Exuberance: The Passion for Life. Psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison offers up an entire book on exuberance. “I believe exuberance is incomparably more important than we acknowledge,” she begins. Amen! I pulled a few quotes from the book which you’ll find here.
So what? “Hire for it” is one big “so what.” “Promote for it” is another. While that’s not news, the “news” is that I’m suggesting (insisting) that this be at the top of your hiring-promotion criteria.
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations … One School at a Time. Greg Mortenson’s story is downright amazing. And intimidating—it makes your and my travails look pretty puny. After failing to climb K-2, Mortenson takes a pilgrimage to very, very rural Pakistan, where he has so far built 55 schools. Amidst Taliban territory, they remarkably emphasize education for girls. To use terms like “amazing” or “unbelievable” is gross, almost negligent understatement.
Read the book. Re-assess your life. And three hearty cheers for the idea of “Wow.” Wow-ing can indeed be life’s aim.
Targeting the New Professional Woman: How to Market and Sell to Today’s 57 Million Working Women. Speaking of “Wow,” the marketing to women “thing” is … finally … gaining some traction. Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold. Martha Barletta. Fara Warner. And, now, Gerry Myers. “Traction,” yes—but examples of true strategic re-alignment around this issue are still too few and too far between.