The latest Bunko Breakfast took place in Austin, Texas. Roy Gatling filed this great report -- complete with a Teddy Roosevelt quote and a homemade video:

"This Saturday morning was a bit different for me. I got to meet with four others over coffee to discuss Dan Pink's book "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko". The group was diverse-two women, three men. Janet is a teacher, Les is a youth minister, Nicole is a freelance photographer and Brandon is in product marketing.

"Strengths, not weaknesses" was a key theme in our discussion. We all agreed that this makes soooooo much sense and wondered why those we work for now or in the past don't get it. Janet told a brief story of how she was able to encourage a young man to focus on his strengths and pursue his dream, and he did. Awesome...

Les highlighted making decisions for fundamental vs. instrumental reasons; how this really does lead to valuable experiences or skills. Wasn't it Vince Lombardi that focused on fundamentals? That served him and the Green Bay Packers pretty well in the 60's.

Persistence trumps talent was another lesson that resonated with the group. If we can just keep going, even when we might not feel like it, that next step we take just might be the one that leads to a breakthrough. The idea of having someone or a group to provide some encouragement or just to be a sounding board was thought to be helpful in "keeping on".

Nicole and Janet talked about how they had been asked if they could perform certain tasks, things that they had not done before. Their response-"sure". Neither knew much about what they were asked to do, but they had a strength that they could leverage AND there was very little time given to implement. Brandon dug into this more, as he saw that the use of strengths combined with a close deadline seemed empowering. The fact that there wasn't much time to prepare created focus, a singular intent that eliminated distractions in order to meet the goal.

This was an enthusiastic group. Everyone participated, and it was clear that they not only enjoyed the book, but took something away that they could use.

I'm a Teddy Roosevelt fan, and this quote reminds me of several lessons from this book:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Here's a brief video clip of each participant saying "Thanks" to Dan Pink. It's the 7th lesson!

The great American southwest -- Phoenix, Arizona --- was home to the latest Bunko Breakfast. Iain Hamp gathered three of his Wells Fargo colleagues (see photo montage above) to break bread and snap sticks. He filed this report, portions of which I've bolded because they're so interesting:  

"There was unanimous agreement that the manga format of the book not only enhances the message, but reinforces it in an easily digestible, entertaining way that is easy to remember. Telling stories in business books in order to illustrate a message is a common and useful approach; this format just takes that concept and delivers it in a more visual medium.

"It is definitely possible to take 'It’s not about you' too far. You still need to retain accountability and responsibility for your actions and your work, rather than say 'Hey, I was just trying to help so-and-so, don’t blame me, I was trying to be nice.' Taken to another extreme, you can develop a martyr complex and work so hard for others at the expense of yourself, which in turn can make you less valuable to those you may be trying to assist. Another good thing about 'It’s not about you,' though, is the mentality of sticking up for one another, the military-like practice of leaving no one behind.

"Regarding persistence over talent, while persistence is often a valuable trait, at times it is definitely possible to take it too far. The risk when you won’t accept something or compromise your position, which persistence can sometimes lead to, is that action is stifled due to an impass. Sometimes you might actually be barking up the wrong tree, and sometimes as a leader you need to let another person make the call and have the chance to succeed or fail. Essentially, going back to rule three, when the persistence becomes about you and not about the greater good, trouble is ahead.

"When looking at excellent mistakes versus stupid ones, it may be helpful to consider the adage about insanity being the action of doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting different results.By realizing that a different approach may be needed, you can sometimes avoid the stupid mistakes. On the other hand, if you don’t take calculated risks progress will be limited, so taking actions that might end up as excellent mistakes is a vital part of innovation and finding better ways to do things.

"The sixth lesson seemed to resonate most deeply with the attendees, while lesson one caused the most trouble for people. Many thought that it was important to plan in terms of having goals, a direction, and something to look forward to and achieve. However, we agreed that the plan needs to remain flexible and responsive to new aspects of our lives that may mean goals increase or decrease in priority, cease to become goals entirely, or new goals get added.

"We’re all hoping what happens next to Johnny and the others is that they go out and share the message about what they’ve learned, wherever they might ultimately work or whatever jobs they may end up performing."

We're hoping to announce the three finalists in the Great Johnny Bunko Challenge some time tomorrow.  But for now, let me share 50 reader entries that we thought we pretty darn good -- or at least pretty darn interesting -- options for the seventh lesson.

They are arranged in random order, so don't infer anything from placement. However, the three finalists are almost certain to come from the list below.

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 Know your battlefield and pick your battles wisely.

Johnny's adventures continue to go global. The latest Bunko Breakfast comes from Romania, where Dan Sarmasan filed this report:

"I can gladly announce you that

the JB 'Breakfast' was finally 'consumed' in city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The event took place at a lovely tea house with Japanese specific, called Yume. We

gathered 12 to 15 friends and random friendly people and discussed about the 6 lessons of the book  . . . 

"I am happy that the group gathered was made of the best target for this book: some of them students, other, at the beginning of their careers. I guess this is why we focused more on the first two lessons. We talked about the need to make the best choices based on the best motivations because it has the biggest impact at the beginning of our career.

"Also, we agree that it’s very important to 'Think strengths not weaknesses.' This is important not only for our advancement in the career but for our

own happiness. It’s a normal thing to be passionate about the activities that use our strengths because if the level of the challenge is as big as our strength is, the state of flow will be achieved. We had this reinforced by Mihaly

Csikszentmihalyi through a video from the TED conference grabbed from Youtube. 

(HT: Kate Wilson)

Ed Brenegar has a great post in which he offers his entry our contest to find the Seventh Bunko Lesson: Say Thanks, Everyday. 

Not bad excuse to thank all of you for visiting this site -- and to wish you a peaceful and purposeful Thanksgiving.

** BTW, only a few more hours remain in the contest. 

We've had teachers, students, creative types, and just plain folks convene Bunko Breakfasts. Now Bunkomania has spread to city officials.

A few weeks ago, a group a promising young professionals who help make America's cities and towns run smoothly were gathered in Richmond for the annual ICMA conference. They decided to begin one morning with a Bunko Breakfast of their own.  

Their reactions: Skeptical of Lesson One, but grooving on Lesson Five. What's more, they came up with their very own Seventh Lesson: "Surround Yourself with the Right People."

You can read Alex Brown's excellent write-up here.

To my amazement, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is already being translated into 13 languages.  Two of the first overseas version just arrived here at Pink, Inc, world headquarters. Check out the Korean edition and the Dutch edition. Forgive me, but I think they're cool.

Photos by Eliza Pink

A group of education technology mavens in southeastern Pennsylvania convened recently to discuss the trials and tribulations of one Johnny Bunko. Dave Solon filed this report. 

Don't forget: The deadline for entering the Great Johnny Bunko Challenge is November 26, 2008.

*Great Johnny Bunko Challenge