Nonfiction4Life

Liz Wiseman, internationally recognized business thought leader, released the Revised and Updated edition of "Multipliers" in 2017. The book was born from a simple observation percolating in Wiseman for years: “There is more intelligence inside our organizations than we are using.” Figuring out why became her passion. Her research findings unlocked the secrets to what she came to call “Multipliers.”

To explain the difference between Multipliers and Diminishers (their opposite), Wiseman quotes Bono, who said, “It has been said that after meeting with the great British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, you left feeling he was the smartest person I the world, but after meeting with his rival Benjamin Disraeli, you left thinking you were the smartest person in the world.” Diminishers might be geniuses, but Multipliers are genius makers. 

Wiseman’s research team used an applied definition of intelligence: the ability to reason, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, learn from experience, and adapt to make smart decisions.

Multipliers trust people are smart and will figure it out. With that assumption, they manage to double the brain power of their workers. In short, they use human intellect and talent while noticeably helping people grow. As a result, when working for a Multiplier, people say they “get smarter.”

Wiseman distills the role of Multiplier to distinct disciplines, each set in opposition to a Diminisher role. For example:

1. The Talent Magnet (e.g., Mitt Romney) vs. The Empire Builder
2. The Liberator (Bill Campbell, CEO of Intuit) vs. The Tyrant
3. The Challenger (Irene Fisher of University of Utah Bennion Center) vs. The Know-it-all

Bill Campbell says, to be a Multiplier, “You have to be smart enough to learn.” 

“Accidental Diminishers” are well-intentioned leaders who, unwittingly, reduce abilities often by following popular management principles. For example, creative leaders might try to spark ideas in others; energetic, charismatic leaders can “kill” people with all their energy. Rescuers might step in too early to prevent mistakes from happening, but they can stunt growth in the process. Even too much optimism can do more damage than good.

 Multipliers are not “cupcake-and-kisses” leaders. In fact, they're often hard-edged, driven people. But they create a growth cycle of “safety and stretch.” While holding people accountable, they deeply use their people while helping them grow.

BUY Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

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Fred E. Woods researched the story of leprosy in Hawaii, where the Board of Health exiled people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) to Kalaupapa, an isolated spot on the island of Molokai. Neither fatal nor highly infectious, leprosy became treatable in the 1940s when Dr. Hansen discovered an antibiotic cure for the pathogen. Though not contagious, it still managed to rip apart families, sometimes indefinitely.

Fortunately, more than 400 “kokua” (help) came to the rescue as volunteers. Many stayed in Kalaupapa and made their life among the sick. Two of the most famous kokua included Jonathan Hawaii Napela and Father Damien. Both bore ecclesiastical duties. The former refused to be separated from his sick wife, and the other came to fulfill his priestly duty. Both contracted leprosy and died in the colony.

After collecting 58 first-person accounts, Dr. Woods says he found a "story of community—community unlike anywhere else in the world—not a space divided by borders and barriers or fences and enclosures, but a place which beckons every race and religion, every color and creed...The cost was suffering—suffering together.”

Today, all but 10 residents of the community have passed away. But for decades the people of Kalaupapa worshiped, worked, and recreated side by side. 

Woods says, "Kalaupapa is relevant in any age and serves as a reminder of the importance of erecting bridges instead of barriers, finding common ground instead of a battleground, and in valuing one another regardless of ethnicity and religiosity. It provides a vivid illustration of the need for all people to not only join hands, but to look outside the circle of their faith’s community to embrace the universal message to love one another, regardless of our differences.”

He continues, “Such an ecumenical philosophy of inclusiveness seems to be desperately needed in a world that suffers from societal diseases such as selfishness, pride, bigotry, and prejudice. It is hoped that the message of the Kalaupapa community will serve as a reminder of the acute need for each of us to generate light instead of heat...."

In 2008, Hawaiian officials issued a formal apology to the people of Kalaupapa. In the same spirit, a long-time resident Auntie Catherine says in her interview, “Let it go. Forget about it. Turn a new leaf. Start all over. That’s what God wants us to do. Don’t hold grudges.”

BUY Reflections of Kalaupapa

BUY Kalaupapa: The Mormon Experience in an Exiled Community

WATCH: Documentary: "The Soul Kalaupapa: Voices in Exile"

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Fred E. Woods researched the story of leprosy in Hawaii, where the Board of Health exiled people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) to Kalaupapa, an isolated spot on the island of Molokai. Neither fatal nor highly infectious, leprosy became treatable in the 1940s when Dr. Hansen discovered an antibiotic cure for the pathogen. Though not contagious, it still managed to rip apart families, sometimes indefinitely.

Fortunately, more than 400 “kokua” (help) came to the rescue as volunteers. Many stayed in Kalaupapa and made their life among the sick. Two of the most famous kokua included Jonathan Hawaii Napela and Father Damien. Both bore ecclesiastical duties. The former refused to be separated from his sick wife, and the other came to fulfill his priestly duty. Both contracted leprosy and died in the colony.

After collecting 58 first-person accounts, Dr. Woods says he found a "story of community—community unlike anywhere else in the world—not a space divided by borders and barriers or fences and enclosures, but a place which beckons every race and religion, every color and creed...The cost was suffering—suffering together.”

Today, all but 10 residents of the community have passed away. But for decades the people of Kalaupapa worshiped, worked, and recreated side by side. 

Woods says, "Kalaupapa is relevant in any age and serves as a reminder of the importance of erecting bridges instead of barriers, finding common ground instead of a battleground, and in valuing one another regardless of ethnicity and religiosity. It provides a vivid illustration of the need for all people to not only join hands, but to look outside the circle of their faith’s community to embrace the universal message to love one another, regardless of our differences.”

He continues, “Such an ecumenical philosophy of inclusiveness seems to be desperately needed in a world that suffers from societal diseases such as selfishness, pride, bigotry, and prejudice. It is hoped that the message of the Kalaupapa community will serve as a reminder of the acute need for each of us to generate light instead of heat...."

In 2008, Hawaiian officials issued a formal apology to the people of Kalaupapa. In the same spirit, a long-time resident Auntie Catherine says in her interview, “Let it go. Forget about it. Turn a new leaf. Start all over. That’s what God wants us to do. Don’t hold grudges.”

BUY Reflections of Kalaupapa

BUY Kalaupapa: The Mormon Experience in an Exiled Community

WATCH: Documentary: "The Soul Kalaupapa: Voices in Exile"

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Annette Bay Pimentel, author and researcher, came across a 1915 photograph of several men wearing suits and sitting on logs that surround a table set with white linen and china. Behind them stands a Chinese man wearing an apron. The cook is Tie Sing, the main character in her book Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service.

Evidently, millionaire and Sierra-Club member Stephen Mather hired Tie Sing, "the best trail cook in California," to feed his special guests on a camping trip. Against the odds, he managed to keep the men fed with “gourmet meals as fine as any you’d find in a San Francisco restaurant.” Pimentel includes authentic, mouth-watering menus. After trekking through the pristine California wilderness, these thought leaders became advocates for creating a National Park Service.

Pimentel's book provides a springboard for discussing politics with children. She manages to gently broach the still-prickly topics of citizenship, discrimination, and immigration at a level children can understand.

Illustrator Rich Lo ignites every page with brilliantly colored pencil drawings and watercolor washes. His own family story of parents immigrating from Hong Kong to the United States mirrors the story of Tie Sing. Lo has illustrated just one other children’s nonfiction book, Father’s Chinese Opera, which is based on his personal history. 

Pimentel hopes Tie Sing will be a model to kids when they face setbacks. She also hopes they will come to appreciate the many people of large and small importance who've helped build our country.

According to Pimentel, this is a “golden age for kids’ nonfiction.” As proof, she cites the newly established the Sibert Informational Book Medal for nonfiction picture books and a middle-grade or young-adult book. The Newberry Medal and the Caldecott Medal in the last 15-20 years have been awarded to an increasing number of nonfiction books. We're also seeing more back matter, bibliographies, and source quotations in books. Since Common Core was adopted, school teachers are using much more nonfiction.

BUY Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service (Carter G Woodson Award Book (Awards))

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Annette Bay Pimentel, author and researcher, came across a 1915 photograph of several men wearing suits and sitting on logs that surround a table set with white linen and china. Behind them stands a Chinese man wearing an apron. The cook is Tie Sing, the main character in her book Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service.

Evidently, millionaire and Sierra-Club member Stephen Mather hired Tie Sing, "the best trail cook in California," to feed his special guests on a camping trip. Against the odds, he managed to keep the men fed with “gourmet meals as fine as any you’d find in a San Francisco restaurant.” Pimentel includes authentic, mouth-watering menus. After trekking through the pristine California wilderness, these thought leaders became advocates for creating a National Park Service.

Pimentel's book provides a springboard for discussing politics with children. She manages to gently broach the still-prickly topics of citizenship, discrimination, and immigration at a level children can understand.

Illustrator Rich Lo ignites every page with brilliantly colored pencil drawings and watercolor washes. His own family story of parents immigrating from Hong Kong to the United States mirrors the story of Tie Sing. Lo has illustrated just one other children’s nonfiction book, Father’s Chinese Opera, which is based on his personal history. 

Pimentel hopes Tie Sing will be a model to kids when they face setbacks. She also hopes they will come to appreciate the many people of large and small importance who've helped build our country.

According to Pimentel, this is a “golden age for kids’ nonfiction.” As proof, she cites the newly established the Sibert Informational Book Medal for nonfiction picture books and a middle-grade or young-adult book. The Newberry Medal and the Caldecott Medal in the last 15-20 years have been awarded to an increasing number of nonfiction books. We're also seeing more back matter, bibliographies, and source quotations in books. Since Common Core was adopted, school teachers are using much more nonfiction.

BUY Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service (Carter G Woodson Award Book (Awards))

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Kristen Ulmer spent 15 years as a professional extreme skier, holding the title as the world’s best female extreme skier for 12 of those years. Little did she know at the time she was “locking Fear in the basement.”

Now, as the only known fear specialist in the world, Ulmer helps us learn how to “stop being afraid of being afraid.” To do that, she’s launched a whole movement around how to have an honest relationship with Fear. Using “Shift” (her Art of Fear method), she personifies Fear, teaching us how to face and embrace this universal emotion. With a healthy dose of curiosity and some learned skills, we can access Fear and all our emotions without pushing them away.

According to Ulmer, we tend to blame our problems on anger, stress, depression, and anxiety. Yet, from her experience both as an athlete and as a fear expert, she’s come to see all these emotions rooted in Fear. Rather than repressing Fear, we should treat it as we would a child, giving it proper care and attention. Otherwise, we are almost sure to have physical breakdowns and emotional traumas. Left undealt with, Fear can rob all of us--even the best of athletes--of good health, excitement, energy, and an overall sense of joy. So, the answer lies in learning to meet Fear on neutral ground, not assigning it good or bad labels. Then, rather than exhausting ourselves trying to control the emotion, we must channel our efforts toward controlling our responses to Fear.

In practical terms, Ulmer tells us Fear is a state of discomfort in our bodies. So, as we practice doing simple body scans, we’ll learn where Fear tends to reside in our bodies. Then, when we find it, Ulmer tells us to turn towards Fear, giving it our full attention. In other words, we must give ourselves permission to feel Fear.

In our society, rather than using Fear for fight or flight, we’ve learned to fight or flee the Fear itself. In a bold claim, Ulmer says treating symptoms such as PTSD, looping anxieties, insomnia, and depression only exacerbates the problems. Instead, she proposes using the following three-pronged approach:

1. Get to know your patterns around Fear. Look for what Fear motivates you to do. Rather than resist it, learn to merge with your Fear.
2. Recognize Fear is completely natural. “The more you allow Fear to speak, the less it will have to say, the less of a hold it will have on you. It’s that simple.”
3. Learn how to feel Fear. Deal with emotions emotionally. Ulmer proposes we “have a love affair with Fear.” Like falling in love, this highly emotional experience begins with showing commitment. This process will bring Fear into sharp focus, allowing it to heighten our awareness.

Ulmer assures us, “The best way to feel alive is to go out and do something that scares you. What will follow is pleasure from learning and growing.”

BUY The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won't Work and What to Do Instead

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Kristen Ulmer spent 15 years as a professional extreme skier, holding the title as the world’s best female extreme skier for 12 of those years. Little did she know at the time she was “locking Fear in the basement.”

Now, as the only known fear specialist in the world, Ulmer helps us learn how to “stop being afraid of being afraid.” To do that, she’s launched a whole movement around how to have an honest relationship with Fear. Using “Shift” (her Art of Fear method), she personifies Fear, teaching us how to face and embrace this universal emotion. With a healthy dose of curiosity and some learned skills, we can access Fear and all our emotions without pushing them away.

According to Ulmer, we tend to blame our problems on anger, stress, depression, and anxiety. Yet, from her experience both as an athlete and as a fear expert, she’s come to see all these emotions rooted in Fear. Rather than repressing Fear, we should treat it as we would a child, giving it proper care and attention. Otherwise, we are almost sure to have physical breakdowns and emotional traumas. Left undealt with, Fear can rob all of us--even the best of athletes--of good health, excitement, energy, and an overall sense of joy. So, the answer lies in learning to meet Fear on neutral ground, not assigning it good or bad labels. Then, rather than exhausting ourselves trying to control the emotion, we must channel our efforts toward controlling our responses to Fear.

In practical terms, Ulmer tells us Fear is a state of discomfort in our bodies. So, as we practice doing simple body scans, we’ll learn where Fear tends to reside in our bodies. Then, when we find it, Ulmer tells us to turn towards Fear, giving it our full attention. In other words, we must give ourselves permission to feel Fear.

In our society, rather than using Fear for fight or flight, we’ve learned to fight or flee the Fear itself. In a bold claim, Ulmer says treating symptoms such as PTSD, looping anxieties, insomnia, and depression only exacerbates the problems. Instead, she proposes using the following three-pronged approach:

1. Get to know your patterns around Fear. Look for what Fear motivates you to do. Rather than resist it, learn to merge with your Fear.
2. Recognize Fear is completely natural. “The more you allow Fear to speak, the less it will have to say, the less of a hold it will have on you. It’s that simple.”
3. Learn how to feel Fear. Deal with emotions emotionally. Ulmer proposes we “have a love affair with Fear.” Like falling in love, this highly emotional experience begins with showing commitment. This process will bring Fear into sharp focus, allowing it to heighten our awareness.

Ulmer assures us, “The best way to feel alive is to go out and do something that scares you. What will follow is pleasure from learning and growing.”

BUY The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won't Work and What to Do Instead

Work with Kristen

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Laura Stack, nicknamed "The Productivity Pro," is an award-winning speaker and best-selling author of seven books. A sought-after business consultant, her latest book, Doing the Right Things Right, shows us how to focus on the important things while saving time.

For 25 years, she has coached executives and motivated professionals to increase workplace performance in high-stress environments. Some of her clients working include Starbucks, IBM, Microsoft, Nestle, Wells Fargo, VISA, and the Denver Broncos.

As an MBA student, Stack felt inspired by Peter H. Drucker's classic book, The Effective Executive. However, noticeably absent in the classic business book are examples of women executives and tips for taming technology. So, to complement Drucker's time-tested truths, Stack offers updated recommendations for the 21st century.

Her best ideas come from the place where effectiveness (doing the right things) intersects with efficiency (right). Specifically, to help identify areas needing attention, Stack front-loads her book with the "3T Leadership Assessment." Using this tool periodically can give executives a glimpse into how successfully they're leading their organizations.

Organized into three parts, Stack's book covers Strategic Thinking, Teamwork, and Tactics for executives. Tips include knowing when to make decisions by consensus or alone as well as delegating down as much as possible. In order to build strong and loyal teams, employers should always make training a high priority.

Time management seems to lie at the heart of many leaders' challenges. Stack insists on using email filters and similar tools to rein in technology.

BUY Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time

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Laura Stack, nicknamed "The Productivity Pro," is an award-winning speaker and best-selling author of seven books. A sought-after business consultant, her latest book, Doing the Right Things Right, shows us how to focus on the important things while saving time.

For 25 years, she has coached executives and motivated professionals to increase workplace performance in high-stress environments. Some of her clients working include Starbucks, IBM, Microsoft, Nestle, Wells Fargo, VISA, and the Denver Broncos.

As an MBA student, Stack felt inspired by Peter H. Drucker's classic book, The Effective Executive. However, noticeably absent in the classic business book are examples of women executives and tips for taming technology. So, to complement Drucker's time-tested truths, Stack offers updated recommendations for the 21st century.

Her best ideas come from the place where effectiveness (doing the right things) intersects with efficiency (right). Specifically, to help identify areas needing attention, Stack front-loads her book with the "3T Leadership Assessment." Using this tool periodically can give executives a glimpse into how successfully they're leading their organizations.

Organized into three parts, Stack's book covers Strategic Thinking, Teamwork, and Tactics for executives. Tips include knowing when to make decisions by consensus or alone as well as delegating down as much as possible. In order to build strong and loyal teams, employers should always make training a high priority.

Time management seems to lie at the heart of many leaders' challenges. Stack insists on using email filters and similar tools to rein in technology.

BUY Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time

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In November 2013, award-winning author and blogger Seth Adam Smith unwittingly catapulted his writing career. He wrote a blog post entitled, "Marriage Isn't for You." Then he got over 24 million hits and, in just three days! Obviously, his message hit a nerve with people the world over. News organizations picked up his message, turning Smith into something of a reluctant young rock star.

Although these days he tries to maintain his privacy, his post led to publishing the book, "Your Life Isn't for You: A Selfish Person's Guide to Being Selfless." With brutal honesty, he shares his journey of fighting depression and escaping his own attempted suicide.

Smith structures his book around the children's story from the Book of Virtues called "The Selfish Giant," which his father read to him as a young boy. Like the giant, Smith built up his own walls, breeding selfishness. Fortunately, he eventually learned how to tear down those barriers, allowing people back into his life. And when the walls came down, he opened himself up to beautiful relationships and emotional connections. Although he admits selfishness often emerges as a self-preserving tool, Smith believes it's also the biggest stumbling block to healthy relationships. 

Sadly, people suffering from depression often rebuff helpful gestures from loving friends and family. Yet, Smith assures us, consistent efforts are, in the end, very helpful. These kindnesses can come be "soft" gestures or harsh truths. In either case, well-intentioned helpers will only find peace by controlling their own actions, not by waiting to have people with depression receive their kindnesses. 

Smith now works with the Anazasi Foundation. There, and through his writing, he channels his experience to help others fight depression and prevent suicide. His book includes several of his antidotes for depression. Here are just three:

1. Learn to love the people you serve. Depression often requires medication and professional counseling, but reaching out to others can also be an effective tool for recovery.
2. Seek out support groups and professional help. Joining a strong community can be a lifeline of strength and trust. Similarly, Smith strongly encourages going to counseling to get invaluable advice from trained experts.
3. Look for your own "Northern Lights." Spiritual sources of light and strength are all around us. In one form, they're connections to others. Another form is service. Smith is particularly fond of the light he finds in excellent literature, uplifting and inspiring the soul.

BUY Your Life Isn't for You: A Selfish Person's Guide to Being Selfless

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