A magician spends years learning one thing, and it isn't the trick. It's where the audience is looking. Everything works because their attention is somewhere else.
I used to be one, and I can't turn it off. When I walk into a bookstore I notice where everyone is looking. The front table. The famous name. The book with the sticker. That's where the attention goes, so that's usually where I don't.
I go to the back shelf. I read the author you've never heard of who spent years on a plant floor, or on the phone with strangers, or in a room full of managers who already knew what was wrong. I read the lesser-known book from the famous author, the one that sold a few thousand copies and holds the idea the bestseller was built on.
The idea you can use usually isn't on the front table.
Each Friday I write up one of them, sometimes over a few weeks. Sales, management, career, motivation, and the occasional book that is simply inspiring. I tell you what it says, where I think it's right, and where I'm still arguing with it.
I'll leave one question open each time. Mostly because I don't have the whole answer either.
Nathan BushStrategic Growth Facilitator, and a recovering magician
