BOOK SUMMARY 191 Penguins Can’t Fly: +39 Other Rules that Don’t Exist
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Summary written by: Ryan Long
"The purpose of this book isn’t to tell you how to
live your life. It’s to make you more mindful of the choices you make and the
story you’re living."
- Penguins Can’t Fly, page 200
Lately,
I’ve had a need for FUN books. As you would imagine, Penguins
Can’t Fly: +39 Other Rules that Don’t Exist was a fun read. It
also encouraged me to pause to think about life and business. Author,
speaker, and artist Jason Kotecki is on a mission to rid the world of
“adultitis”. Kotecki defines adultitis as the condition that makes us choose to
color inside the lines, act based on what others will think, and do things the
way they have always been done. He encourages us, in no uncertain terms, to break
those rules to live life, and do business, to the fullest.
The Golden Egg
Do what you’ve always done, get what you’ve always gotten
"But
the person who is wise, curious, and childlike knows there just might be a
better way to sell books, rent movies, do business. Or live life. Be THAT
person."- Penguins Can’t Fly, page 114
Throughout
the book Kotecki encourages us to be curious. He begs us to look at things
from a different angle. When our “adultitis” kicks in telling us not to do
something, he tells us to ask “why not?” Kotecki wants readers to
question the common knowledge we’ve come to know, and look for another way
to do things.
In the
section on common knowledge, Kotecki points out that there was a time when
books only came in hard backs, we rented movies for one night from brick
and mortar locations, and feature films weren’t animated. We shouldn’t continue
to do what we have always done, just because we have always done it that way.
At work, we do some things the way we do them because we have
always done them that way. But there’s a better way! Rather than
focus on things that are out of my hands (I’m looking at you, accounting
department, with your paper trail), I will begin to focus on the things that I
CAN change.
Things
I can control: when I check my email. Is it most productive to check it first
thing in the morning? (I’ll have to experiment.) Do I have to sit at a desk to
do my best work? (The answer to that one is no. I work remote. I was on
the couch, with my dog, for one of the best
over-the-phone-brainstorming-sessions I’ve had with my manager.) What’s the
right fun-to-structure ratio for our weekly staff meetings? (There was a time
when I thought it should be zero fun, all structure.) I’ll be exploring these
and other questions, with a focus on curious and childlike answers,
in the coming months.
Gem #1
Keep knee jerk reactions at bay
"It’s
easy to jump into automatic mode in our roles as…leaders and respond to
situations in the same way we’ve seen other…leaders do it, without ever
stopping for just a second to question if there might be another way. Stopping
that knee-jerk reaction is the hard part."- Penguins Can’t Fly, page 78
If
you’ve read many of my summaries, you know that part of my job is to oversee
social media for a marketing company. Recently, we put out a press release
about the philanthropic efforts of one of our managers. My social media
specialist wanted to post it on Facebook. My knee jerk reaction was “NOOOOO!”
because the philanthropy was affiliated with a religious organization. I’ve
become sensitive to political correctness. I’ve seen so many
leaders balk at posting anything that could be considered
controversial. I wanted to veto that idea right out of the box. But
I bit my tongue. We posted. At this writing, the post reached over 10,000
people. It has had many shares, likes, and extremely positive comments. No one
called us out for anything negative. Only a handful of recent posts have
performed better.
Kotecki’s
section on knee jerk reactions talks about the first time his
daughter blew milk bubbles with her straw. To fight the urge to tell her to
stop, Kotecki says he “quickly analyzed the situation: What’s the big deal?
What are my main concerns?” When those were answered (eat her dinner in a
reasonable amount of time and don’t clean up milk bubble messes), the milk
bubbles inadvertently turned into an amazing incentive to for Lucy to eat her
dinner.
Stop
the knee jerk. Analyze. Evaluate. Take new action. This is what I will strive
to do. This will also allow me to have a genuine reaction to the situation. I
think philanthropy is great! Why did I balk so much from the post? Because of
what other people might think, but from a negative perspective. I hadn’t stopped
to consider the POSTIVE reactions we might get.
Gem #2
Nothing to fear but fear itself
"If
you want to be realistic, be realistic about your fears. After all, most of the
things you worry about will never happen."- Penguins Can’t Fly, page 135
This
quote comes from the section about being “realistic”, but it actually speaks to
me from several places in the book. One of them is on being careful. I’ve found
that when I’m most cautious, both in work and in my personal life, it’s because
I fear something. Sometimes it’s a consequence. Sometimes it’s judgment from
others. Sometimes it’s what the action, or inaction, could mean in my future.
Kotecki talks about his daughter learning to walk. She falls, she bumps, she
cries, she gets over it, she explores, she falls, she bumps, she cries. It is a
seemingly endless cycle but she doesn’t give up and she doesn’t fear the next
fall or bump. He points out that so many adults give up after just one bump or
one failure. We lose our resiliency to keep trying until we see success.
I’m a
very strategic person. I like to have information, weigh my options, and make
my decision. I strive to make the “right” decision. In the times where I balk
at something because I fear making the wrong decision, I hope I
will look at the problem with childlike creativity and resilience.
Realistically, what is the worst that can happen? And how would that actually
affect me? Is there another angle to take to avoid the worst case scenario? If
I fail, can I try again?
There
were so many more things I wanted to write about and other “rules” that hit
home for me in this book. Each section is short and Kotecki whimsically
illustrated it himself. It has already been a great “go-to” for stories during
staff meetings to get my team to think a little differently.
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