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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Fridays Number 67 – How Do You Connect the Dots?
Dear Reader,
I’ll be presenting to the International Mentoring Association on April 14th at 11:00 am Eastern Time. If you’re interested in attending, please let me know and I’ll forward the registration information. I think it’s free to attend. The benefit in attending is that you’ll get training on my methodology to read selectively.
I’ve provided the information in the newsletter a few times. But there’s something to say about seeing the person talking and looking at what’s on the slide. If you decide to attend, make sure that you take notes because the organization will be sending the presentation deck only to its members.
I got the vaccine a couple of days ago and I’m feeling sluggish. So, I’m a few hours late sending out the newsletter. This has impacted my work in the last couple of days. I’m grateful that I was able to get vaccinated.
How Do You Connect the Dots?
I’m still experimenting with Roam Research and learning by discovery. You have to pay to use the app and it’s not very intuitive. To master how to use it, the best resources cost money. For now, I want to use it in a very specific way. I want to use this network note taking app to connect notes I wrote years ago to more recent notes.
I want to connect the dots, so I can see more connections among the books I read. It’s difficult to do this level of analysis and synthesis without the aid of a technology tool. For now, my focus is on mastering this one aspect of Roam Research. Later I can learn other functionalities of the app.
Because I’m in this head space, for some reason. I started to think about the book, Jobs to Be Done. I decided to read my notes. And I decided that the book would be good for marketing and sales.
Here’s some of what I wrote a few years ago:
“The premise behind the Jobs to be Done Framework is that people hire products to get a job done. Therefore, people buy products and services to get a job done. If a customer has a job that she has to get done, she will switch products if it makes sense for her.
In the book Zero to One, which I seem to be referring to a lot, if you are starting a new business or creating a new product, it has to be at least 10 times better than what’s available. In terms of the jobs to be done framework, your new product could win in the marketplace if it gets a customer’s job done better – at least 10 times better.
In the book, Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice, the author, Anthony Ulwick provides a list of questions that the innovation process will answer. I have pulled out three questions for you that I think are important. As I mentioned that this may be a new concept to you, answer the questions and see what you come up with.
- Who is the customer? Whom are you trying to serve?
- What job is the customer trying to get done?
- What new products must you create to better serve your customers?
What job is the customer trying to get done?”
Reviewing what I wrote about Jobs to be Done, it made me realize that I need to connect the notes from this book, to the notes I took from the sales books that I read a couple of months ago. I decided to re-read Jobs to Be Done, so that’s kept me busy this week. What new information can you connect with old information? If you decide to give Roam Research a try, please let me know how it’s going.
- Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World by John Chambers
- Connect The Dots: Strategies and Meditations On Self-education by Paul Jun
I’ve read the second book, but not the first one.
Avil Beckford in the News
AVIL BECKFORD’S BOOK READING CLUB
I pulled the information immediately below from the show notes.
“I had an interesting interview with Ms. Avil Beckford, founder of The Invisible Mentor, is a skilled writer, blogger, researcher, analyst and published author. She is a voracious reader who loves to read books off the beaten path. Because of her love for reading, Avil created leadership development programs to get more professionals reading, so they can use the knowledge in books to take their career and business to the next level. She is an advocate of continuous learning and loves to teach others what she has learned. You can find her book, Digest 30 Books in 30 Days on Amazon.”
You can watch the video here, you have to scroll down to see mine.
Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading
What are you reading? Hit reply to this email to let me know.
- The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy
- The Self Help Book
- Secrets to a Millionaire Mind
- Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine
- Making Ideas Happen
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
- Delay, Don’t Deny
- How to be a Power Connector
- The Emotion Code
- Ikigai
- QBQ: The Question Behind the Question
- Bulletproof Problem Solving
- How to Be a Power Connector
- What’s Your Problem
- The Invincible Company
When I’ve read the above books, I’ll let you know. I read every day and I read different genres. Right now I’m reading Delay, Don’t Deny.
New Products Alert
I’ve created new programs, Business Knowledge Accelerator, Career Knowledge Accelerator, and I updated the Sales Knowledge Accelerator. Besides previewing a book before reading it, I also recommend that you read a good book summary to get the helicopter view of what the book is about. With so much information online, I was surprised that I couldn’t find summaries for some books on the list.
I often participate in the Knowledge Accelerator programs, so I make sure that I choose books I haven’t read. Now I have to read the books that I couldn’t find summaries for.
Why not participate in one of the Accelerator Programs. I’m also working on the Knowledge Accelerator for Women. It should be ready in a few weeks.
The Invisible Mentor Blog
This is Episode 11 of the new series, The One Problem. This week, Kelli Wingo talks about How to Step Into Your Greatness. Read the post or watch the video. This episode is 10 minutes.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!
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