In RAP10 we talked about building habits.

And we explored pre-thinking our actions to ensure we covered all the necessary things we had to do.
Atul Gawande uses checklists to save lives. That’s sounds a little outrageous until you realise he’s a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
In emergency situations making a big mistake could mean the difference between life and death.
He’s also a writer for the New Yorker and author of the highly regarded book The Checklist Manifesto.

Here’s some I could use…

• Packing for travelling – to ensure I have all the cables I need for my equipment
• Running workshops and lunches – to ensure I’m clear in the head to present and not thinking about all the logistics
• Publishing blog posts – to ensure I remember to tag and categorise them
• Cooking – to make sure I have all the ingredients when I go to the supermarket
• Business Systems – as a way to systematise what I do and have a VA do some work for me

What might you use a checklist for?

Download Sticky Change : Make Change Happen Quickly Smoothly Easily
Derived from: Chip and Dan Heath, Switch : How to Change Things When Change is Hard

Want to learn how to juggle three balls?
The key is to start with one ball.
In this video, juggling superstar Jason Garfield shows you how by chunking juggling down to it’s basic elements.
And, this is one of the keys to making changes stick – chunk it down into manageable bits.
The old joke applies…
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
That’s kind of ironic given we’re using the metaphor for change of the Rider and the Elephant! Oops!

Are you a regular flyer on commercial airlines?
How many times do you listen to the safety announcements?
Most people don’t because they’re boring.
Yet over 400,000 people have watched this message and they’re not even on a plane!
Presenting your message in a different way attracts fresh interest and this may make the difference in changing people’s behaviour.
Here’s an example from a steward on Southwest Airlines who raps the safety message.
How can you change the way you deliver your message to change behaviour?

Download Sticky Change : Make Change Happen Quickly Smoothly Easily
Derived from: Chip and Dan Heath, Switch : How to Change Things When Change is Hard

In RAP8 we talked about ‘Grow your people’ and about expecting failure.
In this Nike ad, basketball legend Michael Jordan talks about his relationship with failing.

We rapped only 4 of the 10, so there’s a couple here that might surprise you…

Roger Martin, The Design of Business

This book changed how I see what I do.
It married my love of design with the strategic role it plays in business.
And personally it fuelled the birth of the Ideas Architect.
We rapped this one as Design Advantage.
Read it if you want to create long term value in your organisation.
Download our RAP Design Advantage
http://rogerlmartin.com/

Dr Russ Harris, The Happiness Trap

This book made me happy! Indirectly of course…
I’d read a few books on the happiness trend and this one is the best.
It’s based on ACT – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
It cuts to the chase that the pursuit of happiness is a trap that is best pursued indirectly.
Plus it kills off all that talk about self-esteem.
Read it if you want to be happy.
http://www.actmindfully.com.au/

Chip and Dan Heath, Switch

This book gave me clues to make my life even better.
It nails ‘change’ in a simple 9 part framework.
We rapped this one as Sticky Change.
Read it if you want to change something.
Or, because you want to see what a great book structure reads like.
Download our RAP Sticky Change
http://heathbrothers.com/

Ian Hutchinson, People Glue

This book is so simple and so clever.
After reading it I feel I could implement an employee engagement program!
It’s easy on the eye with it’s pleasing graphics, it’s easy to read and it’s easy to take action from.
Read it to see a great book design and to implement an employee engagement program.
We blogged about this book.
Disclaimer: This book was a gift from the author.
http://www.peopleglue.com.au/

Adam Penenberg, Viral Loop

This book has had me rethink business design and strategy.
It’s time to be designing your product and your marketing message to be passed on.
This is the secret to viral growth and the DNA of superstars like Hotmail, Facebook and Ning.
We rapped this as one of two books in Smart Growth.
Read it to understand the principles of dramatic business growth.
Download our RAP Smart Growth
http://www.viralloop.com/

Seth Godin, Linchpin

This book confirmed I was on the right track.
It reminded me why I love doing Book Rapper.
And it confirmed that giving it away may be the best strategy I could adopt.
We rapped this one as Purple You.
Read it to re-define your career.
Download our RAP Purple You
http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/books.asp

Seth Godin, Unleashing the Idea Virus

This book reminded me what the real game is all about.
It’s about generating and sharing ideas.
And this book, despite a decade old is still on the money.
Read it because you want to make great things happen.
http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/books.asp

Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, Watching Words Move

This book made me smile.
It’s a reprint of a classic from the 60s.
It’s probably less than 100 words in total.
The words show their meaning through their layout.
It’s quirky, witty and joyful.
Read it because you love to play with your words.
http://www.cgstudionyc.com/graphics/books/watching-words-move

Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin, Twitterature

This book inspired Twit Rapper.
It’s the world’s greatest books retold through Twitter.
And it’s inspired a number of others following in suite.
It’s damn funny, bloody clever and highlights the history of men and their powertrips.
Read it because you want a contemporary take on the classics.
Visit Twit Rapper
http://www.twitterature.us/us/index.htm

David McCandless, The Visual Miscellaneum

This book inspires me.
2010 was the year of the infographic and this book captures this better than any.
Infographics are visual ways to display data.
Think of graphs as infographics 1.0.
This book is infographics 10.0!
Read to learn a bunch of intriguing stats or because you love visually clever data.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/the-visual-miscellaneum/

What are you favourites for 2010?
What was the best book you’ve read this year?

Download Sticky Change : Make Change Happen Quickly Smoothly Easily

Derived from: Chip and Dan Heath, Switch : How to Change Things When Change is Hard

In RAP9 we explored tweaking your environment as a means to changing your behaviour.
One suggestion was to make it smaller.
And, in this video Obesity expert Dr. David Edelson discusses how using some visual tricks you can eat less and lose weight.

PS: Big Congratulations to us: This is our 300th blog post! And, today we reached our 2010 milestone: 20,000 Book Rapper issues downloaded this year. Thanks for your support! :)

Download Sticky Change : Make Change Happen Quickly Smoothly Easily
Derived from: Chip and Dan Heath, Switch : How to Change Things When Change is Hard

In RAP8 we talked about ‘Grow your people’.
If shrinking the task makes you feel bigger.

When you shrink it AND also grew your people you magnify the impact.

Build strength, motivation and resilience by reframing what you do.
In this video from grasshopper.com they start by asking us:

Do you remember when you were a kid and you thought you could do anything?

This is a classic identity shift inferring, did you get old and forget your dreams?
Then they ask you to think of yourself as an entrepreneur…
It’s a great change in context to inspire us all to make a better world.

Download Sticky Change : Make Change Happen Quickly Smoothly Easily

Derived from: Chip and Dan Heath, Switch : How to Change Things When Change is Hard

Thanks to Lucy Dodd for suggesting this one!

If you’ve got an example you’d like to share, post a comment below and we may feature it in a future post.

Book Reviews

Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non-Conformity, Perigee, Penguin, New York, 2010.

I’ve been a fan and regular blog reader of Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Non-Conformity for about 18 months. I love his work. It’s a simple and inspiring reminder to be awake!

The Aim

Chris’s aim is simple enough: “transform your thinking about life and work”. In other words, “You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.”
In this sense it parallels two books we’ve rapped Timothy Ferris in the Four Hour Work Week and Seth Godin in Linchpin. It’s a guru-free philosophy and Chris is a modest chap who doesn’t claim to have all the answers.
However he does have a great personal story to share. He runs marathons, is self-employed and his quest is to visit every country in the world. At last count he’s at 149 of 192. Along the way he’s volunteered in Africa and learnt a few things about getting cheap flights. He calls it ‘travel hacking’.

To be honest I was a little disappointed in this book. I think this is simply because I’ve been reading his blog and other materials. I was looking for more practical things about how he does what he does. Not so. More the big picture of taking on life.

My Two Big Take Homes

Whilst this book wasn’t what I expected I did get two big take-homes from it.

1. What’s the Legacy Work You’ll Do Today? : The idea of what you’re leaving as your impact on the world when you die is not new. What struck me as pivotal was transforming this in what I do on a daily basis. I’ve often felt like I wasn’t getting to the things I wanted to. Chris put a new context around this for me. The writing I’m doing at Book Rapper is my legacy work. And through Chris’ suggestions I can sharpen my efforts. Rather than write for an hour a day, his lead is to write 1000 words minimum a day. For me I can write and design one Book Rapper page each day. Gold! This begs 2 questions: What’s your legacy? And, what are you going to do about it today?

1. What’s Your ‘Why?’ For Doing What You Do? : When I started Book Rapper I just got started. I knew why for me: I wanted to read books because I wanted to know what was going on in the world. That was a given for me yet I’ve never said that to anyone. I just presumed they would be into books or not. Having read Chris’s comments about this I can see this as a weakness for Book Rapper attracting an audience. So, it’s time to ask, Why would your audience be interested in what you’re doing? And, what does it do for someone like me?

The Good News

The good news is it’s a quick and easy read – I read it in one sitting in about 2 hours. It’s perfect for anyone feeling stuck in life or work. If this is you, then it’ll be a little can-opener for new possibilities.

More…

If you want more then buy the book.

If you want to sneak up on the book, read Chris’s blog: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/
And, I highly recommend you download his first manifesto: 279 Days to Overnight Success. It’s a practical, ‘here’s how I do it’ guide.

Where are we going?

1 Marry Campaign & Structure

2 Design For Consistency

3 Focus on What Matters

Why are we doing this?

4 Tell Your Story

5 Blog To Share and Include

6 Video Your Story Into Life

Are we there yet?

7 Measure Engagement

8 Create Frequent Small Campaigns

9 Analyse Everything

What are we talking about?

10 Define the Conversation

11 Create Meaningful Content

12 Lead by Example

Can I say something?

13 Connect With Email

14 Mobilize Up Your Ladder

15 Go Neighbour to Neighbour

Will you join with me?

16 Tap into the Existing

17 Offer the Right Incentives

18 Provide Portable Engagement

Can I play?

19 Enable Supporters to Interact

20 Leverage Creativity

21 Provide Clear Roles

Can you help me?

22 Provide Training

23 Let Advocates Support You

24 Learn From Your Supporters

Can I share?

25 Ask Supporters Questions

26 Leverage Comments

27 Support User Generated Content

Bonus

28 Close Your Campaign with Grace