The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

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Personally, I do not. At least not the first part. I believe our lives are measured in the quality of our relationships, including the connection we establish to the world around us. (To be fair, connection is part of their formula, but its purpose is to create more defining moments, which is not how I use the term here.) INSIGHT: Defining moments rewire our understanding of ourselves or the world. In a few seconds or minutes, we realize something that might influence our lives for decades: Now is the time for me to start this business.” First I should mention that I came into this book with the intention of learning how to make my partner’s upcoming birthday vacation as incredible as possible. We recently watched an episode of “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” where a neurologist explained that life itself feels longer when you have significant moments, so this book felt like a great place to expand on creating those moments. The part that had the strongest impact was when the authors said we must “raise the stakes”, “break the script”, and build determination to see Defining Moments through – the exact example they used was of people saying they should go see the Northern Lights, then never following through! I said just a few months ago that I want to go see the Northern Lights for my birthday in September! This motivated me to begin the itinerary for the trip, which I’ll be sharing with my travel friends for discussion later in the week I also agree that, “Purpose trumps passion,” and that, “…purpose isn’t discovered, it’s cultivated.” And, “You can’t deliver a great patient experiences without first delivering a great employee experience.” All sound advice.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extr… The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extr…

In this chapter is also introduced the idea of “Responsiveness” and how it deepens relationships. There are three facets to this: (1) Mutual understanding, (2) Validation, and (3) Caring. A heart-breaking story in this sub-chapter tells us about a school in bad shape. For parent-teacher conferences, only 11% of parents attended. There was no investment from the parents, because they felt no investment from the school. There was little investment from the school, because they felt no investment from the parents. A vicious cycle. Under new management, the school went to each home and asked them questions that leverage these principles of responsiveness: What future do you see for your child? How do you think the school should approve? This is hardly new, but a good mental model for how to phrase the questions of importance. Parent-teacher conference attendance went up to 73%. Another chapter under Insight is “stretch for insight”. This especially applies to mentors, where you should set high standards + provide assurance + direction + support to help them stretch, to acquire insight. This may put them in difficult situations, but with the above, you not only put them in situations just at their capability—you also assure them that they can get through it. I found THE POWER OF MOMENTS to be a fun read, with lots of practical ideas. I enjoyed the anecdotes that illustrate the principles. Don’t miss the story of how the Ritz Carlton took photos of the forgotten toy “vacationing” around the hotel. Each chapter concludes with a summary called the “Whirlwind review.” I found this summary to be a good recap of the points in each chapter. The Power of Moments is a guide to having more stand-out moments in your life and how those can change you. We all experience moments that catapult us in a direction, but do they have as much of an effect if we aren't paying attention to them?

Audiobook Excerpt:

When Blakely and her brother were growing up, her father would ask them a question every week at the dinner table: “What did you guys fail at this week?” “If we had nothing to tell him, he’d be disappointed,” Blakely said. “The logic seems counterintuitive, but it worked beautifully. He knew that many people become paralyzed by the fear of failure.” Transitions should be marked, milestones commemorated, and pits filled. That’s the essence of thinking in moments.” If you want to be part of a group that bonds like cement, take on a really demanding task that’s deeply meaningful. All of you will remember it for the rest of your lives.” What did you guys fail at this week?” “If we had nothing to tell him, he’d be disappointed,” Blakely said.” Based on the price and the pre-launch publicity, however, this book is clearly seeking transformative status. It is competing among the best business books of the year. And that is the standard by which I have chosen my overall rating. If you are just looking for a good book by a reputable and successful author(s), this book will surely fit the bill.

The Power Of Moments - Heath Brothers Heath Brothers The Power Of Moments - Heath Brothers Heath Brothers

This book explores ways to make more memorable moments. It suggests that if we pay attention and work creatively, we have the power to turn ordinary occasions into extraordinary ones. It begins by outlining the elements of a “defining moment” with the following characteristics which happen to spell the mnemonic, "EPIC". • Elevate: Create moments that rise above the everyday. Knowing what our mind recalls suggests a strategy—we focus on creating a few memorable highlights. Well, just how do we go about making great moments for ourselves? The authors have boiled it down to 4 key things. We can actually synthesize great experiences if we include one or more of these aspects: The emphasis is on creating positive experiences, but of course memorable moments can also be "pits" in contrast to the hoped for "peaks." One example described in the book was a program used in some places by John Deere that provides extra attention to making the first day for new employees extra special—letting them know that they are valued and welcomed. That reminded me of an instance in my own employment life when I showed up for work on the first day of employment at a consulting firm. When showed to my new office I found there to be no chair behind the desk. That provided me an excuse to meet other employees while scrounging for a chair, and consequently I remember that first day better than any other of my first days. It was a memorable experience, but still that's probably not the best way to treat a new employee.Moments of pride commemorate people’s achievements. We feel our chest puff out and our chin lift. 2. There are three practical principles we can use to create more moments of pride: (1) Recognize others; (2) Multiply meaningful milestones; (3) Practice courage. The first principle creates defining moments for others; the latter two allow us to create defining moments for ourselves. 3. We dramatically underinvest in recognition. • Researcher Wiley: 80% of supervisors say they frequently express appreciation, while less than 20% of employees agree. 4. Effective recognition is personal, not programmatic. (“ Employee of the Month” doesn’t cut it.) • Risinger at Eli Lilly used “tailored rewards” (e.g., Bose headphones) to show his team: I saw what you did and I appreciate it. 5. Recognition is characterized by a disjunction: A small investment of effort yields a huge reward for the recipient. • Kira Sloop, the middle school student, had her life changed by a music teacher who told her that her voice was beautiful. 6. To create moments of pride for ourselves, we should multiply meaningful milestones—reframing a long journey so that it features many “finish lines.” • The author Kamb planned ways to “level up”—for instance “Learn how to play ‘Concerning Hobbits’ from The Fellowship of the Ring”—toward his long-term goal of mastering the fiddle.” I received an advance copy of The Power of Moments from the publishers but my opinions about the book are my own. People’s most memorable experiences are clustered in their teens and twenties. Apparently, the reason why time seems to accelerate as we get older is because we are living a life that’s more routine and less novel. When you are doing something surprising, novel, scary, memorable, you find that time slows down. (Probably why vacation time seems slower than work time.) So make sure that you keep adding moments of surprise and doing things differently on a regular (or irregular!) basis to spice up life and slow time down. The most memorable periods of our lives are when we break the script.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have An Extraordinary Impact written by acclaimed NYT bestselling author’s Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, is an engaging and exceptional book that combines the latest research from education, teaching, business, to technology with four basic principal concepts. These concepts shape and define our world, and can be applied to every aspect of our personal and professional lives. He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford. Do you have one of those moments in your life that had a disproportionate impact on your life? This book about how to create those moments for yourself and others. The Heath brothers, authors of Decisive, have done it again—what an absolute pleasure. Especially the first two chapters on elevating experiences and creating moments of insight were absolutely excellent. Secondly, the authors note early on, “Our lives are measured in moments, and defining moments are the ones that endure in our memories.” If you accept that premise then this is the book for you. Readers discover how brief experiences can change lives, such as the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and forty-five minutes later, they leave as best friends. (What happens in that time?) Or the tale of the world’s youngest female billionaire, who credits her resilience to something her father asked the family at the dinner table. (What was that simple question?)This book features captivating stories of people who have created standout moments: The owners who transformed an utterly mediocre hotel into one of the best-loved properties in Los Angeles by conjuring moments of magic for guests. Relief workers who beat a deadly health practice in one village by causing the locals to trip over the truth. The scrappy team that turned around one of the worst elementary schools in the country by embracing an intervention that lasts less than an hour." I found quite simple, yet, powerful suggestions on how to add meaning to your life, how to celebrate, and even more importantly, create moments in your life. Chip Heath is the professor of Organizational Behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

The Power of Moments Quotes by Chip Heath - Goodreads The Power of Moments Quotes by Chip Heath - Goodreads

Defining moments capture us at our best—moments of achievement, moments of courage. Need to plan for a series of milestone moments that build on each other en route to a larger goal. Break the script - defying people’s expectations of how an experience will unfold. But if you are doing this with people who experience one of your services/products regularly, need to introduce a bit of randomness. It’s strategic surprise. This is the great trap of life: One day rolls into the next, and a year goes by, and we still haven’t had that conversation we always meant to have. Still haven’t created that peak moment for our students. Still haven’t seen the northern lights. We walk a flatland that could have been a mountain range. It’s not easy to snap out of this tendency. It took a terminal illness for Gene O’Kelly to do it.” There were many interesting stories. The first was about improvement that led to insight and better education, relief workers that helped primitive isolated villagers with sanitation measures, a leadership conference that stressed that innovation started outside the office, workers were treated respectfully and encouraged to participate in a retreat. A new marketing strategy encouraged the vital importance of going beyond understanding and actually “feel” the customer’s needs. This is a brief review, there was much more to this remarkable book that truly has the power to change and influence a person’s life and work.Connection: Forge transformational alliances among people.Through the use of storytelling and science the book then proceeds to illustrate ways of instilling these elements into moments, both at the personal level and within the business environment. Chip and Dan Heath have filled this book with moving stories from people who've taken chances. Who've done big and small things to change the course of their life. Some of the stories are big stories that I would think to myself could never happen for me, but then I would read a story that resonated in me and I would wonder what moment could change the course of my life. Am I missing these moments? Am I closed off to them?