The 7 Secrets of Neuron Leadership

Chapter 5Playful Toto—Neuron Secret Two

Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

—L. FRANK BAUM, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD Of OZ (FIGURE 5.1)

Figure 5.1 Toto

Source: Getzion, Dreamstime.com.

NEURON SECRET TWO

The Principle of Familiarity: Play to win by treating everyone like family.

Jo Dee Catlin Jacob was born into a Navy family in Annapolis, Maryland, home of the famous naval academy of the same name. Her father served as a diesel boat submariner during World War II. Jo Dee's high school record earned her entry into the prestigious Stanford University in Northern California. As a “Navy brat,” she didn't quite fit in with her anti‐war classmates and professors at Stanford. From her dorm room, she watched in horror as students smashed windows and burned down the ROTC building to protest the Vietnam War.

“I didn't share the anti‐military opinions of my classmates,” Jo Dee recalls. “Still, I never intended to pursue a long‐term career in the Navy.”

Jo Dee graduated with distinction in art history and then fought to find work in a struggling economy. “Everyone had trouble finding jobs,” she said. “Even those who graduated at the top of their class couldn't get hired.”

She accepted a position as a clerk in a local department store and supplemented her meager income by offering piano lessons. Every month, when she counted pennies to pay her rent, ...