Mid-December 2019 Book Selection-Timothy Snyder, ON TYRANNY, Duggan Books, 2017. The twentieth century presented us with many problems that has taught us many new lessons that are guiding our livrs in this new century. Leaders will find many things that will impact our organizations today.
December 2019 Book Selection-Timothy J. Galpin,MAKING STRATEGY WORK, Jossey-Bass, 1997. Strategic Planning in this new century will be different than in the past. Galpin argues that there is both a relationship component in strategic planning as well as the more technical part of strategy work to build sustainable growth capability. In this book, the author presents a model for strategy planning with a people part of the process built in. This is an excellent book that presents tools for carrying out the process.
Mid-November 2019 Book Selection-Jack Finnell, DO YOU WANT TO BE A LEADER OR A MANAGER, self published, 2018. This practical book answers the important 21st century question of the relationship between management and leadership. Finnell answers the question of the steps needed to be a successful manager or leadership. The author also strongly points out that we can be both successful at being a manager and a leader. It is a worthwhile book for today’s leader to read.
November 2019 Book Selection- Alan Willett-LEADING THE UNLEADABLE,Amacom, 2017.This book answers the important concerns related to organizational colleagues who do not follow through on work assignments . The author describes the unleadable as mavericks, cynics, divas and other difficult people. Willett also discusses strategies for dealing with these individuals. Leaders will find many useful actions for transforming these difficult people.
Mid-October 2019 Book Selection-Malcolm Gladwell, TALKING TO STRANGERS, Little, Brown, 2019. The author has done it again. He looks at certain every day situations, and tries to understand those situations. How many of us try to better understand how we communicate with strangers. We communicate by defaulting to truth, transparency, misunderstanding the importance of context in our understanding. We thus make many mistakes we make in meeting new people. Gladwell is sometimes criticized for being too simplistic in his analysis. I did not find myselg thinking this about this book. Read it and decide for yourself.
October 2019 Book Selection-Cameron Herold, MEETINGS SUCK, Lioncrest, 2016. This book is an excellent guidebook to the importance of meetings and how to run them more effectively. Leaders need this book and it should also be read by all leaders and managers in your organization.
Mid-September 2019 Book Selection-Richard H. Axelrod, TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT (Second Edition), Berrett-Koehler, 2010. This book explores the changing dimensions of change in the 21st century Axelrod argues rhat engagement is an important variable in both leading and changing organizations. Engagement involves connecting people to one another, creating communities for action, and providing fairness. There are three practices in engagement- honesty, transparency and trust. Axelrod also discusses the Conference Model.
September 2019 Book Selection- Michael Beschloss, PRESIDENTS OF WAR, Crown, 2018. This book is an excellent history of war in the United States. The book will be an excellent study of how American President act during the crisis of war. The book starts with Washington and the Revolutionary War. How a President deals with war is impacted by the Constitution. Leaders are strongly affected by the organizations which they serve. This book is not a fast read. Take your time with it.
Mid-August 2019 Book Selection-Jon Gordon and Damon West, THE COFFEE BEAN, Wiley, 2019. This is a fun summer read related to positive leadership. You will have to discover whether you want to ive your leadership life as a soggy carrot, a hard boiled egg or a coffee bean. I am a Gordon fan and if you also are, you will find this book very relevant to carrying out your leadership agenda.
August 2019 Book Selection-Timothy J. Galpin,THE HUMAN SIDE OF CHANGE, Jossey-Bass, 1996. Change is a complex process. Strategy is only one part of the change process. This is also the important human side to making change. This guidebook examines change from the vantage of the people involved Team-building is an important component of the change process. The book includes very useful strategy and implementation toolkits. keep this book close.
Mid-July 2019 Book Club Selection, Ron Chernow, ALEXANDER HAMILTON,Penguin, 2005. This is an excellent biography of one of our founding fathers. Hamilton was a flawed yet brilliant leader. He influence the direction of the way our country developed. Who knows how much he could have accomplished if he had not died as a result of a duel. Take your time in reading this comprehensive book. When you complete it, you can celebrate by seeing the wonderful Hamilton musical.
July 2019 Book Club Selection-Steven Fink, CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS, McGraw-Hill, 2013. As one of the leading consultants on crisis issues, the author adds the important issue of communications to his writings on how crisis situations should be managed. This book gives many key skills and tools needed to be effective in crisis situations. One of the important concerns relates to who should be the primary communicators.
Mid-June 2019 Book Selection-Henry Cloud,BOUNDARIES FOR LEADERS, Harper Business, 2013. In order to be successful, strong leaders define the boundaries that need to exist in order to carry out their business strategies in the most meaningful manner, Culture must also define itself in terms of its boundaries. Boundaries are structures that should help determine what will exist within organizations and what should not. Cloud defines seven leadership boundaries that are needed in a results-driven organizations.
June 2019 Book Selection-Jeffrey Gitomer, LITTLE BOOK OF LEADERSHIP,Wiley,2011. This is a delightful book which reviews the many types of skills that effective leaders need to use. it is an excellent desktop book to guide leaders in their day to day leadership activities. the author has distilled many aspects of leadership covered in many books on leadership. I strongly recommend the book to my readers.
Mid-May 2019 Book Selection-Frances Hesselbein, HESSELBEIN ON LEADERSHIP,Jossey-Bass,2002. This is an excellent book of essays on leadership which the reader may find enlightening.
May 2019 Book Selection- Nassem Nicholas Taleb, SKIN IN THE GAME,Random House, 2018. The author explores our reality. Those who have skin in the game much differently than the people who see our reality in terms of a perspective that really does not reflect the reality of those who are living their reality on a day to day basis. Reality also does not necessarily reflect a bell shaped curve but often realities located in the tales of the curve.
Mid-April 2019 Book Selection-Peter B. Kyne, THE GO GETTER, BN Publishing 2008, This is a classic tale(1921) of a disabled veteran from World War I who shows that leadership in an national company in which an individual can be a leader in spite of a physical disability. Watch for the blue vase exercise .
April 2019 Book Selection-Brene Brown, DARE TO LEAD, Random House, 2018, The author creates leadership development programs out of her leadership research. She addresses skills from a rather unique perspective. Leaders need to be vulnerable and courage. They need to remove protective armor to be effective. Brown explores issues such as shame, bravery and trust. Leaders will find this book full of tools and ways to make your personal leadership more reality based,
Mid-March 2019 Book Selection- Robin Sharma, DISCOVER YOUR DESTINY, JAICO, 2009. This book is another story about the monk who sold his Ferrari. How we live our life makes a difference. The book explores the seven stages of self-awakening that will help the reader to explore personal destiny in a meaningful way. Leaders who have been influenced by the author and the monk will find this book enlightening.
March 2019 Book Selection-Doris Kearns Goodwin, LEADERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES, Simon & Schuster, 2018. This excellent leadership history tells the leadership story of four American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Although the historical situations were different for each of the four leaders, there are still similarities between the four men.There is much to learn from the lives of these men. The way each President handles a crisis is also enlightening.
Mid-February 2019 Book Selection-Frances Hesselbein, MY LIFE IN LEADERSHIP, Jossey-Bass, 2011. Hessebein is now 103 years old with an illustrious career as a leader. She was strongly influenced by Peter Drucker and John Gardner. Starting out in volunteer roles, she tells of her many years as head of the Girl Scouts and her years leading an organization built on the work of Drucker. She tells how her leadership roles in these organizations have impacted her life and how many leadership lessons come out of her experiences. I strongly recommend this leadership memoir.
February 2019 Book Selection-Yuval Noah Harari, 21 LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY,Spiegel & Grau, 2018. In his third book, the author explores what may happen in this century. Harari sees significant changes that may occur within the context of 21 lessons. The reader will have much to discuss with other leaders of this book. The lessons revolve around such issues as religion, immigration, and war.
Mid-January 2019 Book Selection-Walter Isaacson, LEONARDO DA VINCI, Simon and Schuster,2017. This is a book about genius. Isaacson goes into detail avout how Leonardo’s brain must have worked by looking at his life through his work. leaders will be able to explore how creativity works in concert with leadership. This is an excellent biography which is not a fast read. in the concluding chapter, the author reviews the important lessons that we can learn from Leonardo’s life.
January 2019 Book Selection- Robin Sharma, DAILY INSPIRATION, Jaico, 2009. Start the new year with an inspiration statement to guide your leadership day. You can keep the book on your desk and spend a few minutes on digesting the day’s wisdom statement.
Rowitz On Leadership 