Rowitz On Leadership

Welcome to my third year of leadership book selections

Mid-December 2011 Book Selection-Warren Bennis, STILL SURPRISED,Jossey-Bass, 2010.  This is the excellent memoir of a leadership icon and the many friends and colleagues he has met in the almost 90 years of his life..  I strongly recomend it to you.    he covers his life through all the experiences he has had at Harvard, MIT, Univeristy of Cincinnati, University of Southern California, and his work in Europe.   What makes this book special is his ability to show how his ideas have evolved over the decades.   Enjoy the read.

December 2011 Book Selection-Eric Harvey, David Cottrell and Al Lucia, THE LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF SANTA CLAUS, Walk the Talk, 2004.    I have read this book a number of times over the years.  It is really fun as well as informative. Using the concept of Santa’s workshop and his relationships with the elves and reindeer. Santa talks about his leadership.  You will love this book as well as learn from it.  It is also a great gift idea.   For other books by the publisher, go to  www.walkthetalk.com

Mid-November Book Selection-John McKnight and Peter Block, THE ABUNDANT COMMUNITY,Berrett-Kohler, 2010. Both authors are well-known. McKnight for all his work related to community empowerment and Block for his work on community and leadership.  The book argues for a separation between the idea of systems which the authors argue is about comsumers and community which is about citizens.  Citizens can take responsibility for building their communities and making them abundant through the citizens’ use of gifts, associations, and hospitality.  Abundant communities are self-organizing and so it is in complexity thinking that we must view how are communities will grow. Also visit the website     http://www.abundantcommunity.com

November 2011 Book Selection- James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, CREDIBILITY(NEW AND REVISED), Jossey-Bass, 2011.  This is a revision of an excellent book written by the authors in the early 1990s.   Their argument is that credibility is critical for leaders and is closely tied to the need for trust and confidence.  The authors discuss the six elements that make credibility possible.  The six disciplines are discover yourself, appreciate your constituents, affirm shared values, develop capacity, serve a purpose and sustain hope.  for all those who are fans of the authors’ other book, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE   or have taken the author’s 360 Leadership Practices Inventory, this will be an excellent addition to your leadership library.

Mid-October 2011 Book Selection-Ted G. Lewis, BAK’S SAND PILE, Agile Press, 2011. This is a special book that is built on the complexity principle that what appears simple and linear is often complex and systemic. Every day events are often complex, non-linear, critical, and often outliers.   This book explores self-organizing criticality  or those events which lead to crises both big and small.    The author explores his complexity perspective relative to  many emergencies like forest fires, telecommunications, Sept 11, 2011, electric grids, and so on.  The books presents the application of many concepts and how they fit a complexity perspective.

October 2011 Book Selection-Ernest Gundling, Terry Hogan, and Karen Cvitkovich, WHAT IS GLOBAL LEADERSHIP, Nicholas Brealey, 2011.  This is an excellent resource on the many issues related to working in a global job setting.   Not only does this book present many ideas about how to develop global leaders, it also describes in detail the ten behaviors that define global leaders.   These behaviors include cultural self-awareness, inviting the unknown, relationships and results, frame-shifting, expanding ownership, the development of future leaders, adapting and adding value, core values and flexibility, influencing others across boundaries, and third way solutions.   The authors also refer the readers to instruments to help the leader determine readiness to serve in an international setting.   This book also has much to offer to the domestic leader.   I recommend it highly.

Mid-September 2011 Book Selection-David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo, and Stephen H. Rhinesmith, LEADING IN A TIME OF CRISIS, Jossey-Bass, 2009. This book explores how the changing times have impacted the way we do business and create the possibility of the perfect storm.  These changes are due to complexities in society, changing demographics and cultures of our service population, and the inability to predict future happenings(uncertainty).   The authors also explore the issue of leadership and present the idea of the whole leader who functions from the head, heart, and guts. Nine ways are reviewed to naviagate through all of the changes that are happening.

September 2011 Book Selection-Douglas Conant and Mette Norgaard, TOUCH POINTS, Jossey-Bass, 2011.  This is one of the books in the Warren Bennis Signature Series.  It argues that communication skills are a critical part of leadership that are repeated many times each day.    Every interaction becomes a leadership moment. Leaders need to be alert to all their interactions and must listen carefully to the issues raised in these interactions The planned and unplanned interruptions of the day show how leaders function.    The authors call these interactions Touch Points In these situations leaders need to listen, frame the issues of the situation, and advance the issue.  The Touch Point is the synthesis of the issue by the leader and the others with whom the leader inteeracts.   It is also critical that the Touch Point incorporates the values of the leader and the organization as the issue advances. The leader needs to use his/her head, heart, and hands as issues advance and move to solution.   Also visit  ConantLeadership.com   and   MetteNorgaard.com

Mid-August 2011 Book Selection-Ellen J. Langer, MINDFULNESS,Addison-Wesley, 1989. One of the special things about being a lifelong learner is discovering an older book that has much to say to today’s leaders.  A major problem in living within a silo or evaluating everything by the boundaries of a given paradigm is that it leads to mindlessness and a reliance on a belief in a status-quo.   To be mindful is to explore alternatives to a given set of factors.   Changing contexts also increases our mindfulness. Langer explores these conceptsby seeing how they work in the fields of aging, creative uncertainty, organizations, prejudice, and health situations.   I strongly recommend this book to my readers.

August 2011 Book Selection-Joseph A. Michelli, PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE, McGraw Hill, 2011.  This book tells the story of one of the best patient-oriented hospitals in the U.S.–UCLA Health System. The leaders at UCLA empower all the employees at the health sytem to take a major role in great service for all patients.  This book represents servant leadership at its very best.  The leadership lessons presented in the book are the commitment to care, leaving no room for error(safety issues), making what works better, and an orientation to the future through innovation.  This book provides a good read for managers and leaders in all professions.

Mid-July 2011 Book Selection-Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., FROM VALUES TO ACTION,Jossey-Bass, 2011. Kraemer argues that for leaders to be effective, they need to practice their leadership from a values perspective.  He then presents the four principles of value-based leadership- self-reflection, balance and perspective, true self-confidence, and genuine humility.  He then talks about the elements of values-based organization from leading from a values perspective, talent management, clear organizational direction effective communication, motivation and team engagement, execution and implementation.  in the last part of the book, he discusses the importance of leadership on a global level and the importance of leaders taking on projects which will enhance the leader’s social responsibility. Leaders must also be careful to not let their visionary role detract from their need to be engaged in the work of their organizations.  Finally, Kraemer argues that true leadership must move from a reactive stance to a proactive stance.

July 2011 Book Selection-Adam Bryant,THE CORNER OFFICE, Times Books, 2011.   For those of you who have been reading the author’s column in the Business Section of the Sunday New York Times, you will find this book which examines the career moves of managers and leaders who move to the leadership position of various organizations as located in the corner office. Bryant examines the three important aspects of success, management, and leadership. I believe you will find many of  the author’s point unique and different than in many other books which cover some of the same territory.  The major reason for this is that Bryant builds his approach on interviews with leaders in many sectors. Success is related to passionate curiosity, confidence which grows out of reality-based experiences, team smarts, the importance of simple interpretations rather than complex ones, fearlessness, and preparation and patience related to job obstacles. The management skills are tied to job surprises, important time management concerns, meeting management secrets, smart interviewing, the importance of walking around, and coaching.  Leadership is tied to mission creation and vision, importance os small gestures, the secret of Type  B strategies, and the culture of organizations.   Bryant also sees management as more science and data-based whereas leadership is more of an art.

Mid-June 2011 Book Selection- Peter F. Drucker, THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS YOU WILL EVER ASK ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION, Jossey-Bass, 2008.  This monograph is a reprint of a classic work by Drucker with added commentary by Jim Collins, Philip Kotler, James Kouzes, Judith Rodin, V. Kasturi Rangan, and Frances Hesselbein.  The monograph proposes that leaders need to answer the following questions about their non-profit agency.  The questions are what is our mission, who is our customer, what does the customer value, what are our results, and what is our plan. Hesselbein discusses the important concern of transformational leadership and the eight milestones that lead to more effective organizations.

June 2011 Book Selection-Laura H. Kahn,WHO’S IN CHARGE,Praeger Security International, 2009. Using six emergency/crisis situations, the author explores  how leadership plays a role in emergency response situations.  The book explores the critical relationships between political leaders, public health leaders, journalists, and others to better understand how  response is impacted by who takes the leaderhip role in a crisis situation.   In general, elected officials take the leadership role unless they delegate this responsibility to public health or other organizational leader like the FBI, police, fire leader, etc.   The problem  is affected by the reality that many terrorist acts are seen as a federal concern with many natural disasters seen as a public health  state or local concern . CDC takes a role when asked by a state or local entity and tends not to take the lead role.  The book also addresses  how response activities are often ineffective.

Mid-May 2011 Book Selection-Jeffrey Gitomer, LITTLE BOOK OF LEADERSHIP, Wiley,2011.   I have talked to many administrators and leaders who tell me that they are so busy that they are not able to read as much as they would like.   They often ask me is there is a book that they can pick up  at random times when they might have  a half hour to read something that can guide their personal leadership development.   The Gitomer book is such a book.   He reviews in a very readable way the 12.5 strenghts of a leader. The strengths include leadership insight, mental leadership, resilient leadership, reality leadership, coach leadership, situational leadership, measurement leadership, opportunity leadership,guts leadership, personal leadership, celebration leadership, next-level leadership, and legacy leadership. He offers the reader a website that has many other tools and resources.    See    www.gitomer.com

May 2011 Book Selection-Stephen M.R. Covey, THE SPEED OF TRUST, Free Press, 2006.  This book is written by the son of the Covey Habits book.   If you read only one book this year on leadership, this is probably the one you should read.   The author argues that when trust exists, thing get done more quickly.   He presents a five wave model on tust from self trust, relationship trust, organizational trust, market trust, and societal trust. He also discusses the four cores of credibility–integrity, intent, capabilities, and results.  With regard to relationships, Covey presents the thirteen behaviors.   The book is full of many examples.   Also see   www.WhoTrustsYou.com   and www.speedoftrust.com

Mid-April 2011 Book Selection-Marshall Goldsmith, WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON’T GET YOU THERE,  Hyperion, 2007. This is the first of two books that I will be recommending that are very practical in orientation.  The second book will be presented next month.  Goldsmith, who was a student of Peter Drucker and now spends his time as an executive coach and leadership workshop presenter, starts with the premse that ths skills that ou developed in your last management or leadership position may not be the skills that you need in your new position. He presents and discusses in detail twenty workplace habits that an individual nay need to examine and break if they are holding you back in your new job.  goldsmith then discusses the mechanisms and strategies that you can use to make change that is positive including feedback, apology, advertising, listening, thsnking, follow-up, and practicing forward.  In the last part of his book, Goldsmith discusses the rules for change and the challenges for a leader.  This book will present the reader with many practical day-to-day suggedtions.  Also see  www.MarshallGoldsmith.com  and   www.WhatGotYouHere.com

April 2011 Book Selection-Mark Buchanan, UBIQUITY: WHY CATASTROPHES HAPPEN, Three Rivers Press, 2001.    Although this book is over ten years old, it is more relevant today than it was before the events of 9/11/2001 or the recent earthquake in Japan.  Buchanan is a physicist and a science writer who brings an important perspective on the relationship of physics to the happenings in our world.  He utilizes a perspective that grows out of the domain of non-equilibrium statistical  physics.   He goes beyond chaos and complexity models to argue that these approaches  need to recognize the importance of collective behavior .   He argues the importance of universality and sees his approach as one which helps us better understand everything from earthquakes, history economics, and so on. He argues that  catastrophes need to be viewed from the physics’ perspective of critical state.  He says that we cannot with certainty predict when these catastrophes will happen , but we can predict that they will happen.   We don’t know when and we don’t know how severe they will be.  Most catastrophes are small.   Many of them have unexpected consequences.   The large or major event is rare.    This book is an important read for leaders.

Mid-March 2011 Book Selection-Edward de Bono, SIX FRAMES, Vermilion, 2008. De Bono has written a number of books in which he creates tools to use to address a  specific problem. His most well known  book of “six tools” is the influential SIX THINKING HATS.   In this book he looks at the issue of information and how to interpret it.   The frames he uses for this are familiar shapes. de Bono stresses the importance of attention and focusing on the information. His six frames approach  are meant to help understand complex information and to avoid confusion.  The triangle frame addresses the purpose of your need for the information. The circle frames investigates the accuracy of the information. The circle frames  looks at the point of view issue. An interesting aspect of this frame is that your sttention can be oriented to the many different ways to look at the information at hand.  The heart frame  concentrates on general interest and specific interests related to information.  The diamond frame  explores value. Value can be determined in many ways, but delivers insight into different levels of value for different people looking at the same information.   The final frame is the slab which focuses your attention on outcome and what you have learned in the mining of the information you have been analyzing.   The final issue the author addresses relates to truth paste and the need to be as truthful as you can in presenting the information through the use of the six frames or any one of the six frames.

March 2011 Book Selection-Atul Gawande,THE CHECKLIST MANIFESTO, Picador, 2010.  This book is a must-read for any leader who works in a complexity environment with many possible unexpected occurrences. Gawande who is a surgeon has tried to improve the outcome of surgical events and through the use of many examples from medicine, finance, and aviation demonstrates how checklists reduce errors and improve outcomes. With life becoming more complex and with the introduction of many advanced technologies, it becomes critical that we find tools that help us to better manage these complexities. he also talks about a code of conduc for those who serve the public. The four components include selflessness, aim for excellence in our knowledge and expertise, trustworthiness, and discipline.

Mid-February 2011 Book Selection-Seth Godin, LINCHPIN, Portfolio,2010.  With this book, Godin joins Malcolm Gladwell and others to address the issue of how leaders make a difference.  Godin studies the people who become indispensible in their organizations in contrast to the people who are merely cogs and easily replaceable.  linchpins are creative annd learn the importance of gif-giving in the global sense.   They are complexity thinkers who meet chaos head on  and create order out of the chaos.  the linchpin also knows the importance of building relationships.   They love their work and always operate outside of their job descriptions.   Godin clearly loves to write and he is a delight to read.   I have enjoyed every one of his books that I have read and look forward to the next one.  i also recommend his blog where you will find many additional articles to read.   www.SethGodin.com

February 2011 Book Selection-Chris Ernst snd Donna Chrobot-Mason,  BOUNDARY SPANNING LEADERSHIP, McGraw-Hill, 2011.  If you read only one leadership book this year, this should be the  one.   For my readers who are interested in the posts related to the public health model of meta-leadership, this book will put the meat on the bones for you.  Building on the foundation of discussions related to a flattening world, this book  makes a strong argument for the critical nature of collaboration in our ever-changing world.  A major plus for this book is that it based on solid research findings carried out by the Center for Creative Leadership. The book discusses in detail six boundary spanning practices that lead to a nexus effect similar to my discussions on synergistic leadership. The six  practices include buffering, reflecting, connecting, mobilizing, weaving and transforming.  If you find this book of interest, check out   www.spanboundaries.com

Mid-January 2011 Book Selection-Ian Mitroff and Abraham Silvers, DIRTY ROTTEN STRATEGIES, Stanford Business Books,2010.   This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book.  This book is based on a foundation related to complexity thinking.   Any of my readers who have ever taken a statistics course will remember the discussion of Type 1 and Type 2 errors.   This book is abour Type 3 and Type 4 eerors  or the results of solving the wrong problems precisely.  A Type 3 error relates to the intentional error of solving the wrong problems.   Type 4 errors are the unintentional error of solving the wrong problem precisely.   The authors discuss these errors in detail in using examples from health, national insecurity,  media, academia, science, and religion.   the authors also give clues on how to avoid these errors.  The general complexity  of how we view problems too narrowly or from  one disciplinary perspective is also explored relative to thes two major errors.  There is much to discuss in this book and every chapter will lead to important discussion issues. Leaders will learn much about how we solve problems  and make decisions often about the wrong things.

January 2011 Book Selection-Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman, SWAY, Broadway Books, 2008.   This book is my second selection of a book co- authored by Ori Brafman.  The Brafman brothers introduce the concept of sway which  relates to the way that we make choices and decisions that are often not rational.  The hidden psychological factors that affect the way that leaders and others choose to act include our attempts to make decisions and choices in such a way as to minimize loss, making decisions based on first impressions of a person or situation, and the way we avoid all facts that contradict our first impressions. The way we view the world in terms of values, level of commitment, and paradigms that put walls around our views of the world and limit our choices are all critical to our making irrational choices.  The authors also explore ways for us to not fall into the traps created by these factors that sway us.  For example, a  long term view is often more beneficial to rational choice than short term views. Using others to present dissenting opinions can also be a useful technique for rationally exploring all potential choices and potential decisions(propositional thinking).