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Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say—and What You Don’t
The acclaimed author of
Turn the Ship Around!
teaches leaders a better way to communicate and bring out the best in their people.
In Turn the Ship Around!, former U.S. Navy Captain David Marquet explained the empowering leadership strategy he developed with great success while commanding the nuclear submarine USS Santa Fe. That book generated passionate word-of-mouth, was named one of USA Today's 12 best business books of all time, and made Marquet a globally recognized leadership expert. His "Intent-Based Leadership" system has helped countless teams take responsibility and solve problems -- without waiting to be told what to do.
His new book expands on those ideas, with a fresh approach to workplace communication. Few leaders realize how easy it is to say things that inhibit creative solutions and escalate stress. In both high-pressure situations and routine scenarios, in every meeting and email, the wrong words will disempower and demoralize our colleagues. On the other hand, small changes in our language can lead to dramatic improvements in how our teams perform.
For instance, Marquet reveals why...
* Asking "Are you sure?" leads to less information and worse decisions than asking "How sure are you?"
* Using a few key phrases during stressful, unfamiliar situations can help everyone keep cool heads.
* Sometimes the most valuable thing a leader can say is... nothing.
In Turn the Ship Around!, former U.S. Navy Captain David Marquet explained the empowering leadership strategy he developed with great success while commanding the nuclear submarine USS Santa Fe. That book generated passionate word-of-mouth, was named one of USA Today's 12 best business books of all time, and made Marquet a globally recognized leadership expert. His "Intent-Based Leadership" system has helped countless teams take responsibility and solve problems -- without waiting to be told what to do.
His new book expands on those ideas, with a fresh approach to workplace communication. Few leaders realize how easy it is to say things that inhibit creative solutions and escalate stress. In both high-pressure situations and routine scenarios, in every meeting and email, the wrong words will disempower and demoralize our colleagues. On the other hand, small changes in our language can lead to dramatic improvements in how our teams perform.
For instance, Marquet reveals why...
* Asking "Are you sure?" leads to less information and worse decisions than asking "How sure are you?"
* Using a few key phrases during stressful, unfamiliar situations can help everyone keep cool heads.
* Sometimes the most valuable thing a leader can say is... nothing.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2020
1032 people are currently reading
5902 people want to read
About the author
L. David Marquet
6 books343 followersDavid Marquet imagines a world where everyone engages and contributes their full intellectual capacity, a place where people are healthier and happier because they have more control over their work–a place where everyone is a leader.
David is the bestselling author of Turn the Ship Around!, the Turn the Ship Around Workbook, and the #1 new release Leadership is Language. Fortune magazine called Turn the Ship Around! the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.”
Turn folldsowers into leaders - www.davidmarquet.com
Learn about Intent-Based Leadership - www.intentbasedleadership.com
Enroll for your free 1-min leadership nudges - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM6P...
David is the bestselling author of Turn the Ship Around!, the Turn the Ship Around Workbook, and the #1 new release Leadership is Language. Fortune magazine called Turn the Ship Around! the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.”
Turn folldsowers into leaders - www.davidmarquet.com
Learn about Intent-Based Leadership - www.intentbasedleadership.com
Enroll for your free 1-min leadership nudges - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM6P...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
April 11, 2020
I think this is an important book that looks at a critical leadership behavior: the language leaders use and how they do (and do not) communicate with their people. So many of us have so much to still learn in this area, and I think LDM does a great job of addressing it.
I do feel the “playbook” approach with defined plays is a bit overly-contrived for me, personally, but it didn’t really distract from the message of the book.
I really enjoyed this read. Definitely recommend. Lots of great points that I’ve been working to deliberately practice in my own leader behavior now.
I do feel the “playbook” approach with defined plays is a bit overly-contrived for me, personally, but it didn’t really distract from the message of the book.
I really enjoyed this read. Definitely recommend. Lots of great points that I’ve been working to deliberately practice in my own leader behavior now.
March 4, 2021
This wasn't a straight 1-star, it was more like a 1.5 star. I really like Marquet's "Turn the Ship Around" and was hopeful that this would be another winner. From my perspective, there were some serious flaws in this attempt, however. First, he is speaking from a place of extreme privilege, such that it was hard to take some of what he had to say seriously. Example, "If they (the boss) doesn't listen to what you say, maybe you shouldn't work there because it'll affect your health". This is me paraphrasing but it was breathtakingly naïve and privileged to assume that people just have the power to switch jobs if the company or your boss isn't progressive enough. Secondly, the Agile Manifesto is TWENTY years old. In 2-3 separate instances, he tries to explain it like some new hotness to support his theories. This is no longer cutting edge. He spends a lot of time talking about the Industrial Age but then he doesn't really spend much time on current business theories and practices and are helpful and relevant. Thirdly, this could have used a rigorous editing. The structure of the book is all over the place. He pulls in various examples which seemingly don't make sense to the current thing he's discussing. He goes back to things later but you have no idea how he decided to pull that in. It could have been structured a lot more cleanly. And, another thing, this one isn't totally on him but it was aggravating. Yes, I know that when you are writing leadership books for execs, you tend to add in a LOT of gray boxes with the expectations that they're only going to read the gray boxes. This made half of the book feel like reiteration. Not in a helpful, here's what I'm going to tell you, tell you, here's what I said way that makes memory easier but literally full on pockets of repetition. No, thank you. Lastly, just so we're on the same page, stereotyping is bad and that is EVERYWHERE in this. I really struggled with the whole 'red work/blue work' concept he's got going in general. I'd highly recommend not engaging with this and instead reading (or re-reading) Turn the Ship Around.
October 19, 2020
A great book on leadership and the use of the right language to create an environment of inclusion and innovation. I learned about the concept of creating variability in thought, removing anchoring bias, leading with a question, the need to ensure red (mechanical) and blue (thought) work is everyone's realm in terms of participation. The book illustrates its ideas through various great examples and how the industrial revolution might have trained us too much towards Taylorism and how we will need to unlearn an efficiency mindset to create inclusion and innovation.
March 27, 2020
I liked the core message of this book, even if a large part of the book was just re-presenting Agile with different terminology.
August 21, 2022
A powerful thing about leadership is that if you think about words you choose to use you can change things around you. Author builds on the concept of “Clean language” by providing six “plays” to keep track of. First control the clock, do not obey it. A pause at moment should be mindful, followed by deliberate actions. Secondly collaborate don’t coerce by letting others be the decision makers. Thirdly commit but don’t comply. Complete don’t continue is to break tasks into sizeable chunks. Improve don’t prove. Lastly connect and don’t conform by being vulnerable, admit not knowing all the answers. In summary Marquet wants to change Industrial age leading language of command and control that stifles decision making, curiosity and performance.
July 10, 2022
I did like Turn the Ship Around more, but that book was more about the story and less about methodology and this one focused mostly on the methodology. The book got a bit slow in the second quarter, but the explanation of the methodology, blue-green work and shifting between it was very good. I think the book could have benefitted from adding additional real-life case studies, most of the story was focused on one story about a cargo ship (El Faro 2015) pershing in storm due to leadership failures and others were generic. Also I think that building the theory justification around Taylor's Scientific Management was a bit stretch and not neccessary.
The language of the old approach to leadership is deterministic and binary – all about doing, not about thinking.
Avoiding language of invulnerability and invincibility
For organizations to thrive, the doers must also be deciders.
Thinking work, benefits from variability (VS doing work that benefits from reduced variability). When you brainstorm, for example, you want as many ideas as possible to emerge. And when you make decisions, you like to have options. That’s why good leaders reject the old division between deciders and doers and instead include all team members in the decision-making process. They know what Galton knew: that the wisdom of many is almost always superior to the wisdom of one. This approach also increases people's motivation, people given autonomy over their work are happier and less prone to burnout.
Effective leaders use language that encourages people to speak up, contribute, and participate.
Psychological safety is key to an organization’s success, it’s generated by actively encouraging uncomfortable perspectives and soliciting input. Leaders can consciously talk less, so that others talk more. They can admit when they don’t know things so that others can do the same. And they can exhibit vulnerability, which makes it easier for people to speak up without fear.
A successful leader rejects the traditional “obey the clock” mindset in favor of a “control the clock” approach.
Controlling the clock means weaving back and forth between thinking mode and doing mode, even if it means slowing things down or questioning choices to which you have already committed (VS obey the clock that avoids pauses at all costs). Good leaders not only make pauses possible – they actively encourage them, plan them, and name them for what they are.
Effective leaders embrace a collaborative approach to decision-making that celebrates diversity and variability.
In the old model, leadership was coercive. It was about getting people to comply with decisions they had no part in conceiving. Today, many leaders see the benefit of including everyone in decision-making processes, but are often ill-equipped to execute that play. Examples: participants to invidually and anonymously write down guesses before having group discussions (VS all suggestions being measured against and not far off from first proposed answer); another approach is to encourage asking good questions: "what am I missing?"; actively inviting dissent rather than subtly encouraging consensus.
Effective leadership means getting people to commit to actions rather than comply with directives.
Saying “can’t” implies there’s an external force trying to keep you from an undesired action. When you use the word “don’t,” on the other hand, the power comes from inside you. Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful in driving human behavior than compliance with an outside force.
Compliance elicits the minimum necessary effort. Commitment, on the other hand, inspires energy, creativity, and initiative. One way to get commitment is to focus on learning, as opposed to just doing. The traditional playbook puts people in a “prove” mindset – prove you know what you’re doing, prove the product works. But humans are far more effective when they have an “improve” mindset. Like all mammals, we’re curious. Our brains are hardwired to react positively to exploration and discovery. Psychologists call this the “seeking” system. When we engage in work with the goal of learning something new, we activate this system. We work much more enthusiastically and effectively because we’re excited to see what we may discover. We also handle failures and setbacks more easily – they’re part of the learning process, after all.
What also helps: dividing work into chunks (also helps against escalation of commitment).
Successful leaders complete defined goals instead of continuing work indefinitely.
By thinking of projects not as endlessly ongoing, but as a series of discrete steps that can be completed – and celebrated. Studies have shown that pausing to acknowledge and enjoy a completion actually improves people’s workplace performance. It also creates space for reevaluation and reflection.
Successful leaders encourage people to learn, grow, and improve.
The concept of “improve and learn” is not new. Industrial-Age companies were constantly analyzing their processes in an effort to tweak, streamline, or perfect them. But back then, only leaders were responsible for this type of work. It was their job to observe and judge workers and decide how they could improve. Today, in a world that privileges greater collaboration, it’s up to everyone on the team to evaluate themselves.
In order to facilitate this, effective leaders need to create cultures that are psychologically safe. Most people are afraid of being perceived as ignorant or incompetent. This keeps them in a prove, rather than improve, mindset. But no one is served when people feel threatened and become defensive. Instead, we want them to feel empowered to make things better.
"As leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves."
People need:
*autonomy over their work
*to be connected to a purpose that matters
*to feel part of a team
Make sure to leave room for the other people to participate in the conversation. If you're not hearing from them, give them time/space. If you want to hear more from your team you need to talk less.
A very good infographic summarizing the book can be found from: https://yoan-thirion.gitbook.io/knowl...
The language of the old approach to leadership is deterministic and binary – all about doing, not about thinking.
Avoiding language of invulnerability and invincibility
For organizations to thrive, the doers must also be deciders.
Thinking work, benefits from variability (VS doing work that benefits from reduced variability). When you brainstorm, for example, you want as many ideas as possible to emerge. And when you make decisions, you like to have options. That’s why good leaders reject the old division between deciders and doers and instead include all team members in the decision-making process. They know what Galton knew: that the wisdom of many is almost always superior to the wisdom of one. This approach also increases people's motivation, people given autonomy over their work are happier and less prone to burnout.
Effective leaders use language that encourages people to speak up, contribute, and participate.
Psychological safety is key to an organization’s success, it’s generated by actively encouraging uncomfortable perspectives and soliciting input. Leaders can consciously talk less, so that others talk more. They can admit when they don’t know things so that others can do the same. And they can exhibit vulnerability, which makes it easier for people to speak up without fear.
A successful leader rejects the traditional “obey the clock” mindset in favor of a “control the clock” approach.
Controlling the clock means weaving back and forth between thinking mode and doing mode, even if it means slowing things down or questioning choices to which you have already committed (VS obey the clock that avoids pauses at all costs). Good leaders not only make pauses possible – they actively encourage them, plan them, and name them for what they are.
Effective leaders embrace a collaborative approach to decision-making that celebrates diversity and variability.
In the old model, leadership was coercive. It was about getting people to comply with decisions they had no part in conceiving. Today, many leaders see the benefit of including everyone in decision-making processes, but are often ill-equipped to execute that play. Examples: participants to invidually and anonymously write down guesses before having group discussions (VS all suggestions being measured against and not far off from first proposed answer); another approach is to encourage asking good questions: "what am I missing?"; actively inviting dissent rather than subtly encouraging consensus.
Effective leadership means getting people to commit to actions rather than comply with directives.
Saying “can’t” implies there’s an external force trying to keep you from an undesired action. When you use the word “don’t,” on the other hand, the power comes from inside you. Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful in driving human behavior than compliance with an outside force.
Compliance elicits the minimum necessary effort. Commitment, on the other hand, inspires energy, creativity, and initiative. One way to get commitment is to focus on learning, as opposed to just doing. The traditional playbook puts people in a “prove” mindset – prove you know what you’re doing, prove the product works. But humans are far more effective when they have an “improve” mindset. Like all mammals, we’re curious. Our brains are hardwired to react positively to exploration and discovery. Psychologists call this the “seeking” system. When we engage in work with the goal of learning something new, we activate this system. We work much more enthusiastically and effectively because we’re excited to see what we may discover. We also handle failures and setbacks more easily – they’re part of the learning process, after all.
What also helps: dividing work into chunks (also helps against escalation of commitment).
Successful leaders complete defined goals instead of continuing work indefinitely.
By thinking of projects not as endlessly ongoing, but as a series of discrete steps that can be completed – and celebrated. Studies have shown that pausing to acknowledge and enjoy a completion actually improves people’s workplace performance. It also creates space for reevaluation and reflection.
Successful leaders encourage people to learn, grow, and improve.
The concept of “improve and learn” is not new. Industrial-Age companies were constantly analyzing their processes in an effort to tweak, streamline, or perfect them. But back then, only leaders were responsible for this type of work. It was their job to observe and judge workers and decide how they could improve. Today, in a world that privileges greater collaboration, it’s up to everyone on the team to evaluate themselves.
In order to facilitate this, effective leaders need to create cultures that are psychologically safe. Most people are afraid of being perceived as ignorant or incompetent. This keeps them in a prove, rather than improve, mindset. But no one is served when people feel threatened and become defensive. Instead, we want them to feel empowered to make things better.
"As leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves."
People need:
*autonomy over their work
*to be connected to a purpose that matters
*to feel part of a team
Make sure to leave room for the other people to participate in the conversation. If you're not hearing from them, give them time/space. If you want to hear more from your team you need to talk less.
A very good infographic summarizing the book can be found from: https://yoan-thirion.gitbook.io/knowl...
October 29, 2023
A good read for this current phase of my life. Interesting to chew on as I continue to learn how to navigate my career and projects.
June 8, 2022
This is an excellent read for any leader. Inviting collaboration and creating the space for others to use their voices are two different things. The insights gained from this read are invaluable to leadership.
December 23, 2023
This was a thought-provoking book. I really enjoyed the concept that we will remain stuck with an industrial age playbook unless we change the language we use. Granted, the author doesn't promise that it is only the language change that is needed, but it could be a big, helpful step in the process toward adopting a more collaborative work environment. Personally, that is something I have been striving for with my teams, so I am going to try some of the suggestions the author puts forth.
I took a ton of notes from this book. Following are some key takeaways.
Old playbook, from the industrial age:
Coerce, Comply, Continue, Prove, and Conform
The new playbook includes:
Collaborate, Commit, Complete, Improve, and Connect
Complete, don't Continue. In Continue, there is never any endpoint, which means that there is no chance for people to stop, reflect, and celebrate the wins. So it all blends together and becomes the "same old, same old", which people get disinterested in.
We do not want a harmonious discussion. What we want is an accurate picture of reality. Being harmonious and wrong means going out of business.
Being good gets in the way of getting better.
All learning starts with "I don't know".
Different perspectives are helpful to find solutions. You are the only person who sees what you see.
Connect is about Caring. It is the enabling play that makes all the other plays work better. Four ways we can do this are:
1. flatten the power gradient
2. admit you don't know
3. be vulnerable
4. trust first
I took a ton of notes from this book. Following are some key takeaways.
Old playbook, from the industrial age:
Coerce, Comply, Continue, Prove, and Conform
The new playbook includes:
Collaborate, Commit, Complete, Improve, and Connect
Complete, don't Continue. In Continue, there is never any endpoint, which means that there is no chance for people to stop, reflect, and celebrate the wins. So it all blends together and becomes the "same old, same old", which people get disinterested in.
We do not want a harmonious discussion. What we want is an accurate picture of reality. Being harmonious and wrong means going out of business.
Being good gets in the way of getting better.
All learning starts with "I don't know".
Different perspectives are helpful to find solutions. You are the only person who sees what you see.
Connect is about Caring. It is the enabling play that makes all the other plays work better. Four ways we can do this are:
1. flatten the power gradient
2. admit you don't know
3. be vulnerable
4. trust first
May 29, 2024
Presents helpful tools for working and communicating in today’s learning/adapting-dependent world. I will probably keep coming back to this book.
March 3, 2024
This was a really good read. I gave it 5 stars because it was very well written, useful stories that explained the principles of the book well and a clear message with detailed techniques that makes it very actionable.
The most useful takeaway was the clear differentiation between bluework (thinking, planning, reflecting, learning) and redwork (doing, testing, executing).
The most actionable tips were:
- more frequent bluework at the beginning of projects when circumstances are rather uncertain and a focus on learning is needed. And longer periods of redwork, when more clarity was achieved.
- deliberately lowering power gradients between team members and hierarchies to allow better collaboration
- giving pauses for bluework a name and training team members to use it to allow everyone to call a pause when necessary and prevent escalation of commitment
- identifying a prove-and-perform mindset in a meeting and using curiosity to prevent defensiveness
- shifting the purpose of redwork from „performing“ to „learning“ by defining a hypothesis to test and a preplanned bluework pause to reflect and learn, instead a delivery deadline to prove
I would recommend the book to every team lead, team member because it leaves you with a very clear structure of how to think about work in the most effective, inclusive, motivating and safe way possible.
The most useful takeaway was the clear differentiation between bluework (thinking, planning, reflecting, learning) and redwork (doing, testing, executing).
The most actionable tips were:
- more frequent bluework at the beginning of projects when circumstances are rather uncertain and a focus on learning is needed. And longer periods of redwork, when more clarity was achieved.
- deliberately lowering power gradients between team members and hierarchies to allow better collaboration
- giving pauses for bluework a name and training team members to use it to allow everyone to call a pause when necessary and prevent escalation of commitment
- identifying a prove-and-perform mindset in a meeting and using curiosity to prevent defensiveness
- shifting the purpose of redwork from „performing“ to „learning“ by defining a hypothesis to test and a preplanned bluework pause to reflect and learn, instead a delivery deadline to prove
I would recommend the book to every team lead, team member because it leaves you with a very clear structure of how to think about work in the most effective, inclusive, motivating and safe way possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2021
Some books you do not want to finish reading, and you keep highlighting, keep revisiting some of the older chapters, and keep pondering some of the statements and relate to what you do in your day to day life. And this is one such book.
I relished every page of it. I do not how much of it I would be able to implement in my day-to-day activities, but I choose to keep trying and keep going back to this book for inspiration.
The book's title initially threw me off, and I assumed that it would stress more about being sympathetic and empathetic. But this was so much more than that. It's about the words you use to make a subtle difference which can do wonders later on.
This book talks about six plays that one can employ, and all of them makes sense as you go through them.
A MUST read!
I relished every page of it. I do not how much of it I would be able to implement in my day-to-day activities, but I choose to keep trying and keep going back to this book for inspiration.
The book's title initially threw me off, and I assumed that it would stress more about being sympathetic and empathetic. But this was so much more than that. It's about the words you use to make a subtle difference which can do wonders later on.
This book talks about six plays that one can employ, and all of them makes sense as you go through them.
A MUST read!
April 29, 2020
Excellent read for all
Small shifts in your language with big paybacks! Immediately applicable and usable. For leaders and team members alike. But mostly leaders, or those striving to lead.
Small shifts in your language with big paybacks! Immediately applicable and usable. For leaders and team members alike. But mostly leaders, or those striving to lead.
December 25, 2024
A solid synthesis of modern efficiency ideas, applicable to all industries.
If you're using Agile software development (e.g. Scrum) then this is 50% validation, but it's still interesting and brings together further ideas.
If you're using Agile software development (e.g. Scrum) then this is 50% validation, but it's still interesting and brings together further ideas.
May 16, 2023
"Leadership Is a Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't" by L. David Marquet is an insightful and thought-provoking book that challenges traditional leadership communication practices and offers a fresh perspective on how language shapes organizational culture and employee engagement. Drawing from his experience as a nuclear submarine captain, Marquet presents practical strategies and real-life examples to help leaders enhance their communication skills and create environments that foster collaboration, autonomy, and high performance.
Overall, I found "Leadership Is a Language" to be a compelling and enlightening read. Marquet's writing style is engaging and accessible, and his personal anecdotes and case studies bring the concepts to life.
One of the key strengths of the book is its emphasis on the importance of language in leadership. Marquet highlights the power of words, tone, and framing, demonstrating how they can either reinforce hierarchical structures and limit employee empowerment or foster a culture of engagement and accountability. He provides actionable strategies for shifting from a "leader-follower" model to a "leader-leader" approach, where employees are encouraged to think and act independently.
Another standout aspect of the book is its exploration of the role of questions in leadership communication. Marquet argues that asking the right questions can lead to better problem-solving, increased employee engagement, and a stronger sense of ownership. He introduces the concept of "intent-based leadership" and provides practical techniques for engaging employees in meaningful dialogue and decision-making.
Moreover, "Leadership Is a Language" addresses the importance of clarity, context, and storytelling in effective communication. Marquet emphasizes the need for leaders to paint a vivid picture of the organization's purpose and values, and he offers guidance on how to create narratives that resonate with employees and inspire them to take ownership of their work.
While some readers may find the book's examples and strategies more applicable to hierarchical organizations or larger teams, the underlying principles and concepts are adaptable and relevant to leaders in various contexts.
In summary, "Leadership Is a Language" is a thought-provoking and practical guide for leaders seeking to enhance their communication skills and create environments that foster collaboration, autonomy, and innovation. Marquet's insights and strategies offer a fresh perspective on leadership language and empower leaders to transform their organizations by empowering their teams. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a more effective and empowering leader.
Overall, I found "Leadership Is a Language" to be a compelling and enlightening read. Marquet's writing style is engaging and accessible, and his personal anecdotes and case studies bring the concepts to life.
One of the key strengths of the book is its emphasis on the importance of language in leadership. Marquet highlights the power of words, tone, and framing, demonstrating how they can either reinforce hierarchical structures and limit employee empowerment or foster a culture of engagement and accountability. He provides actionable strategies for shifting from a "leader-follower" model to a "leader-leader" approach, where employees are encouraged to think and act independently.
Another standout aspect of the book is its exploration of the role of questions in leadership communication. Marquet argues that asking the right questions can lead to better problem-solving, increased employee engagement, and a stronger sense of ownership. He introduces the concept of "intent-based leadership" and provides practical techniques for engaging employees in meaningful dialogue and decision-making.
Moreover, "Leadership Is a Language" addresses the importance of clarity, context, and storytelling in effective communication. Marquet emphasizes the need for leaders to paint a vivid picture of the organization's purpose and values, and he offers guidance on how to create narratives that resonate with employees and inspire them to take ownership of their work.
While some readers may find the book's examples and strategies more applicable to hierarchical organizations or larger teams, the underlying principles and concepts are adaptable and relevant to leaders in various contexts.
In summary, "Leadership Is a Language" is a thought-provoking and practical guide for leaders seeking to enhance their communication skills and create environments that foster collaboration, autonomy, and innovation. Marquet's insights and strategies offer a fresh perspective on leadership language and empower leaders to transform their organizations by empowering their teams. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a more effective and empowering leader.
December 25, 2021
I have a feeling that I will be reading this book a few more times throughout my career.
It gives a great overview of how changing your words can change the whole dynamics of the team and how it makes you a better leader. There are many examples of real cases and case studies that connect the theoretical to the practical.
There is a lot about using words that encourage inclusivity, taking time to analyze and look back on the decision and information, creating a safe space for expression and removing the hierarchical obstacles.
Some of the tips and tricks are easy to follow and I've already tried to implement them to my language. Some others need more experience to realize what is happening.
Definitely worth a read. And I'm thinking I might need this one in physical copy to highlight some parts for an easy reference in the future.
It gives a great overview of how changing your words can change the whole dynamics of the team and how it makes you a better leader. There are many examples of real cases and case studies that connect the theoretical to the practical.
There is a lot about using words that encourage inclusivity, taking time to analyze and look back on the decision and information, creating a safe space for expression and removing the hierarchical obstacles.
Some of the tips and tricks are easy to follow and I've already tried to implement them to my language. Some others need more experience to realize what is happening.
Definitely worth a read. And I'm thinking I might need this one in physical copy to highlight some parts for an easy reference in the future.
July 30, 2020
Creates a conversation
Longer review on my blog: https://www.jackvinson.com/blog/2020/...
The book has some solid concepts around how people use language and how that affects people around them. A lot of it is centered around the idea of moving away from Industrial-euro ways of operating where doing the work is separate from thinking about the work. Marquet defines seven areas of work that need to shift, both on the doing and thinking side. And he provides plenty of examples to help picture the range of possibilities.
And since this is about how we talk, it provides plenty of opportunities to watch the ideas in action.
I don’t know what value there is in calling it “blue work and “red work”, as I forgot every time what the difference was - which color represents which type of work. And I kept struggling in the decision-making section (collaboration over coercion), why Marquet doesn’t acknowledge a range of decision making modes from leader-directed to team-owned.
Longer review on my blog: https://www.jackvinson.com/blog/2020/...
The book has some solid concepts around how people use language and how that affects people around them. A lot of it is centered around the idea of moving away from Industrial-euro ways of operating where doing the work is separate from thinking about the work. Marquet defines seven areas of work that need to shift, both on the doing and thinking side. And he provides plenty of examples to help picture the range of possibilities.
And since this is about how we talk, it provides plenty of opportunities to watch the ideas in action.
I don’t know what value there is in calling it “blue work and “red work”, as I forgot every time what the difference was - which color represents which type of work. And I kept struggling in the decision-making section (collaboration over coercion), why Marquet doesn’t acknowledge a range of decision making modes from leader-directed to team-owned.
November 20, 2020
Not a review - Jus things I want to remember and implement.
Curiosity is a core value.
Emotional distance, avoiding vulnerability, hierarchical roles - are NOT great leadership.
Language reveals your thinking and can change your thinking.
People need:
autonomy over their work
to be connected to a purpose that matters
to feel part of a team
Ask questions that encourage people to share their thoughts.
Control the clock - not obey the clock
Collaborate not coerce
Commitment (not compliance)
Complete defined goals
Improve outcomes
Connect with people
Listen carefully when people ask questions, express concerns, even if it's not forcefully done. They may be hesitant because they are getting the message that the decision is already made.
Ask open ended questions and don't answer your own questions.
Make sure to leave room for the other people to participate in the conversation. If you're not hearing from them, give them time/space. If you want to hear more from your team you need to talk less.
People's behaviors are the results of the organization's design.
"As leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves."
Ask:
How do you see it?
How ready are we for this?
What can we do better?
What did we learn?
What are we missing?
How might this go wrong?
If we do this and it's not good, what would be the most likely culprit?
How can we make it better?
How could I do better?
What have we learned?
Pre-plan pauses for re-evaluation of what we're doing.
Collaboration is based on the belief that others have something to offer.
Be curious, not compelling.
Invite dissent rather than drive consensus.
Give information, not instructions.
Invite people to express what they think independently first, before group discussion.
One tool - anonymous polling.
Before I tell you what I think we should do, what would you do if I weren't here?
You must be truly curious, interested in your team's thoughts.
Ask curious and open ended questions.
Don't be defensive.
Ask one question at a time and then be quiet.
Set aside your judgement.
Say: Tell me more about that.
How would that work?
How does that align with our objectives?
What is behind your decision?
What do you want to have happen?
What do we need for this project to succeed?
How ready are we?
What could go wrong?
What am I missing?
What could we do better?
What do you see?
How do you see it?
When someone dissents:
Can you tell us more about that?
What are you seeing that leads you to believe that?
Leaders need to be looing at the room: Who is being quiet? It's likely they think something but do not feel welcome to express it.
If everyone's agreeing, make space for dissent.
'We all seem to be agreeing on x - before we make a final decision, let's flip to What would be the case for not doing x? What could be bad about it?'
Share ideas, be vulnerable, respect the ideas of others.
Set a timeframe for checking in and assessing how things are going, if different decisions need to be made.
We need planned regular intervals of reflection and analysis:
Look at the data
How did we do?
Invite feedback
How can we improve?
Celebrate successes
Change what was not successful
"If every day at work (or in life) feels the same, like it's simply a continuation of what you were doing yesterday with no clear end in sight, then you are stuck in continue mode."
Competence
Relatedness
Mastery
Ask
How did you come up with that idea?
What was the most challenging part of this project?
What made it fun?
Tell me more about your work on this.
What and How.
Invite people to tell the story of how they reached their goals: Reaching the goal becomes one point on a longer journey. They are encouraged to continue the positive behaviors that helped them reach their goal.
Observe and celebrate accomplishments.
The feeling of accomplishment encourages.
Innovation and freedom are closely linked.
Staff need freedom in deciding what to do or how to accomplish the task, a sense of control over one's working ideas.
Without autonomy, growth stalls.
Forward, activate, improve
What do we want to do differently next time?
What worked that we want to keep?
Onward
If someone else had to take over this project, what would you say tot hem to make it even more successful?
What could we do t better serve our customers?
Let's focus on what's going right and build from there.
Process (not people)
How can we do this better?
When looking back on work and reflecting
Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the decision at hand.
Always assume good intent.
When an organization repeatedly enforces the idea that people should do as they're told without question or suffer consequences, they learn to be absolutely certain that each action is correct before taking it.
Fear, power relationships, lack of psychological safety lead to bad decision making.
People need to be safe to say what they see.
Flatten the power gradient
Admit you don't know
Be vulnerable
Trust first
Orders should follow chain of command
Information should move freely
Curiosity is a core value.
Emotional distance, avoiding vulnerability, hierarchical roles - are NOT great leadership.
Language reveals your thinking and can change your thinking.
People need:
autonomy over their work
to be connected to a purpose that matters
to feel part of a team
Ask questions that encourage people to share their thoughts.
Control the clock - not obey the clock
Collaborate not coerce
Commitment (not compliance)
Complete defined goals
Improve outcomes
Connect with people
Listen carefully when people ask questions, express concerns, even if it's not forcefully done. They may be hesitant because they are getting the message that the decision is already made.
Ask open ended questions and don't answer your own questions.
Make sure to leave room for the other people to participate in the conversation. If you're not hearing from them, give them time/space. If you want to hear more from your team you need to talk less.
People's behaviors are the results of the organization's design.
"As leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves."
Ask:
How do you see it?
How ready are we for this?
What can we do better?
What did we learn?
What are we missing?
How might this go wrong?
If we do this and it's not good, what would be the most likely culprit?
How can we make it better?
How could I do better?
What have we learned?
Pre-plan pauses for re-evaluation of what we're doing.
Collaboration is based on the belief that others have something to offer.
Be curious, not compelling.
Invite dissent rather than drive consensus.
Give information, not instructions.
Invite people to express what they think independently first, before group discussion.
One tool - anonymous polling.
Before I tell you what I think we should do, what would you do if I weren't here?
You must be truly curious, interested in your team's thoughts.
Ask curious and open ended questions.
Don't be defensive.
Ask one question at a time and then be quiet.
Set aside your judgement.
Say: Tell me more about that.
How would that work?
How does that align with our objectives?
What is behind your decision?
What do you want to have happen?
What do we need for this project to succeed?
How ready are we?
What could go wrong?
What am I missing?
What could we do better?
What do you see?
How do you see it?
When someone dissents:
Can you tell us more about that?
What are you seeing that leads you to believe that?
Leaders need to be looing at the room: Who is being quiet? It's likely they think something but do not feel welcome to express it.
If everyone's agreeing, make space for dissent.
'We all seem to be agreeing on x - before we make a final decision, let's flip to What would be the case for not doing x? What could be bad about it?'
Share ideas, be vulnerable, respect the ideas of others.
Set a timeframe for checking in and assessing how things are going, if different decisions need to be made.
We need planned regular intervals of reflection and analysis:
Look at the data
How did we do?
Invite feedback
How can we improve?
Celebrate successes
Change what was not successful
"If every day at work (or in life) feels the same, like it's simply a continuation of what you were doing yesterday with no clear end in sight, then you are stuck in continue mode."
Competence
Relatedness
Mastery
Ask
How did you come up with that idea?
What was the most challenging part of this project?
What made it fun?
Tell me more about your work on this.
What and How.
Invite people to tell the story of how they reached their goals: Reaching the goal becomes one point on a longer journey. They are encouraged to continue the positive behaviors that helped them reach their goal.
Observe and celebrate accomplishments.
The feeling of accomplishment encourages.
Innovation and freedom are closely linked.
Staff need freedom in deciding what to do or how to accomplish the task, a sense of control over one's working ideas.
Without autonomy, growth stalls.
Forward, activate, improve
What do we want to do differently next time?
What worked that we want to keep?
Onward
If someone else had to take over this project, what would you say tot hem to make it even more successful?
What could we do t better serve our customers?
Let's focus on what's going right and build from there.
Process (not people)
How can we do this better?
When looking back on work and reflecting
Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the decision at hand.
Always assume good intent.
When an organization repeatedly enforces the idea that people should do as they're told without question or suffer consequences, they learn to be absolutely certain that each action is correct before taking it.
Fear, power relationships, lack of psychological safety lead to bad decision making.
People need to be safe to say what they see.
Flatten the power gradient
Admit you don't know
Be vulnerable
Trust first
Orders should follow chain of command
Information should move freely
April 8, 2023
Doing and thinking are the basic building blocks of all human activity. The correct balance of these two activities helps us achieve our goals.
While quite a few leadership concepts described in the book were not new to me, I really liked the framework of doing/thinking introduced in "Leadership is Language." It framed the (to me quite familiar) Agile/Lean ideas in a new light, which I found interesting. I can imagine some would see that as the book's biggest flaw - simply presenting Agile using different words.
While quite a few leadership concepts described in the book were not new to me, I really liked the framework of doing/thinking introduced in "Leadership is Language." It framed the (to me quite familiar) Agile/Lean ideas in a new light, which I found interesting. I can imagine some would see that as the book's biggest flaw - simply presenting Agile using different words.
April 19, 2025
Really a must read especially for part time project managers like me. The leadership alignment with Agile thinking made the book easy for me to grasp. Clearly some Navy thinking/logic yet the examples of the application of the principles presented were easy to grasp. In fact, the breadth of application was quite rich and demonstrated the utility of the work presented for nearly anyone. Leadership is Language will be on my leadership reference bookshelf.
November 10, 2022
I picked up this title to help me become more self-aware at work, to ensure the language I'm using was perceived as collaborative, not authoritarian. I took several notes to use at Manager's meetings to improve dialog such as the "get better" questions. While it wasn't the most fun read, I found it valuable.
June 8, 2022
A really good book. It is surprisingly clear and straight forward. A lot of the scenarios described are the ones happening in companies all over. More people should read it.
May 13, 2020
Skimmed this one, but found some good nuggets, especially questions to ask and discuss as a team.
November 27, 2020
BRILLIANT (as usual!) We're huge fans of David Marquet and use his work extensively at my job.
June 3, 2023
Amazing book which i read as a follow on from turn this ship around. This book covers a concept I’ve created myself called “brave new words”. This is all about creating a new language and the advantages that can accrue in business and lots of different parts of life of having access to new words and phrases. The books documents the disaster that befell the el faro container ship. Sinking of the US Cargo Vessel El Faro. National Transportation Safety Board. The accident. September 29. On the evening of September 29, 2015, the US-flagged cargo ship El Faro cast off from Jacksonville, Florida, bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico, with crew of 33 and a cargo of vehicles and shipping containers. It hit a violent storm that the captain had too much of an ego to try to avoid. The language the captain used, marquet, cleverly argues led to the deaths of all 33 on board. Here are the best parts of the book:
Our interaction with the world is doing. Improving our interaction with the world is thinking.
We need to always remember that the organization is perfectly tuned to deliver the behavior we see, and people's behaviors are the perfect result of the organization's design. As individuals, we should embrace our responsibility for being the best we can be within the design of the organization. But as leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves.
Thinking benefits from embracing variability. Doing benefits from reducing variability.
As a statistician, Deming recognized that if greater variability in the manufacturing process meant higher costs and products that felt cheaper, the reverse must also be true: reducing variability in the manufacturing process would lower costs while producing higher-quality products. In other words, Deming's first key insight was that quality did not cost money, it saved money. This approach came to be known as Total Quality Management or Total Quality Leadership.
The notion of quality is in fact defined by a manufacturers ability to repeat a process with as close to zero variability as possible.
Nature is nothing if not efficient, so the fact that the human brain uses an astonishing 20 to 25 percent of our daily calories speaks to the survival value of this decision-making power. While most animals possess approximately proportional brains for their size, the human brain is an outlier, three times larger than it should be.
"All hands" is an old nautical term referring to getting every crewman up to pull on a heavy line. It was, literally, about using your hands.
First, working products were to be delivered frequently, as frequently as every two weeks. These short bursts of work were called "sprints." Early and frequent testing exposure to users allowed early and frequent adjustments. Second, the team would work with the product owners to decide which features they would include during the next sprint. Rather than the Industrial Age approach of separating doers and deciders the agile approach turned the doers into deciders.
At Toyota they use the Andon cord. Andon is the Japanese word for a traditional paper lantern. At Toyota, manufacturing workers pull an Andon cord when they encounter a problem in the production system. The cord turns on an indicator light. Before Toyota made cars, they made sewing machines. Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, designed one of the first automated loom designs, which immediately stopped the machine when the nee-de broke. This prevented wasted material and defective product. When Toyota started building cars on the assembly line, the managers wanted a similar system, whereby workers could signal that they needed to stop production, thus avoiding unnecessary waste. So the plant designers installed pull cords that illuminated lanterns (andons). A worker simply pulled the cord to light up the andon, letting a supervisor know there was a problem at the production station. Hence the term Andon cord.
Barings Bank a 233-year-old City of London bank, was
brought down directly as a result of a culture of fear in which people didn't speak up. Faced with an error made by a member of his team, Nick Leeson, the star trader of the bank's Singapore operation, chose to cover up rather than speak up. He used an account, numbered 88888 (eight being a lucky number in Chinese culture), to hide the error, and when the cover-up worked, he used the account to hide his own growing losses until the amount reached an astonishing £827 million - twice the bank's trading capital and the whole institution collapsed.
We judge ourselves by our intentions but we judge others by their behaviour.
Ask probabilistic questions instead of binary ones. Instead of the binary "Is it safe?" or "Will it work?" ask "How safe is it?" or "How likely is it to work?" The idea is to invite thinking that considers future events as a range of possibilities, not as will-happen or won't-happen choices.
Since all innovation starts as an outlier thought, driving consensus is bound to suppress innovation.
Let's say you decide you no longer want to eat sweets, vet at the end of a long day you are faced with a bowl of sweets. You can consider two options for self-talk. You can tell yourself you can't eat sweets or that you don't
eat sweets. Turns out that telling yourself you don't eat sweets is more powerful. You'll end up eating fewer sweets with "don't" than "can't" because, by using the word "don't," the motivation comes from within. "Don't" identifies you as "a person who does not eat sweets." It allocates the power to you.
A psychological phenomenon called "escalation of commitment." Escalation of commitment means that once we select a course of action, we stubbornly stick to it, even in the face of evidence that the course of action is failing.
In Ford's day, the pace of innovation was nothing like it is today. lames Watt invented the first viable steam engine in 1776. Eighty-three years later, in 1859, Étienne Lenoir developed the first commer. cially successful internal combustion engine. It was yet another twenty-seven years before Karl Benz patented the first automobile in 1886. Benz's car looked more like a carriage with an engine strapped to its back than today's modern automobile. It took another twenty-two years before Ford achieved the Model T.
It turns out that immediate, positive, and certain rewards are the most powerful for establishing and maintaining a behavior.
"If someone else had to take over this project, what would you say to them to make it even more successful?"
It's unclear why nine minutes passed before this conversation finally took place. Either way, when it was activated, the blowout preventer did not operate properly and failed to seal the well. The subsequent investigation revealed problems with the assembly and maintenance of the device, including dead batteries and mis-wired coils. The delay in attempting to seal the well may have been a contributing factor to the disaster. With the well unsealed, the oil and gas mixture was able to flow rapidly to the platform, feeding the existing fire. Eleven people died. Over the next four hundred days, 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, making the Deepwater Horizon oil spill one of the worst environmental disasters in history.
In one experiment, 129 Jewish Israeli students were asked to rate their level of support for the statements "I support the division of Jerusalem" and "I support dividing Jerusalem." When the statement used nouns (division), participants reported less anger and increased support for concessions. Further, when asked how angry they would be if the policy were adopted, anger was tempered when the question relied on nouns.
As Damasio continued to treat Elliot, he developed the hypothesis that emotions are critical to effective decision-making. One might have assumed that good decision-making comes down to some kind of pure logic, but Damasio suggests otherwise: we need to know what we feel in order to weigh the variables and decide what to do about them.
Every time you use your senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, electric signals travel throughout your body and into your brain, gathering in your frontal lobe (just behind your forehead) to form a perception about the world in front of you. These sensory signals pass through the emotion-creating limbic center just before reaching the reasoning area of your frontal lobe, giving you an emotional, intuitive picture of the world around you. Accompanying these intuitions are physical responses: a lump in your throat for sadness, flushing with heat for anger, paralysis for fear, rapid heartbeat and sweating for anxiety and anticipation. These emotions are finely tuned, sophisticated tools that have evolved over millions of years-ignore them at your peril.
"It sounds like you need a commitment now, and that's not possible for me. I think you will need to find someone else." If Andy's colleague expects a clear and immediate commitment from Andy, I would advise Andy to be particularly wary of working with someone who operates like this, as ways of behaving are generally consistent. In other words, I would expect a lack of transparency or advance planning throughout the project. Instead, you could look forward to more coercion, with an expectation of compliance and conforming. It would most likely not be a fun project to work on.
"Based on what you are telling me, it sounds like you need four to six hours in the next two weeks. I can commit to three hours next week, and three the week after that. The rest of my time is already committed to other projects, and after that, I have full-time commitments to other projects, so if your project carries over, you will have to find another set designer. How well does that work for you?" That way, if Andy does commit, it will be on his terms, not his colleague's.
I've seen technology companies actually test a product without making it. They create the images and descriptions, market it, then count the clicks as potential buyers show interest. If someone acroally tries to buy the product, they are told that it is "sold out," or, more honestly, that there's "none available." In this way, the firms can reduce uncertainty in product development because they gauge the market before investing in the actual manufacture of the product
Our interaction with the world is doing. Improving our interaction with the world is thinking.
We need to always remember that the organization is perfectly tuned to deliver the behavior we see, and people's behaviors are the perfect result of the organization's design. As individuals, we should embrace our responsibility for being the best we can be within the design of the organization. But as leaders, our responsibility is to design the organization so that individuals can be the best versions of themselves.
Thinking benefits from embracing variability. Doing benefits from reducing variability.
As a statistician, Deming recognized that if greater variability in the manufacturing process meant higher costs and products that felt cheaper, the reverse must also be true: reducing variability in the manufacturing process would lower costs while producing higher-quality products. In other words, Deming's first key insight was that quality did not cost money, it saved money. This approach came to be known as Total Quality Management or Total Quality Leadership.
The notion of quality is in fact defined by a manufacturers ability to repeat a process with as close to zero variability as possible.
Nature is nothing if not efficient, so the fact that the human brain uses an astonishing 20 to 25 percent of our daily calories speaks to the survival value of this decision-making power. While most animals possess approximately proportional brains for their size, the human brain is an outlier, three times larger than it should be.
"All hands" is an old nautical term referring to getting every crewman up to pull on a heavy line. It was, literally, about using your hands.
First, working products were to be delivered frequently, as frequently as every two weeks. These short bursts of work were called "sprints." Early and frequent testing exposure to users allowed early and frequent adjustments. Second, the team would work with the product owners to decide which features they would include during the next sprint. Rather than the Industrial Age approach of separating doers and deciders the agile approach turned the doers into deciders.
At Toyota they use the Andon cord. Andon is the Japanese word for a traditional paper lantern. At Toyota, manufacturing workers pull an Andon cord when they encounter a problem in the production system. The cord turns on an indicator light. Before Toyota made cars, they made sewing machines. Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, designed one of the first automated loom designs, which immediately stopped the machine when the nee-de broke. This prevented wasted material and defective product. When Toyota started building cars on the assembly line, the managers wanted a similar system, whereby workers could signal that they needed to stop production, thus avoiding unnecessary waste. So the plant designers installed pull cords that illuminated lanterns (andons). A worker simply pulled the cord to light up the andon, letting a supervisor know there was a problem at the production station. Hence the term Andon cord.
Barings Bank a 233-year-old City of London bank, was
brought down directly as a result of a culture of fear in which people didn't speak up. Faced with an error made by a member of his team, Nick Leeson, the star trader of the bank's Singapore operation, chose to cover up rather than speak up. He used an account, numbered 88888 (eight being a lucky number in Chinese culture), to hide the error, and when the cover-up worked, he used the account to hide his own growing losses until the amount reached an astonishing £827 million - twice the bank's trading capital and the whole institution collapsed.
We judge ourselves by our intentions but we judge others by their behaviour.
Ask probabilistic questions instead of binary ones. Instead of the binary "Is it safe?" or "Will it work?" ask "How safe is it?" or "How likely is it to work?" The idea is to invite thinking that considers future events as a range of possibilities, not as will-happen or won't-happen choices.
Since all innovation starts as an outlier thought, driving consensus is bound to suppress innovation.
Let's say you decide you no longer want to eat sweets, vet at the end of a long day you are faced with a bowl of sweets. You can consider two options for self-talk. You can tell yourself you can't eat sweets or that you don't
eat sweets. Turns out that telling yourself you don't eat sweets is more powerful. You'll end up eating fewer sweets with "don't" than "can't" because, by using the word "don't," the motivation comes from within. "Don't" identifies you as "a person who does not eat sweets." It allocates the power to you.
A psychological phenomenon called "escalation of commitment." Escalation of commitment means that once we select a course of action, we stubbornly stick to it, even in the face of evidence that the course of action is failing.
In Ford's day, the pace of innovation was nothing like it is today. lames Watt invented the first viable steam engine in 1776. Eighty-three years later, in 1859, Étienne Lenoir developed the first commer. cially successful internal combustion engine. It was yet another twenty-seven years before Karl Benz patented the first automobile in 1886. Benz's car looked more like a carriage with an engine strapped to its back than today's modern automobile. It took another twenty-two years before Ford achieved the Model T.
It turns out that immediate, positive, and certain rewards are the most powerful for establishing and maintaining a behavior.
"If someone else had to take over this project, what would you say to them to make it even more successful?"
It's unclear why nine minutes passed before this conversation finally took place. Either way, when it was activated, the blowout preventer did not operate properly and failed to seal the well. The subsequent investigation revealed problems with the assembly and maintenance of the device, including dead batteries and mis-wired coils. The delay in attempting to seal the well may have been a contributing factor to the disaster. With the well unsealed, the oil and gas mixture was able to flow rapidly to the platform, feeding the existing fire. Eleven people died. Over the next four hundred days, 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, making the Deepwater Horizon oil spill one of the worst environmental disasters in history.
In one experiment, 129 Jewish Israeli students were asked to rate their level of support for the statements "I support the division of Jerusalem" and "I support dividing Jerusalem." When the statement used nouns (division), participants reported less anger and increased support for concessions. Further, when asked how angry they would be if the policy were adopted, anger was tempered when the question relied on nouns.
As Damasio continued to treat Elliot, he developed the hypothesis that emotions are critical to effective decision-making. One might have assumed that good decision-making comes down to some kind of pure logic, but Damasio suggests otherwise: we need to know what we feel in order to weigh the variables and decide what to do about them.
Every time you use your senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, electric signals travel throughout your body and into your brain, gathering in your frontal lobe (just behind your forehead) to form a perception about the world in front of you. These sensory signals pass through the emotion-creating limbic center just before reaching the reasoning area of your frontal lobe, giving you an emotional, intuitive picture of the world around you. Accompanying these intuitions are physical responses: a lump in your throat for sadness, flushing with heat for anger, paralysis for fear, rapid heartbeat and sweating for anxiety and anticipation. These emotions are finely tuned, sophisticated tools that have evolved over millions of years-ignore them at your peril.
"It sounds like you need a commitment now, and that's not possible for me. I think you will need to find someone else." If Andy's colleague expects a clear and immediate commitment from Andy, I would advise Andy to be particularly wary of working with someone who operates like this, as ways of behaving are generally consistent. In other words, I would expect a lack of transparency or advance planning throughout the project. Instead, you could look forward to more coercion, with an expectation of compliance and conforming. It would most likely not be a fun project to work on.
"Based on what you are telling me, it sounds like you need four to six hours in the next two weeks. I can commit to three hours next week, and three the week after that. The rest of my time is already committed to other projects, and after that, I have full-time commitments to other projects, so if your project carries over, you will have to find another set designer. How well does that work for you?" That way, if Andy does commit, it will be on his terms, not his colleague's.
I've seen technology companies actually test a product without making it. They create the images and descriptions, market it, then count the clicks as potential buyers show interest. If someone acroally tries to buy the product, they are told that it is "sold out," or, more honestly, that there's "none available." In this way, the firms can reduce uncertainty in product development because they gauge the market before investing in the actual manufacture of the product
June 3, 2023
Great lessons taught through a compelling story, but then the writing turns pretty mechanical. Good book overall, but but as well executed as Turn the Ship Around.
January 30, 2025
Persuasive, helpful, and clear. I’m sure to return to many of the principles laid out in this book.
September 25, 2021
Perhaps I have been fortunate in my career in tech, but most of the leaders and scenarios used as examples in this book seemed like straw men to me. This book isn’t wrong, I’m just not sure who needs to read it.
December 14, 2020
I read this because my employer requested that all employees read it. However, it really is geared toward leaders. I honestly wish my management actually followed the principles in this book. Maybe they are getting there since they are asking everyone to read it.
As far as the book goes. It is relatively engaging and interesting. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't ever read it again either. Also, it is, essentially, a self-help book. Which means that it is repetitive. But it is not as repetitive as other self-help books so that is a bonus.
As far as the book goes. It is relatively engaging and interesting. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't ever read it again either. Also, it is, essentially, a self-help book. Which means that it is repetitive. But it is not as repetitive as other self-help books so that is a bonus.
March 11, 2020
Marquet's first book, Turn the Ship Around, is one of the top reading recommendations I've ever received from a colleague, and it's probably the book I most often recommend to other leaders. With that background in mind, I was excited for the release of Leadership is Language. I also had high expectations that this book exceeded. The main point is that our leadership language needs to progress beyond all of its Industrial Age origins to effect a more effective and open mode of communication. Key elements of the best communication include the elimination of hierarchical barriers, elevating psychological safety, and consciously shifting between strategy and execution modes. Marquet's writing style efficiently explains concepts and then how to apply each.
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