Mid-December 2016, Jon Gordon, SOUP, John Wiley, 2010. This is another fun book by the author on how positive approaches to leadership can help an organization to become stronger. If we stir the pot together, the product improves. Building relationships and improving communication builds trust.
December 2016 Book Selection-Robin Sharma, MEGALIVING, Jaico, 2009. This is a very unusual book by the author.. It has 200 master secrets for living a better life that are very practical in nature. It also has guidelines for a special 30 day program to lead to a better and more productive life. I found the book fascinating and leaders may find much to learn in its wise approach to becoming more effective and living a better life.
Mid-November Book Selection-Jon Gordon, THE ENERGY BUS, Wiley, 2007. This book has been a leadership best seller. The idea is presented that you only want people on your bus that will work together collaboratively in a positive way. You strive as a leader for positive energy rather than negative energy You do not want negative people on your energy bus. The book reviews a number of steps and strategies to improve performance in your organization. Visit http://www.TheEnergyBus.com.
November Book Selection-Dave Weber,LEADERSHIP REDEFINED, Weber, 2012. Leadership is not about position, it is about how others are influenced by you today. The book reviews the twelves rules of success as learned by Weber as part of his consulting practice.. Weber uses stories to explain the twelve rue that go from goal definition to extending a helping hand. Strategies are also presented for implementing the twelve rules.
Mid-October Book Selection- Travis Bradberry, SQUAWK, Harper-Collins, 2008. This is the new book by the writer of books on emotional intelligence. It explores through a parable that making loud noises does not mean good management and leadership. The story explores the three virtues of great leadership. Being well-intentioned is not necessarily good management or leadership.
October 2016 Book Selection-Jean Lipman -Blumen, THE ALLURE OF TOXIC LEADERS, Oxford, 2005. This is an important book on the toxic effects of leadership. It looks at the important issues of why followers follow toxic leaders. It also answers the important question of why good leaders turn toxic. This book also addresses concerns related to toxic political leaders and why we follow them. Those who have been concerned about the American presidential election ask the question of how we choose between two candidates that are perceived negatively. I strongly recommend this book.
Mid-September 2016 Book Selection- Jon Gordon, THE NO COMPLAINING RULE, John Wiley, 2008. Negativity costs business much money. The book presents an interesting approach to removing negativity by developing an approach to stopping complaints through stressing solutions. Gordon uses a fable to demonstrate how his model works. See http://www.NoComplainingRule.com
September 2016 Book Selection-Jon Gordon, THE POSITIVE DOG, John Wiley, 2012. The author is a strong believer in the positive psychology philosophy. If you or a dog are constantly perceived in a negative light, people will tend to avoid you. If you are positive, people will tend to want to be around you. If you are a dog, then you will more likely attract people who will want to adopt you. Check out http://www.JonGordon.com
Mid-August 2016 Book Selection-David Walton, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, MJF Books, 2012. This is an excellent self-study book on all aspects of emotional intelligence and its importance. It is built on the idea that emotional intelligence can be learned. It covers in detail all the advantages of improving your emotional intelligence skills. I strongly recommend the book for those who struggle with their own emotional intelligence skills..
August 2016 book Selection-Dave Weber, STICKS AND STONES EXPOSED, Weber Associates, 2004. This is the first of two books published by the author which explores his work as a leadership consultant. He builds the book on the premise that words can hurt. He explores the issue by looking at seven ways in which we see ourselves and are seen by others. The book is a fun read. You will also find out about frog kissing 101. You can also check Daveweber.com
Mid-July 2016 Book Selection- Michael Watkins- SHAPING THE GAME,Harvard Business School Press, 2006. This is a book about the complex process of negotiation. It is also a critique of the many books on negotiation that try to simplify te negotiation process through a number of simple steps that assume all negotiation activities are the same. Watkins argues that first there must be a thorough diagnosis of the situation that requires negotiation. It is important to understand the key parties to the process as well as the issues at play. the level of negotiation required and important linkages. After the negotiation is completed, it is important to review the process and the lessons learned. Each negotiation will add knowledge to the negotiator as new negotiation situations arise.
July 2016 Book Selection-Walter Isaacson- EINSTEIN, Simon & Schuster, 2007. This is an exceptional biography of an exceptional scientist of the twentieth century- Albert Einstein. He was not a perfect man, but had the flaws that many of us have. Einstein was brilliant and a major leader in the scientific area of physics especially with his formulation of the general theory of relativity. He was a humble individual who clearly was a strong leader. When he was asked late in his life to be put up as the President of Israel, he said no. He said he knew where his leadership strengths were. I strongly recommend this book.
Mid-June 2016 Book Selection-Harry Paul and Ross Reck, REVVED, McGraw-Hill, 2006. This is a fun summertime read about shaking up your organization and making you a more effective leader. The book using a parable of a young female supervisor who seems to have lost her way. She meets with a man who teaches her how to improve her performance by following three rules to rev up her administrative abilities and improve her relationship with the people with whom she works.
June 2016 Book Selection-John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber, THAT’S NOT HOW WE DO IT HERE, Portfolio Penguin,2016. There is much that you can learn from the meerkats. In this clever storybook, the authors look at the rise and fall of organizations and a possible rise again. In addition to the story, the authors explore the interaction between management and leadership. Leaders need both sets of skills. They also present the big opportunity organizations in which the growth of leaders s a priority.
Mid-May 2016 Book Selection-Robin Sharma, THE SAINT,THE SURFER,AND THE CEO, Hay House, 2005.Using a parable about a gift left by his father, a young man visits three special people who help the young man put his life back on track. He learns from these three mentors about gateways to a beautiful life. These gateway involve an awareness of the importance of inner work, how our lives are all about growth, the importance of being true to ourselves, , understand how we project our inner life on the real world, the world is a reflection of us, and many other important gateways. The book is a good read ad worth the time especially if you like the Sharma philosophy.
May 2016 Book Selection-Patrick Lencioni, THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER,Jossey-Bass, 2016. in this new book. Lencioni explores the three virtues that define a true team player. The true team player is smart, hungry and humble.. The author applies this model to the assessment of current employees and also the hiring process. He then applies the model to his early work on the five dysfunctions of a tea. Te parable used is excellent. This is a good and informative book.
Mid-April 2016 Book Selection-Cy Wakeman, REALITY-BASED LEADERSHIP, Jossey-Bass, 2010. Many workers today dread going to work. They no longer feel secure in their jobs. Drama stories seem to be the modus operandi. when she shoul make our leadership reality-based. teamwork becomes an important part of the new reality. We also need to learn from our failures. We also need to focus on results rather than on our problems. Action needs to be our guiding principle.
April 2016 Book Selection-Robert M.Gates, A PASSION FOR LEADERSHIP, Knopf, 2016. Thi is an excellent book on the challenges that leaders face in government and in academia. Secretary Gates talks and gives examples of how teams work. he also discusses how leaders can go wrong. I highly recommend this book to all my readers.
Mid-March 2016 Book Selection-Randy Komisar, THE MONK AND THE RIDDLE, Harvard Business School Press, 2001′ This book reads like a memoir of the author who is a business consultant is asked by two young entrepreneurs to advise them in starting a new business. The advice of Komisar relates to the reality that starting a business needs to be more than to just make a great deal of money. Money is of course is important but there needs to also stress the idea, the passion of the task, the experience gain, and also an understanding of how this new endeavor is tied into a whole life plan.
March 2016 Book Selection-Jeffrey Pfeffer,LEADERSHIP BS, Harper Business, 2015. This one of the best leadership books of the year. it deals with the issue that many leadership books present leadership in a primarily positive light. Many leadership activities have negative results. Many leaders fins themselves being blamed for these negative outcomes and these outcomes lead to career derailments, The author also argues that the leadership development field often fails in its ability to improve leadership ability or organizational effectiveness. This book is a must read for all leaders.
Mid-February 2016 Book Selection- Jared Diamond, GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL, Norton, 1999. This is my third selection by Diamond. This book won the Pulitzer prize. The book tells the important story of the last 13,000 years in the development of human societies. It is important in that it shows how humans function in different times and places, It shows how weapons were developed and used as well as differences in communication and the development of agriculture, Conquest is about the use of weapons as well as the spread of disease. Bill Gates and other business leaders have argued that this book gives many clues as to why businesses function as they do. I recommend this book for leaders to better understand how organizations function.
February2016 Book Selection-Jon Meacham, THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER, Random House, 2012. This is an excellent biographical portrait of our third President. He was clearly both a hero and a leader in the founding of the United States. As are most leaders, he was not perfect and made mistakes in his more than eighty years. And yet, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Virginia, served as Secretary of State under Presitdent Washington, Vice-President under President Adams and served as third President of the United States, dealt with the Tripoli Pirates, negotiated for the Louisiana purchase, and founded the University of Virginia. This book is clearly one for leaders to read.
Mid-January 2016 Book Selection-Craig Lambert, SHADOW WORK, Counterpoint, 2015. This book looks at an important issue for leaders in 2016. We seem to be spending a great amount of time doing work for which we are not paid. This shadow work has been increasing in time, For example we now do the work of secretaries on our computers. We do the work of bank tellers at ATM machines. We fill our own gas tanks, etc . Lambert discusses shadow work in the context of how it affects the way we work and lead in this new century. This is an important book for all leaders to read.
January 2016 Book Selection- Atul Gawande, BETTER, Picador, 2007. in this book, Gawande addresses the issue of performance quality by physicians. There are many factors which impact a physician’s performance including fatigue, limited financial resources in hospitals, imperfect abilities, lack of services for underserved populations, racial bias, and so on. This book addresses how physicans and hospitals and clinics can do better. The challenges that administrator cause as well as insurance limitations for some types of service. If you liked any of the author’s other books, you will like this one.
Rowitz On Leadership 