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My first manager was not great. My second manager was one of the most influential persons in my life. His name was Carl. I owe him a great deal. As I sit here reflecting on Carl; his words,
his impact, and his life, I’m replaying the past seven years of my own professional life (the past two in management!), and I’m struck by how forward-looking and timeless Carl’s leadership
really was. Carl had a lot of sayings, and in general, a way with words. Those words have stuck with me over the years, probably because he self-published what he called a,
“Management-festo,” handing out copies every year. He would walk over to the FedEx/Kinkos store, print out a dozen or so copies, and hand them out to anyone who made eye-contact. He always
included a warm smile and a stick of Wrigley’s chewing gum as a bookmark, encouraging everyone to, “Share it with the world. The book. Not the gum.” He taught me so much. His “festo,” as he
called it, was well over one hundred pages (90–112, depending on the font that year), and I’ve often thought that the stickiness of Carl’s impact on my life is due to having his wisdom in
writing. He wrote down his thoughts and gave them out freely, expecting nothing in return (except that one time he made Janice from receivables pay for her copy, citing a prior dispute). Now
that I am almost a decade in to my own professional career and have gleaned so much from those around me, my experiences, and countless articles and blog posts that people share, I figured
it was time for me to start putting my own thoughts, and dare I say, wisdom, down on paper. I think it’s the Swedes who say, > “_You have to run the first lap before you can Finnish the
> race._” …so while I work on my own “festo,” I figured I would provide you all with a teaser of things to come. A starter-course. An “anti-festo.” Here is as brief excerpt in list format
from my eventual book called, _How to Friend Winners and Influence Soon-to-be-Winners_. (Dale Carnegie is one of my heroes!). > Life is a cubicle without walls. > > Do the right
thing, even when your manager is not there to > supervise. > > If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a Powerpoint > presentation is worth a thousand bullet points. >
> Lead like no one is watching. > > When life hands you a desk, make a standing desk. > > Don’t be a con-sumer. Be a PRO-sumer. > > You can return tomorrow what you
buy today, but you can’t take > back tomorrow what you sell today, so be careful what you sell. > > To change your altitude you can change your attitude, or surround > yourself
with better sherpas. > > Public speaking is important, but so is Public listening. > > Eat fish. Well that’s all I can think of so far! I’m sure some day I’ll compile these and
many others into a book. Until then, I’d really like to hear your thoughts! Is there a manager in your life you admire? IS THERE A BOOK INSIDE YOU TRYING TO PUBLISH ITSELF? If so, “share it
with the world” in the comments section!