Johnny Bunko
Johnny Bunko: a cartoon Joe who hates his dead-end accounting job. A set of
magic chopsticks. And Diana, a Greek-anime goddess of job satisfaction. Mix ’em
together and you have the latest business manga. That’s right, I said
business manga.
Lesson 1: There is no plan.The
average worker will have a gazillion jobs before she’s 42
. Don’t do things
you hate or are worthless just ’cause you think they’ll get you somewhere. Do
stuff ’cause you love it and it’s valuable to you. This is the path to success
and fulfilllment, grasshopper.
Lesson 2: Think strengths, not weaknesses. Diana
invokes the sacred bobbleheads of Seligman and
Buckingham. Capitalize on what
you’re good at. End sentences with prepositions. Who cares? Screw that ‘fill in
the gaps’ crap. Allow yourself to bring out your best. Follow
your heart with a vengeance. That’s what remarkable leaders do
. Be
f’n amazing
.
Lesson 3: It’s not about you.It’s
not about you. It’s not about you
. Really. It’s about them. Help your
students-customers-clients-stakeholders solve their problems. The
most valuable people in any job bring out the best in others
. Be helpful.
Add value. It’s not about you.
Lesson 4: Persistence trumps talent.The
fall of dropping water wears away the stone
. Keep
on sucking until you succeed
. What are you afraid of?
Lesson 5: Make excellent mistakes.
If your strategy is to lie low, do your job, follow instructions, and hope
that nobody notices you, (a) nobody will ever notice you, and (b)
you’re actually increasing the chances of something bad happening.
If, on the other hand, you develop a reputation as the person who is always
pushing the envelope, challenging the organization to go to the next level, and
using your influence to get good stuff done, you’ve got the world’s best job
security.
can’t shrink your way to greatness
.
Fail better
. Fail smarter. Being
safe is risky. Being risky is safe
.
Lesson 6: Leave an imprint. Make a difference. Do
something meaningful. Stand
for something big and important. Stop being ordinary
. Make the world a
better place. What are you waiting for?
A rehash of earlier works? Absolutely. A super fun way to spend an hour? You
betcha.
the book
. But whatever you do, don’t let your local adolescents get hold of
it or they’ll really start asking questions about whatever it is you’re
‘teaching’ them.
Oh, did I mention it’s written by Daniel
Pink
? Rock on.
[I loved this book. I give it 5 highlighters.]
