Dear Readers,

For every rule, it seems like there's at least one exception—and often many.
The rule in book publishing: If you have one success, repeat it until it is no longer profitable to do so! Your audience expects a certain style and expertise from you, and will generally be disappointed if their expectations aren't met. And sequels often succeed (at least financially) if the first effort was well-received, so authors have substantial motivation to continue in the same vein.

The co-author of Just Asked Leadership, Eric Vrooman, and I have been looking for an interesting topic for our next leadership book. We could go deeper into the "how to" of Just Ask Leadership; we pretty much have all the content developed from the training program we created. But if you follow in the footsteps of others, it doesn't really feel like your path.

We're not only thinking about being exceptions to the rule, we're thinking about writing on that very subject. What are notable exceptions to the rule? And, more specifically, when is it a good idea to break from convention?

I watched a TV drama recently where a genetic specialist, who was charged with helping people get pregnant, raised her daughter to be pro-life. When her fifteen-year-old daughter gets pregnant, however, she pleads with her to get an abortion. Abortion is, of course, a polarizing subject—too big and weighty to reduce to a single case—but clearly there was an exception here to the genetic specialist's rule: every life is sacred and must be protected at all costs.

The other day, my daughter was writing a paper for school regarding her feelings about WWII. She began the paper by explaining her rule: War is bad. Then came the exception: When a psychopath takes control of a country and attempts to take control of the world forcibly, war is necessary. My other daughter has a teacher who gives a backpack full of homework on a daily basis and expects it to be done on time. Does this rule apply to her, the teacher, when it comes time to meeting her own grading deadlines? Regrettably, no.

Rick Diamond (CEO Breathe Laser) and I had rules about expenses for our employees at ACI, and we had exceptions to the rule for the owners: not a very good idea, we learned.

What are the consequences to violating rules—conventional ones and the ones you set for yourself or loved ones? When do exceptions reveal problems with the rule and when do they reveal problems with the rule's followers or enforcers? And what exactly is at stake? Respect, certainly. But does the pregnant daughter respect her mother less (for violating her own teachings) or more (for demonstrating her love and concern for her daughter)?

To what degree are rules the product of values and beliefs?

What is the point of having rules if exceptions are bound to come up?

What rules do you follow, what exceptions do you make, and how do you justify them?

We're still trying to determine if this subject is book-worthy, and would love to hear your thoughts and stories.
Gary

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler - Book Review
By Gary Cohen

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2008. Hardcover, 300 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0-07-148499-2. ISBN-10: 0-07-148499-X Also available on audio

More than 5 million HIV cases have been prevented, 14,000 hardened criminals have been transformed into productive citizens, and more than 122,000 lives have been saved in American hospitals. These successes, and the leaders responsible for them, appear in Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. The book's authors reveal the "vital behaviors" needed to achieve a similar level of influence--on yourself, family, community, and work. With the vital behaviors described in this leadership book, you will be equipped to overcome even the most profound and persistent problems.

The first part of the book focuses on these vital behaviors; the bulk of the book, however, demonstrates how to "make change inevitable." Most problems, the authors argue, stem from ability and motivation issues. People either believe they're incapable of change or lack sufficient motivation to do so. The way to lead people out of these ruts, according to Influencer, is by using one or more of these six areas of influence: personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation, and structural ability.

The authors support most, if not all, of their examples with strong academic research. And it's a book that ought to be considered alongside Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey's books, How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work and Immunity to Change. Influencer also complements the work of Ronald Heifetz, Harvard Professor on leadership and bestselling author of Leadership on the Line. Heifetz talks about leaders needing to both be on the balcony to have a wider view of current issues and then going down on the dance floor with their folks to look closer at these issues together. This process shines a bright light on particular problems and changes the cognitive maps of both leaders and their coworkers.

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Recent Past Blog Posts include:

1) 10 Questions to help you move to a Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE) Hear what visionary change agents and founders of ROWE, Jodi Thompson and Cali Ressler, have to say.

2) iPhone App on Just Ask Leadership. Follow CO2 Partner activity with this free iphone App.

3) The last ski boot I will ever wear!--Innovation stops when imagination ends. Don't let this be the last anything that you will do, own, or be! Keep adapting, keep facile, and be young!

In the coming weeks look for interviews in our blog with:

Daniel Pink - New York Times Best Selling Author on his new book Drive: The surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

Kerry Patterson - New York Times Best Seeling Author of Influencer: The Power to Change Anything (See This Months Review)

Madeleine Van Hecke, Author of Blind Spot: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things and The Brain Advantage: Become a More Effective Business Leader Using the Latest Brain Research

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