founder of naked leader
A Naked Week – 8
Naked Leader Week – 8 (9 June, 2003)
The weekly update from David Taylor, author of “The Naked Leader”
You have received this as a member of the naked leader network, or from a friend or colleague.
Please feel free to distribute any of this as widely as you wish – no need to reference “Naked Week” or me as the source – just cut and paste the bits you enjoy and send on, perhaps adding your own stories or thoughts…
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With love to you all
David
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Aside from writing the book, just two topics dominated my week:
One Your Feedback – on many things!
A massive and passionate thank you to everyone who sent through called me and spoke to me about A Naked Week. Indeed, many of you took the opportunity to make comments on much more – the books, the network and sharing your ideas.
I am very grateful and humbled by everything you have written and said.
And your thoughts are amazingly consistent. Summarising them is not easy, so I will just go for it, in this order, please skip to the part you are most interested in:
- The Books
- The Web-Site
- The Network
- The Opportunity
- A Naked Week
- The Books
- “Give more choices in book 2”
Done, readers will be able to continue on their own journey, or go to a similar topic on a different journey, or go to a completely different topic on a different journey. Opening up many more options and choices, and even more wall charts for me and Rosalind to go through, to make sure it al works out, which for some of you is a complete waste of time…
- “I love the choose your own adventure idea, but I choose to read the books from front to back, so please can they follow some kind of logical sequence?”
A frequent comment (and one of you said you liked to read them back to front, so could I provide more consistency that way as well!). Choose your own adventure books do restrict the possibility of having each sequential chapter following on from the last. Still, as many of you also read the book in this way and enjoyed it, so if you want a completely unrelated, what happens next approach to reading the book, please read it as you would a novel
- “The success of your book is because we can dip in now and again – please keep to the short sharp chapters”
Will do
- “You ended book 1 on chapter 42, how will you be ending book 2?”
Asked by over 50 people. All will be revealed, it will not be 42 (although 42 will retain its special significance).
- “Book 1’s strength was the journey of self, can we have more of that in book
Yes, there will be four journeys
| Leadership of… | |
| 1 | Guaranteed Success (Applying the formula in your life) |
| 2 | You (Communicating with yourself, and others) |
| 3 | People (In work, at home, in life) |
| 4 | Company (Your career and transforming your organisation) |
- “What will book 3 be about?”
Book 3, publishing in January 2005, will be a true and total choose-your-own adventure. The reader will be the hero, and it will be interactive, personal and great fun.
- “I hate your book, and have told everyone I know not to buy it”
Re hating the book – that’s cool. Just do the opposite of everything I suggest.
Re telling everyone not to buy it – thank you
- The Web-Site
- “Great site, but it needs a revamp”
Absolutely – I have been taken completely by surprise by the incredible global success of the book, and making sure book 2 is as good, or even better, has totally absorbed my time. The site will be updated in line with the book going mass market on 1st July this year (UK and on Amazon), and most work will go into a major updated site which will go live in September, 2003.
- The top four “things” you want from the new site
These will all be available in September:
Full message board with the facility to communicate and connect with others in different message streams and subjects
Links to other leadership sites, and products that you and the network recommend
More up to date information about Naked Leader and David Taylor events
Opportunity to personalise the site
- The Network
Over 200 of you have thoughts on the Network, a summary view being that the Network is a cause, a club and a connection.
A Cause: An opportunity to make a positive difference in the world, in a very specific and united way. That is covered next, under 5.
A Club: Open to all – everyone on earth. However you are looking for different experiences, for example to debate spirituality and religion, to seek help and advice on your careers and transform your business and organisations.
A Connection: Without doubt the biggest attraction to you. And you are also looking for opportunities to connect directly with other members of the network (not through a message board).
The new web-site in September will also see new developments in the network on all of these, and more…
- The Opportunity
Over 100 of you came up with the same general idea – around helping others in a specific way. About proving the positive power and influence of e-mail and word-of-mouth (as opposed to all the negative stories about viruses, spam and e-mail being out of control).
You also feel strongly that the idea should cross geographical, political and religious boundaries, and appeal to everyone on earth!
That’s where word of mouth is critical, 50% of the world will never make or receive a phone cal in their lifetime…
Have pulled everything you have written into an idea. I will pull it together and it will be in the newsletter in two weeks time (a naked week 9)
Thank you for this – together we will take an action that will have a massive, positive influence on the world, and everyone in it
- A Naked Week
The main points on which you all agreed:
- Style
You generally love the 10 points, but also want differences and surprises each week – I will take this on board!
- Content
The Bill gates upset and delighted you in equal numbers! In general you want current up to date stuff about what is happening with me and The Naked Leader. As I consider you al to be Naked Leaders as well please send me stories you would like to see included. This will make it our newsletter, not mine!
- Stories
You love the stories
- Advance stuff from book 2
Your wish is my command
- Freedom
Many of you have written to me about the phrase I use at the top of every newsletter:
“Please feel free to distribute any of this as widely as you wish – no need to reference “Naked Week” or me as the source – just cut and paste the bits you enjoy and send on, perhaps adding your own stories or thoughts…”
“Are you serious David – what about protecting your stories”
I am totally serious. The newsletter is not spam, it is not a chain letter, it is yours to do with as you wish, and that includes forwarding on some, quoting in presentations and to your friends, and sharing any of the ideas you find inspiring. Great.
By the way the record so far is 17 generations of pass-on – i.e. a member of the network sent on to one person, who sent it on, who sent it on, etc. 17 times (I know because one of you tracked it forwards!
TWO – The “Event” of my week
I bought my first cat in 1987. Possum turned out to be the most gentle, caring, loving friend anyone could ever ask for. He would sit on my bed, listening to my stories of Anthony Robbins, about Business Process Reengineering, and the day I decided to write a book. And I could not have written the book without him. He would sleep beside me wherever I wrote, and when he stretched onto the keyboard to produce what looked like gobbledegook, he was telling me to take a break and give him a cuddle.
One learns so much about leadership from cats, persistence (he once fell out of an upstairs window, onto a bush, brushed himself off and returned upstairs to sleep – I had to race ahead to close the window before he did it again!), about being in the moment and most of all about kindness.
Possum died last Monday, 9th June 2003 at 11.10am, peacefully, aged 16 ½ years.
He was always there when I needed him, he would sit in my lap for hours, and no matter what happened, he gave us all total. unconditional love.
Good bye Possum, we love you, and always will.