Johnny Bunko

Johnny Bunko: a cartoon Joe who hates his dead-end accounting job. A set of magic chopsticks. And Diana, a Greek-anime goddess of job satisfaction. Mix ‘em together and you have the latest business manga. That’s right, I said business manga.

Lesson 1: There is no plan. The average worker will have a gazillion jobs before she’s 42. Don’t do things you hate or are worthless just ‘cause you think they’ll get you somewhere. Do stuff ‘cause you love it and it’s valuable to you. This is the path to success and fulfilllment, grasshopper.

Lesson 2: Think strengths, not weaknesses. Diana invokes the sacred bobbleheads of Seligman and Buckingham. Capitalize on what you’re good at. End sentences with prepositions. Who cares? Screw that ‘fill in the gaps’ crap. Allow yourself to bring out your best. Follow your heart with a vengeance. That’s what remarkable leaders do. Be f’n amazing.

Lesson 3: It’s not about you. It’s not about you. It’s not about you. Really. It’s about them. Help your students-customers-clients-stakeholders solve their problems. The most valuable people in any job bring out the best in others. Be helpful. Add value. It’s not about you.

Lesson 4: Persistence trumps talent. The fall of dropping water wears away the stone. Keep on sucking until you succeed. What are you afraid of?

Lesson 5: Make excellent mistakes.

If your strategy is to lie low, do your job, follow instructions, and hope that nobody notices you, (a) nobody will ever notice you, and (b) you’re actually increasing the chances of something bad happening.

If, on the other hand, you develop a reputation as the person who is always pushing the envelope, challenging the organization to go to the next level, and using your influence to get good stuff done, you’ve got the world’s best job security.

You can’t shrink your way to greatness.

Try again. Fail again. Fail better. Fail smarter. Being safe is risky. Being risky is safe.

Lesson 6: Leave an imprint. Make a difference. Do something meaningful. Stand for something big and important. Stop being ordinary. Make the world a better place. What are you waiting for?

A rehash of earlier works? Absolutely. A super fun way to spend an hour? You betcha.

Watch the trailer. Buy the book. But whatever you do, don’t let your local adolescents get hold of it or they’ll really start asking questions about whatever it is you’re ‘teaching’ them.

Oh, did I mention it’s written by Daniel Pink? Rock on.

[I loved this book. I give it 5 highlighters.]

Comments

[Dan Rehman]

1.

Thank you. I have been tring to get those points out to some of my colleauges for awhile now. I couldn't agree more. I try to live my professional and personal life by two ideas- "Kaizen" (which loosely translates to continuous improvement) and "Check your ego at the door." I found too many times that the adults involved in education think it is about them. They haven't had their 15 minutes yet, so they plan on stealing that time from the students. Also, there are some at the "front of the classroom" that think that they are masters and all must listen. They have nothing left to learn.
For me, this post comes at a great time.

Thanks again.

Dan Rehman

[Arnie]

2.

Thanks for the great reminder to be daring. I really needed to hear that today.

Thanks.

[CIndy Lane]

3.

Timing is everything...I NEEDED to readdress all of the Lessons brought forth! Thank you...and I also passed it on to my two wonderful college kids...YOU ROCK!

[Carolyn Foote]

4.

Don't ya just love the movie trailer?

Very clever marketing!

I'm eager to see the book myself--haven't gotten it yet.

[Charlie A. Roy]

5.

I had the chance to see Daniel Pink give the keynote at the NCEA convention in Indianapolis in March. Wow! The man is a prophet for wear education needs to go for the 21st century.

[Jenny Darrow]

6.

We've been talking a lot about the mission of our college (4-year public liberal arts) and what it means for our graduates and for employers. This post drills down to the root of the message we should be pushing: there is no "plan" so be nimble, be flexible, be a Learner. Oh, and btw #5 is right on target. Thanks, I love this post.

[Gary S. Stager]

7.

Fantastic! Daniel Pink's ideas have been reduced to a cartoon.

Isn't that redundant?

Read my review of his last atrocious book here:

http://www.districtadministration.com/pulse/commentpost.aspx?news=no&postid=49501