Curve Benders – A Book Club Summary

We enjoyed meeting with everyone who could attend the A5 Advisory Book Club on June 18th to discuss Curve Benders by David Nour. And what a treat it was to have David join us for the discussion and bring these concepts to life – thank you!

Below is a summary of the ideas that were shared during our time together. We learned a lot from each other and appreciate these insights from each of you.  

Takeaways from Curve Benders with the author David Nour

Curve Benders is about the intersection of our future of work, strategic relationships and what Nour calls non-linear growth. Some of your most valuable, most strategic relationships can help you reach a personal s-curve of reinvention. And whenever you feel like you’ve reached a plateau, they accelerate your growth to that next stage of personal and professional growth. This is more than just improving your performance execution results. Curve Benders will profoundly impact the leader that you become.  

The research shows that 15 forces will continue to disrupt the way we work, the way we live, the way we play and the way we give. Though none of us can predict our future, can we more proactively plan for it. 

The book shares ideas like your personal market value; a growth grid on how to leverage relationships to solve complex problems; and the breadth and depth of skills, knowledge and behaviors that will help you get to the best version of you. More importantly, it provides a roadmap on how to not just meet curve benders who can improve your life, but how can you become a curve bender in the lives of others.

Key insights from our June 18th discussion: 

-It’s incredibly important to have personal outlets to reset our minds and remain passionate about our work and our lives 

-Instead of work-life balance, the goal should be work-life blending 

  • We are all influenced by others 
  • There is no such thing as work-life “balance” 
  • We must integrate with “one life” 
  • Personal relationships blend with professional obligations 

-We can build relationships faster and stronger this way and build trust 

-There needs to be a shift in leadership thinking 

  • Measure work by its outcomes, not by its output of transactional activity 

-The future of work will require significant changes 

  • Technology advancements will not only change the way we work, but also what work we do 
  • Humans will augment technology in future work, not the other way around
  • Technology will allow us to be more efficient and productive in our work so that we work less 
  • This means more time and focus on relationships with people 

15 Forces Scorecard: (p.70 of the book shows graph of 15 Forces)

-5 Industry Forces 

  • Haves vs Have-nots 
  • Shrinking Planet 
  • Geopolitics 
  • Black Swan Events 
  • Volatility 

-2 Transitional Forces 

  • Technologies 
  • Economy 

-3 Organizational Forces 

  • Co-Creation 
  • Demographics 
  • Visionary Storytelling 

-5 Personal Forces 

  • Relationship Strategy 
  • Grit 
  • Mindset 
  • Diversification
  • Visualization 

-Curve Benders play a role in each of these 

  • Curve-Bender Centric action = “Who can I learn from in this area?” 
  • Curve Benders are positive influences in our lives 
  • Fender Benders are negative influences 
  • Curve Benders help with personal reinvention and micro learning opportunities 
  • “Curve Benders want a front row seat to your success”-David Nour 

-How to be a Curve Bender for someone else 

  • Don’t wait or say “I’ll do that when…” 
  • You can be a Curve Bender for everyone – must be a fit for need, personality and timing. 
  • You must care! It must be authentic and there should not be an agenda. 

I hope you enjoyed the book club as much as we did!

Please join us again for the next book club on July 23rd as we discuss Indistractable, by Nir Eyal.  

REGISTER FOR THE July 23 BOOK CLUB

 To your success!