two may surprise you.

What’s great about this book:
If you like thinking outside the box (or pick your own term), this is a book that really challenges your mentality. The authors go to great lengths to look at multiple sides of their chosen issues, and make sure that the reader understands what drove the desire to accomplish the research, how the methods were or were not ideal, and why the statistics don’t always mean what they seem to mean.

Limiting Factors:
Going in, these topics may not be ones you would pick if you were to “ask the economist”. However, once you read (or hear on the CD version) how the authors use these examples to explain concepts that you may not have realized impact your daily life.
One of the examples was the same as one I read in What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Not surprising that the authors are fans and even mention another work, The Tipping Point.
You may get mad at the federal government, depending on your disposition toward child seat manufacturers and crash test facilities.

Recommendations:
If you read the first book, I probably don’t have to say anything except “duh” to buying this one. If not, that is okay. You don’t have to read the first book to understand this one. I would recommend that you go to the local library and pick up the first book, though. It would be worth it.  

Important note: If you read the reviews on Amazon, you’ll see (at least some) examples of people with a certain point of view not appreciating the authors point of view. What I find amazing is that their own reviews selectivly leave out the author’s assertions that some of these statistics are not a definitive source, but are no worse than many of the statistics driving the decisions we and our government already make. Keep an open mind, and you’ll enjoy this book. 

Rob’s Rating system (bolded, the rating is)
Buy now at full price
Buy if you get a discount
Wait for the paperback
Wait for someone else to be done with the paperback
If you’ve read my review, you got the jist of it

Over the past week or so, I’ve been reading the CD version of Malcolm Gladwell’s newest book, What the Dog Saw in my car. If you’re a fan of Gladwell’s, you won’t be disappointed in this work. He does a fantastic job of analyzing some commonly held beliefs and reported stories, giving the reader a unique point of view into those issues and events.

In other reviews, you may read how some don’t believe this represents the Author’s best work. Some folks are so entrenched in the style of his other three books that they find this disappointing in comparison. Others point out that this is great work when you take it for what it is.

For me, I found many of the stories to be quite interesting, and the book as a whole was very engaging and carried a common theme: If we look at what we are have been told from a different point of view, we may see there is a “rest of the story” in many of our widely held beliefs. This is not news in and of itself, but it may be news in some of the specific examples (i.e. how to fix homelessness).

One of the things I really found provocative was the comparison of the difficulty in picking quarterbacks from college that will succeed in the NFL and the difficulty in selecting good teachers for our schools. As always, there is a plethora of research used and referenced throughout the book, and in this example he has sat with an NFL scout to discuss the Quarterback dilemma the NFL faces year after year (i.e. Ryan Leaf…Tim Couch…etc…) with judging how “great” college quarterbacks will fare in the pros. Then, working with experts on teaching, he shows how that analogy fits with understanding the success (or not) of teachers in our school systems.

Interestingly enough, I get the idea that the way the NFL currently handles the Quarterback problem is one that the school system should consider using as well. Cut the poor performers.

What’s great about this book:
Where to start? Malcolm is always engaging and interesting and does a thorough job of researching his topics.
Wide coverage of topics. Enron, Breast Cancer, RonCo, Military Intelligence, Teachers, Quarterbacks, Ketchup, Birth Control Pills, Talent vs. Results, JFK Jr.’s Plane Crash, Homelessness and more. Some of the comparisons are unexpected and unique.
We can solve some very tough problems, if we stop looking at them in the same way we currently do.

Limiting Factors:
The story are compiled from the author’s best work in The New Yorker from 1996 to 2008. Some of the information may seem a bit dated.
If you’re a regular reader of his articles, you may not want to spend the money on this compilation.
You may end up learning something…which I know is not for everyone.

Great Quotes:
It’s better to have a great teacher in a bad school than an average teacher in a great school (paraphrased)
To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish

Recommendations:
This book is better read than listened too. I’m not regretting my decision to buy the CD version, but it makes going back to specific passages more difficult, which is something I would value doing in this book.

If you haven’t read The Tipping Point, Blink, or Outliers that’s okay. You can read What the Dog Saw first, or…

If you want to save a few bucks, start with The Tipping Point (free at the library – and a classic) and work your way through his first three books. I know the first two are in paperback, and you can get any of them pretty reasonably from Amazon.com or down the street at Barnes and Noble.

How many books do you read per week? Per month? Per year? I’m told that once Americans finish school, on average, they read less than one non-fiction book the rest of their lives. Ouch. Since I know many folks who do choose to read, at least from time-to-time, I have to believe this means there are a lot of folks out there reading zero books.

This leads me to hypothesize some reasons for the zero book club members, as well as some possible strategies to combat those reasons.  If I were to use this as something to help influence others, it seems ironic that I would choose to use the printed word to reach those who have taken a vow of readinglessness. That’s not a word, of course. But, since my target audience isn’t reading this anyway, who cares?

In project management, we have what is called the triple constraint. In any project, you are constrained by either time, money, or quality. Said another way, you can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick any two. I think this triple constraint can explain why people do, or don’t do, a lot of things.

1. Time- we all say we don’t have enough time, and it’s easy to let self-improvement take the hit in our schedules. Here’s today’s blockbuster phrase™ that you may not want to hear: You have enough time to do the things that are truly important to you. The real question is, what are you making important in your own life, or what are you letting others make important for you?

If time is your issue when it comes to reading, here are a couple of things I learned in project management training that can help:
a. Set realistic goals (i.e. one book a month, or one every two months to start).
b. Establish milestones (mini goals) to track your progress (i.e. 15 pages every Tuesday and Thursday, 40 pages each Sunday)
c. Write down you goals and milestones, and chart them over time.
d. Find something you can give up, or reduce the time you spend doing so you can add in this new goal. (i.e. give up one 30 minute TV show per week, or read during halftime)

2. Money – a book habit can be expensive, especially if you choose to buy in hardcover and ignore sale opportunities. I don’t have a “you have all the money you need” phrase for this one. Lots of us are feeling the pinch in this economy. Prioritization can play a part here too, but don’t forget your local library. Better than that: Start a book exchange with your friends. You don’t have to go to the extreme of hosting your own book club, but you can talk with a few friends once in a while and exchange books. Plus, that will help you stay on task to finish you book if you know you need to give it up next month. This one is a money saver and it gives you some common things to talk about. Don’t have friends? Try using a bulletin board at work to get the ball rolling.

3. Quality- Saving the best for last is almost cliché, isn’t it? After all, like I mentioned above you will find the time, and usually the money, to do what is truly important to you, right? So what’s the thing stopping most of the zero book club members? However you want to specifically phrase it, many people don’t believe that reading will make any valuable difference in their lives. Can you belive it? Disclaimer: No single book will make you a PhD by next week. The fact is the changes come in small, manageable doses. If you truly believe that reading won’t make a difference in your life, I’d like to recommend you take a three-book challenge. Finish the three books I list below, and if after you read them, you can’t find a single thing that helped you in your life, let me know. I will write your story for the blog and make you a nationally known phenomenon. Here are the books:

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham
Bonus Book: Talk to the Human™ by Rob Christeson (to be published, 2010)

Put those three constraints to work for you, and you’ll find some interesting improvement opportunities for yourself. It has nothing to do with becoming the next CEO of your company. With the economy the way it is, rampant outsourcing, and increased competitiveness in the workplace, you need every edge you can get.

Don’t be a member of the zero book club; their book bag doesn’t even match your shoes…