By Rolf Crocker

Last month, I told the story of my long board mishap (remember the Spongebob Squarepants cooler??).  I used the illustration to drive home the point about how to learn – through our own mistakes, or the mistakes of others.  This type of illustration is what business consultant and professor at the University of Michigan Business School Noel Tichy calls a ‘Teachable Point Of View’ (TPOV).  A TPOV is what makes a principle and/or value stick.  We may forget the principle, but we’ll always remember the story.

We all have a TPOV.  Who am I kidding??  Being in our industry, we probably have a hundreds!  Take some time to write some of them out, develop it and stick a principle right in the middle of it.  It will go along way to helping your coworkers, colleagues and clients remember the point…the Teachable Point Of View.

The Leadership Engine – How Winning Companies Build Leaders At Every Level by Noel Tichy, with Eli Cohen (©2002 HarperCollins) This is the book in which Professor Tichy develops his TPOV message and shows you how to develop yours.  The first half contains his teaching and, of course, stories of its application in Fortune 500 companies.  The second half is a handbook/workbook that enables you to work out your own TPOV for your company or yourself.  This book can be a difficult read, but the concepts are powerful and revolutionary.    4 Stars!

Beyond Success – Brian Biro, forward by Coach John Wooden (©2001 Penguin Putnam) John Wooden’s success as coach of the UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball Team is legendary.  But did you know that he coached for 25 years before he won his first NCAA championship?  Author Brian Biro takes Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, which contains 15 Secrets to Effective Leadership and Life and, along with Biro’s own TPOV, develops each secret into a powerful, embraceable life-concept. Full of stories from both Coach Wooden and author Biro, these principles applied can be life transforming.  Highly recommended! 5 Stars!