The Velocity Mindset

Ron Karr was a new author to me and I picked this book on a whim when I was looking for a "proper book" related to my professional life. Reading the book is like having 'Uncle Ron' talking to you, freely sharing his insights from a long and successful career in sales, leadership and consulting. He has managed to create an all in one inspirational leadership and fact-based self-help book; and completely without smoke and mirrors or any fluff!

The Velocity Mindset is a new term coined and registered by Karr. He explains that key to velocity is to know where you'd like to be, your destination, and then figure out how you can get there, overcoming any bumps on the way. But, to be successful, leaders need to focus on the success of others, to get them aligned with the end result. In short, the Velocity Mindset (R) consists of three components - speed, direction and alignment. Karr takes us on a journey throughout the book to explain each of these and how we can use them to create success for others and ourselves.

Karr cleverly uses examples from his sales career, including the very appropriate PUKE acronym, which many, many sales executives are guilty of applying. We all know what puking is, and PUKE stands for 'People who Utter Knowledge about Everything'; this is just one of many times I instantly had a very clear visual of what Karr was explaining.

We are introduced to the importance of cortisol, oxytocin and dopamine in the business world, and how we can use this knowledge to our advantage, or as Karr puts it:

"If we can read the signs when others are experiencing stress (cortisol), greater connection (oxytocin), and a sense of satisfaction or reward (dopamine), then it will help guide our interactions and make us better leaders."

To successfully execute the velocity mindset and strategy; integrity, accountability and celebration are crucial ingredients. Karr emphasises the need to listen (not just hearing!), to trust and to act as a leader. He also encourages us to use our informed intuition.

Living your life and creating a career, or indeed a business, you can either learn as you go, make a few mistakes along the way, and then slowly reach your goal. After reading this book, you'll hopefully be more inclined to apply the Velocity Mindset (R) way, and avoid unnecessary setbacks and failures.

A very well written book with a lot of good content on how to achieve more through the way you approach challenges (Velocity = Speed + Direction).

I personally liked the style of the book and took away a lot of learnings that could be directly applied in both my work and personal life