I recently purchased my oldest son’s new book, The Upside of Uncertainty, published by Harvard Business Review Press. I have to be honest and say, it is one of the best books I have read in a long-time, and I read a lot of books. I say this, not because Nathan is my son, but because the book is an excellent read, and I see so much of my own life-long learning experiences exhibited in this book. I’m sure others would as well.

At a recent interview with a journalist, she said, “she was really moved by what was written” and at the end of the interview she said, “it was a love letter to humanity.”

An ex-Notre Dame professor who reads 100 books a year said “this was the best book he’s read in years. “He called it a Love letter to life.”

Here is what the Amazon review of the book says:

This book is a science-backed guide for navigating and thriving through uncertainty—based on interviews and insights from world-renowned leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives.

Whether you’re searching for courage to start a new project, change careers, launch a business, develop an idea, or reinvent yourself after a disappointment or life change, you will face uncertainty—that ambiguous and uncomfortable state that often makes us feel confused, anxious, and afraid to act. Though these moments are difficult, they offer opportunities for personal growth, innovation, and creativity.

In The Upside of Uncertainty, INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr provide a sweeping guide to embracing uncertainty and transforming it into a force for good. Drawing from hundreds of interviews, along with pioneering research in psychology, innovation, and behavioral economics, Nathan and Susannah provide dozens of tools—including mental models, techniques, and reflections—for seeing the upside of uncertainty, developing a vision for what to do next, and opening ourselves up to new possibilities.

In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, uncertainty is on the rise. We face it every day. But few of us have been taught the techniques to navigate it well. The Upside of Uncertainty provides the inspiration, tools, and strategies you need to thrive through the inevitable plot twists in your life and career.

After I read the part in the book about walking down a path at night in Tuscany illuminated by thousands of fireflies, it made me want to experience this in my lifetime.

Reading the chapter on Don’t Force Machinery I am reminded of a lesson in life that I learned a long-time ago. Most of the time, things don’t happen in the time frame I wanted them to happen in, but they happened in the time frame that they should have happened in.

The book is full of examples of life-long experiences and looking at uncertainty as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Get Your Copy on Amazon

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IMPACT: Business Advice for Small and Medium Enterprises
(Certified Global SME Advisor Series 2021 Book 4)

I belong to The Certified SME Global Advisor group. The organization is made up of six consultants from around the world: Dean Robinson and David Oglive from Australia, Phil Symschych and Kim Gerencser from Saskatchewan, Canada, Tim Forest from Florida, Dan Weedin from Washington State and me from Portland, Oregon. We meet monthly on a zoom call and in person once a year for a Mastermind conference where we discuss best practices and how to improve our consulting practices. The idea is that we can continually learn from our peers and up our game. We recently met in Whistler, B.C for our annual conference and it did not disappoint. It was a great learning experience for everyone.

As part of this group, once a quarter we contribute to the publication of a book of business advice for small and medium enterprises. So far we have published seven books; Covid Business Strategies, Crisis Management, Strengthen Your Business, Full Speed Ahead, Acceleration, Traction, The Future of Work, and now Impact our eighth publication.  All available on Amazon.

Impact seeks to advise small, medium, and large companies to help them grow, increase revenues and profits, and provide more value to their customers. This issue focuses on maximizing your impact for your clients, helping them achieve their desired transformations, and getting results. There are ideas on analyzing your entire business, creating alignment, improving the impact of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, managing growth, and checking for your unconscious bias. The chapters will help you and your leadership team to maximize your impact, develop and implement powerful and pragmatic strategies in your business so you can generate more revenue and profit, provide more value to your customers, and secure your own financial future.  The best investment you can make as a business owner is in yourself. Learn valuable tips that can help you step up your game.

Available on Amazon

See more books on the Business Publishing Success Website:

Business Success Publishing

The Authors

Gary Furr is an organizational develop consultant with over 40-years of C-level business experience coupled with an MBA in organizational development. Gary lives in Portland, OR and is the author of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business and Make Your Banker Happy
WEBSITE

Art Koch is a results-oriented business consultant with 20-years of business experience throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, and Europe.
WEBSITE

David Ogilvie is an experienced ERP and business consultant who works with manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
WEBSITE

Phil Symchych is the president and founder of SME Business Wealth Builder Corporation based in Canada and for 26-years has advised more than 120 privately held small and medium businesses. He is author of the book, The Business Wealth Builder.
WEBSITE

Dan Weedin is an experienced entrepreneur, leader, speaker, and consultant with the goal to safeguard the valuation and legacy for his clients. Dan is the author of Unleashed Leadership and lives in Seattle, WA
WEBSITE

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I am currently working with a large company based out of Kansas City, MO, with two operations in Oregon. In helping to lead the management team towards more effective leadership, we are reading Simon Sinek’s book Leaders Eat Last.

We recently discussed chapter 13, Abstraction Kills. In his book, Mr. Sinek describes a situation where an experiment was being conducted in which volunteers were enlisted to administer an electrical shock to individuals they did not know. Unbeknownst to the volunteers of the shock treatments, the individuals who was receiving the shock treatment were the scientist conducting the experiment. The various levels of voltage were listed on each switch were labeled from slight shock, moderate shock, strong shock, very strong shock, intense shock, extremely intense shock, all the way up to danger severe shock. As the volunteer of the shock treatment increased the electrical current, the scientist inside the room would scream in pain and ask to have it stop. They weren’t actually being shocked, but the shock volunteer did not know that. When the individual would try to stop the experiment, they were repeatedly told the experiment must go on.

Mr. Sinek compares this behavior to what occurred during World War II in which crimes against humanity were committed on a massive scale and how would this be possible? “It wasn’t possible for a few warped minds to have effectively committed genocide on such a remarkable scale.” It required the help thousands and perhaps millions of people.”

The most common defense that many Nazis offered after the war for their behavior was “we had no choice, we were just following orders.” They were able to rationalize their behavior because they were told to do so, similar to the volunteer of the experimental shock treatments when the person in charge kept saying the experiment must go on and the volunteer would continue.

I believe there were two other factors at play here. The victimized individuals had no weapons to defend themselves and they lived in great fear. How does this apply to the workplace environment and we as leaders?

As leaders we must understand that we are not in charge of our employees, but they are in our charge, and we must treat them with dignity, kindness, and respect. When we look at our employees as if we are in charge of them, it changes the dynamics. Just like the victimized individuals during World War II had no weapons, our employees have no weapons to defend themselves from tyrannical and harsh leadership other than to leave, which is often not financially feasible. When a leader looks at their leadership style as if they are in charge of their employees the dynamic sets up a negative situation and the employees live in fear. They have no real weapons to defend themselves and live in fear of being let go, which I would venture to say sets up the company up for low morale and a low productivity environment.

As leaders it is our responsibility to take care of those who are in our charge and do what we can do to assure their success. After all, if our employees are engaged and successful, the company will be successful.

Simon Sinek’s book, Leaders Eat Last, is available on Amazon.

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