Smart is Good… Wisdom is So Much Better (Review)

A Review of Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today by David G. Jensen
Reviewed by Mark Strunin

Dave Jensen’s latest gift to sanity and the development of our potential as human beings can be found on every page of his recently published work Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today.  In these times of questioning fundamental beliefs about our society, its values and its institutions, Dave’s book offers a thoughtful, even playful path to thriving once again. 

The style of writing is inviting. Dave is a soft-spoken man and a straightforward writer. He doesn’t need jargon or buzz words to clearly describe his views, his experiences or the lessons learned. He is that rare   “ Tell  it like it is” person who is remarkably free of rancor and rant. He wants to communicate clearly and he succeeds page after page. This book is one of the very few “business” type books that can effectively appeal to young people, especially those most in need of guidance – older teens and college students. This book is the ideal “text” for a teen book group. Guidance counselors and teachers – this is a gem.

Dave brings more than just a narrative style to bear in making the case for wisdom. He infused this self-help text with poetry, songs and a sense of the “awoke”.  There’s a rhyme on almost every page. The book’s pace is lyrical, focused – few “chapters” are more than four pages long and the titles of the thirty two chapters could easily be a stand-alone chart of “Key Principles for Wisdom-Seeking”, a deck of playing cards for use in a self -learning regimen similar to the very popular Creative Whack Pack by Roger von Oech ( 2003)  and, of course, the outline of a series of podcasts or in-person trainings.

Wisdom’s Way to Happiness contains concise self-assessments to focus the reader on a thirty day  program to find, flex and strengthen the wisdom muscle we all  posses and  mostly of us underuse. Graphs, charts and data are there, too. Dave’s career includes scientific and business world research. 

Overall, all of us would be very wise to explore the paths to happiness – and self-worth- that are found in Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today! 

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Mark Strunin is a Los Angeles area based senior professional in human development and organizational change and growth. He relishes being an ally of those who seek to awaken wisdom through collaboration. He spends most of his time with allies in the not for profit space with a special focus on the arts, social justice and spiritual growth. 

Be a Good Neighbor (and a Good Leader), State Farm

What should a good leader do when faced with a spokesperson who has been untruthful? I’m referring of course to the news that Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers star quarterback and State Farm spokesperson, tested positive for Covid 19 after lying about being vaccinated, and State Farm’s subsequent lackluster messaging in regards to this PR nightmare.

I've been a Green Bay Packers fan for 50 years, went to school in Wisconsin, and lived through the harsh winters of numerous losing seasons. But I'm dropping the Packers as my favorite football team, which is what State Farm should do with their spokesperson, Aaron Rodgers. Here’s why and how it applies to you.

Rodgers deceived people by implying he was vaccinated months ago. He was not. Then he and the entire Packer organization perpetuated this lie by allowing him to violate NFL Covid protocols by not wearing a mask. And last week Rodgers tested positive for Covid 19. A physician who treats Covid patients once told me that because of the incubation period, everyone who gets Covid, regardless of their symptoms, doesn’t know they have it for 2-14 days. Will we ever know how many State Farm customers were infected or will die because Rodgers, an unvaccinated player, exposed so many players, coaches, staff, and fans to his virus for months? I thought the mission of State Farm was to help people manage the risks of everyday life, not put people at risk.

Thus far, the corporate messages put out by State Farm have had one major flaw. State Farms says that everyone has a right to their own opinions and choices. I say this isn’t true when those opinions and choices directly affect (infect) the health and safety of so many.

 As a professional speaker and leadership coach, I urge State Farm to act on the values they say they believe in. Isn’t it time to show that honesty matters by dropping Rodgers as their spokesperson? State Farm customers, including myself, are waiting to see what they do next… as we consider dropping State Farm as our insurance company. I would love to be able point to State Farm while speaking to my clients and audiences and say, “Here’s a big insurance company that chose principles over profits and gained loyal customers because of it.”

THAT is being a good neighbor.

Is It Wise to Trust Your Gut?

“Wow, that was close! I didn’t even hear that car,” Mike exclaimed.

“I’m not sure I heard it either,” I replied.

Seconds earlier, as we biked up a steep mountain road, I had intuitively told Mike to move way over to the right side of the road. As he obeyed, a sportscar raced around the curve behind us and sped past us, much too close for our comfort.

We continued cycling up the mountain and had a long discussion about the wisdom of intuition. More specifically, when to trust the gut and when not to.

If you are a "go with your gut" believer, you have a lot of company. People frequently tell me that they listen to their intuition when making many decisions. In addition, a quick search on Amazon.com for the words "intuition books" yields over 10,000 results. The majority of these books kneel at intuition's altar, urging people to trust their instinct, access intuition on demand, tap into intuition with the magic of color...

As we continued peddling up the mountain, I told Mike that the question is not whether to trust the gut or not. The wise question is: How much should we trust our intuition? I explained that my research uncovered three keys to answering that question, as illustrated and described below.

I. Quantity Counts (Q1). Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman points out that intuition is a skill developed over an extended period. (1) Thus, when you're making a gut decision, consider assessing how much experience (Quantity = Q1) you have in that area. I reminded Mike that I had biked up the mountain road we were on at least two thousand times over the last thirty years. Thus, I was subconsciously in tune with the sounds of the cars on the mountain. That’s how I “sensed” the speeding car. 

II. Quality Counts Too (Q2). Quantity is not enough; the quality (Quality = Q2) of the experience must count too. Quality is defined by having both rapid and accurate feedback. (2) Rapid feedback occurs when you can quickly learn what happened as a result of your decisions. Thus, every time I thought I may of heard a car racing up the mountain, I received immediate and accurate feedback. 

One of the areas  supervisors, managers, and leaders tell me they often use their intuition is to make hiring decisions. That’s unwise. Why? Because considerable time usually elapses between hiring decisions and the performance assessments. Thus, hiring decisions seldom provide the rapid and accurate feedback necessary to develop hiring intuition. 

III. Gray matters. The final key to wisdom’s way of evaluating the gut tells us that intuition is seldom black-and-white. There are shades of gray that help us consider how confident we should be in gut decisions. To determine how much to trust your intuition in any given situation, follow the three simple step illustrated in the Gut Check Indicator:

A. Estimate how much quantity (Q1) and quality (Q2) you have in that domain, and place a dot on the Q1 + Q2 Experience Scale (the horizontal – X-axis). 

B. Draw a line (vertically) from your dot until it intersects the Expertise Line.

C. Draw a line (horizontally) from the Expertise Line to the left until it intersects the Trust In Intuition Scale (the vertical – Y-axis). This intersection is how much you should trust your gut in that situation on a scale of 1 – 5. 

It was wise for Mike and me to trust my gut on that mountain because I had experiences that were of high quality and quantity. Next time you're wondering how much to trust your gut (or some else's), use the Gut Check Indicator. How surprised will you be that your decisions are better because you have grown wiser? To learn more about making great decisions, see chapter 31 in my book, Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today.

1. Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011, page 239.
2. IBID. Daniel Kahneman, page 241.

The 3 Keys to Achieving Goals

I never worked so long or so hard on a presentation in my life. It was an opportunity to distill decades of my research and teaching into 15 minutes. If all went well, the video would help people apply the power of paradox to achieve their personal and professional goals. 

As soon as I accepted the invitation to speak at the TEDx event, I began thinking about how peak performers achieve difficult goals. My earlier review of hundreds of research studies had revealed that those who hit their targets follow three best practices: 

Next time you have a tough goal to achieve, put these three practices to work for you:

WILL - How committed are you to the goal? Without commitment, you don't really have a goal, you have an interest. Psychologists measure commitment by the actions people take to overcome adversity. To boost commitment to any goal, brainstorm the answers to this question: "What are the benefits of achieving this goal?" 

When I answered this question as I prepared for my TEDx talk, I realized the benefits of giving a great presentation included:

1. Helping others improve their lives.

2. Showing people how to stretch when pulled by opposing goals.

3. Increasing my business by showing I’m an excellent presenter.

SKILL - Do you know what steps/skills are needed to reach your goal? My research with Zig Ziglar demonstrated that creating a written, step-by-step plan greatly increases the odds of achieving difficult goals. To build the skills and plan needed, answer this question: Where can I learn the skills and steps needed to achieve my goal? 

To glean the necessary skills for my TEDx talk, I studied both TEDx speakers and those who had coached TEDx speakers. I learned that a great TEDx presentation "takes the audience on an emotional, pragmatic, and surprising journey of discovery." I also learned the steps needed to achieve this goal.

DRILL - Do you solicit feedback as you practice the steps needed to reach your goal? The wise recognize that practice does not make perfect; progressive practice makes progress. Openness to feedback is the third key to goal achieving because it invites course correction before there’s a shipwreck. Use feedback to stay on track by answering this question: How will I solicit feedback as I progress toward my goal?

After much practice and many rehearsals, I was convinced that my TEDx presentation was in great shape. I then incorporated the following feedback into further practice/drills:

1. Delivered the presentation to seven colleagues individually (one at a time) over a two-week period. I listened to their feedback, chose what would help me reach my goal, and rehearsed more.

2. Presented to a group of 40 senior executives (during a retreat). Each leader provided written comments regarding what they liked and what to improve.

3. Invited a TEDx coach and then a professional storyteller to provide input.

4. Rehearsed, videotaped, and analyzed the "final" presentation 21 times .

Next time you or your team have an important goal to achieve, it’s wise to combine WILL, SKILL, and DRILL to hit your target (the RED zone). Learn more about setting and achieving goals in chapters 10 and 31 of my book, Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today.

Watch my TEDx presentation here and let me know if you think it hit the target. Feel free to send it to those you feel are going through changes.

How the Wise Manage Stress

Many medical diagnostic tests stress the body to uncover problems not seen under normal resting conditions. For example, a treadmill stress test can detect small cardiac problems before they cause big problems. How the body responds to these stress tests provides clues about how dis-eased we are. 

The same is true for the "stress tests" we all face throughout the day, at work and home. The question is not, do we experience stress? Rather, the real question is, how do we handle the stress that comes at us? Here are six simple stress-busting techniques the wise use to feel blessed when stressed.

1. Make a list of what stresses you. Then brainstorm ways you might be able to avoid some of them or manage a few of them better. 

2. Practice small stress-relieving activities every day, such as walking at lunch, deep breathing before a big meeting, meditating...

3. Stay focused on your highest priorities to help maintain perspective.

4. Ask positive questions, such as "How can I grow from this stress?"

5. Use appropriate humor to manage, not mask, tension.

6. Repeat this line three times: "Stress is a given, my drama is an option."

To learn more about how the wise manage emotions when stressed, see chapter six in my book, Wisdom’s Way to Happiness Today.