Book 1st Look: You, Disrupted

It seems all I hear about these days is that the pace of change is accelerating, faster and faster. And if you don't get with it, you're going to get left behind.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not getting left behind. So, I've begun a project to read and learn everything I can about change -- personal, organizational, political, global -- you name it. And share what I find out.

To that end, I marched down to my public library and signed out every change-related book I could get my hands on. In fact, I maxed out my library card and that's a ton of books. Now my problem is where to start.

Tonight, I'm reading You, Disrupted by Todd Mitchem. I'm not sure why I grabbed it out of the pile -- boring brown cover, author has worked around the globe teaching major companies how to change (yawn).

Then I read the Forward by Deb Mitchem, the author's step mom. His step mom? Yes, and she tells the most fascinating story about taking her new step son to the supermarket at age fifteen. At one point as she was rolling down the aisles putting items in her cart, she looked up and noticed the boy was no longer with her. She also noticed a crowd gathering in another part of the store. She went over to see what was going on and behold, the crowd was watching her son breakdance to a Michael Jackson tune. That, she says, has always been Todd Mitchem's superpower and where he brings value as a coach: being out there, off the safe, comfortable path, taking calculated risks. And that, according to the author, is the real secret to getting ahead in life, not being left behind in the competition's dust.

I could use me some of that. You, Disrupted should be an interesting read.