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225. What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You

Oct 7, 2022

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Today is a very exciting day, as it is the last episode before I’m officially a multi-book author, because my second book, What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You will officially be out and hitting mailboxes on Tuesday, October 11! There is something else very, very exciting kicking off on Tuesday as well, so be sure to stay to the end to hear all about that…

In this episode, we are going to do a deep dive into the book. I talk about what you can expect to find within it, why I wrote it, who it is for, and (because this is quite possibly one of the things I get asked about the most these days) some fun insights into the writing process and my tips for you in creating your own content (whether it is a book or something else).

Show Notes:

[00:39] Today is a very exciting day, as it is the last episode before I’m officially a multi-book author, because my second book, What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You will officially be out and hitting mailboxes on Tuesday, October 11!
[02:34] This book has been in the works for a long time, really since episode seven came out of the podcast way back on August 3, 2018. My framework for change has grown and adapted a bit over the years, but even through: creating a 10-week course I teach virtually via the Human Behavior Lab at Texas A&M University, countless speaking engagements and corporate training, and the full process of writing this book…it has really kept its bones.
[04:29] What are my secrets for book writing? The first secret is that I’m naturally a good writer and I’ve spent a lot of time writing and editing all sorts of content from 3-word ads to 70,000 word books and everything in between. I also dedicate the time I need to be able to write.
[06:14] My writing is made possible by a very supportive family, especially my husband Aaron. I have dedicated both of my books to him because truly, The Brainy Business and all its content would not be possible without him.
[07:38] It isn’t all writing every moment of every day, the brain needs breaks. I was able to go on a few jogs by the ocean which was nice and I also had some mindless crafty entertainment.
[08:47] Taking the time to let your mind exist and make connections is so so so important when working on content. Building those contemplative moments into your day is really useful.
[11:30] You may have heard this one already, but you need to just get stuff out of your head and onto the paper (virtual or otherwise). My process starts with some sort of an outline. I usually do this with software that allows for virtual cards or sticky notes that I can move around.
[13:07] Once you have your initial outline I recommend starting with whatever feels the easiest. In my experience, this is NOT the beginning. Whatever that easiest thing is, start there and write anything you can to get it out of your brain.
[15:41] I wrote the first book in three months. For book two, I was able to start writing in December of 2021 and the full manuscript was due at the first of February; so only two months this time.
[17:27] My process allows for strict priorities and focus in short bursts. This lets me give each thing my all until it is done and then move on to the next.
[18:09] Done is better than perfect. Sometimes you have to let things speak to you in the moment and go with where you end up even if it is different than you intended.
[21:34] I wrote the book because I could see that this concept of change and understanding biased brains and how they impact our workplace was on the uptick in businesses. I could see that this was going to be critical for businesses moving forward and if I wanted to be on the front end of that wave.
[23:39] The book is for people who want to have more influence at work and to make it so change is easier for themselves and everyone around them.
[25:01] This book is also set up to help teams of people work together within an organization to get a shared common language and be able to grow together to be better managers that help move a company forward.
[26:01] According to Gallup, four out of five current managers do not have the talent required to excel in the job in a way that will help the company and its employees to thrive.
[28:16] What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You is here to help every manager—whether they have the natural talent for the role or not—to be excellent at leading their teams through change. If you want to put in the work to be a great manager and are willing to learn and adapt based on the science I present to you in this book, I truly believe you can achieve that goal.
[30:11] This book is also segmented into three parts.
[31:08] Part 1 is called Big Plans and Micro-Moments and it has four chapters within it. This part is really about understanding our brains, understanding how change works within the brain, understanding what it means to be a great manager, and how to think about change overall.
[31:36] Part 2 is called Biases and Concepts.
[33:18] We are all biased. We are never going to eliminate that from our lives or organizations. Instead of looking to eliminate bias, companies need to look to understand and leverage it.
[36:15] A chapter in this section has one of my favorite openings of the entire book with details of the Challenger disaster and what we can all learn from it.
[37:54] The last section of Part 2 is called Us vs. Them and it digs in on all the ways our brains are biased to look at people who are different from us.
[38:37] The final part of the book is called Change Framework. This last part of the book brings it all together.
[41:30] You can read the first chapter of the book now for free to see if it is a fit for you.
[42:52] BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: We are going to be having episodes coming out twice a week starting this Tuesday, October 11th!

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You, by Melina Palmer
What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You, by Melina Palmer
The Voltage Effect, by John List
How Minds Change, by David McRaney
How to Change, by Katy Milkman

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