Never Fly Solo: Lead with Courage, Build Trusting Partnerships, and Reach New Heights in Business Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm an authority on sales training and have lost consulting deals over the years. But I have NO IDEA what it would mean to lose as a combat aviator. Think about it. Rob "Waldo" Waldman has to make the best decisions possible or he loses - he doesn't return from his mission.
What an outstanding resource Never Fly Solo is for anyone in the work world.
His thinking reinforces what I believe is the best way to distinguish good from bad business professionals. That is to recognize everyone makes either good or bad decisions. It gets no simpler than that.
Read here how an Air Force officer who flies is humbled to learn he's not the hotshot in the sky, but a part of a team that includes ground crew, mechanics, controllers, wingmen and more.
And from that experience flows wisdom that you can apply in business today.
One of my favorite stories is his description of "chair flying," actually simulating a mission in a chair prior to experiencing it in the cockpit. Mentally running every possible scenario, good and bad, can prepare you to succeed in life, as Waldman did in the air over 60+ combat missions.
I most highly recommend Never Fly Solo.

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The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book on building powerful, effective teams!

"An amazing book that bucks the old paradigm that maverick leaders and self-madeentrepreneurs set the bar. It will forever change the way you look at leadership."—Marshall Goldsmith, author of The Wall Street Journal #1 business bestsellerWhat Got You Here Won't Get You There

"In Never Fly Solo, Rob ‘Waldo' Waldman shares potent, personal leadership lessonson what it takes to access the power of your wingmen. If you want a former fi ghter pilot with 65combat missions as your wingman and if business success is your target, take flight withWaldo's book and earn your wings. You'll never fly solo again."—Jeffrey Gitomer, bestselling author of The Little Red Book of Selling

"If you are serious about building trusting relationships and launching your business and lifeto new heights, then invest in yourself and buy this book."—Keith Ferrazzi, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Who's Got Your Back

"Authentic and inspirational, Never Fly Solo is a winning formula for successfulleadership that everyone in business should read."—Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines and author of The Winds of Turbulence

"Waldo does a superb job of applying to the business world the lessons he learned in hismilitary career. His excellent use of vignettes shows how standards and values areapplicable to leading an honorable life."—General Ron Fogleman, U.S. Air Force Retired, former Chief of Staff, USAF

"Waldo the Wingman knows the value of relationships and how to build realpartnerships that benefit everyone involved."—Mark Sanborn, speaker and bestselling author of The Fred Factor and You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader

Rob "Waldo" Waldmanunderstands one thing better than most businesspeople:You can't reach your highest potential alone.You need wingmen—trusted partners—who canhelp you overcome obstacles, adapt to change, andprepare for success. A decorated former combatF-16 fighter pilot and now a successful entrepreneur,Waldman lives his life by this rule.

Whether you're a senior executive, mid-level manager,or new hire fresh out of college, your success dependson the mutual support of trusted associates. In NeverFly Solo, Waldo helps you maximize your relationshipsto reach your greatest potential. You'll learn how to:
Commit to the core wingman values ofintegrity, accountability, service, and excellence
Transform your relationships with colleaguesinto interdependent partnerships for success
Take courageous action and ask for helpwhen adversity strikes
Communicate effectively in high-stresssituations
Connect with your coworkers and customerson a deeper level

Through compelling, real-world stories, Waldo relateshow his Air Force wingmen helped him overcomechallenges and become successful by teaching himlessons that work in an offi ce as well as in a cockpit.

Like the world of aerial combat, today's high-stakesbusiness world operates faster than the speed ofsound. Teamwork and trust are critical for thwartingthe missiles of fear, change, and risk that too oftensend even the most seasoned professional into adownward spiral.

You can't dodge these missiles alone. Never Fly Solois your flight plan for taking positive action that leadsto greater success.

Find out more at www.neverflysolo.com.

The author will donate a portion of the book's proceeds to veterans charities.

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Influencer: The Power to Change Anything Review

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(More customer reviews)The principles in this book have the potential to change the world - by changing behaviors of individuals, families, communities and nations.
The authors teach us how to create the change we'd like to see in the world using a deceptively simple framework (e.g. "Make the Undesirable Desirable" and "Design Rewards and Demand Accountability"). Many of the concepts are intuitive - the problem is that I had never intuited them before, much less put them all together in a framework I could act on. They support the framework with sound theory from behavioral psychology and demonstrate it with real-world examples of people who are solving big, important problems. Throughout it all they use a straight-forward conversational style and a great sense of humor.
But be warned: It's not a self-help, positive-mental-attitude, quick-fix, rah! rah! book, and it's not a fast, easy read - it's not supposed to be. The book deals with powerful concepts and it took me some time to think through the implications and how I could apply them. I re-read some chapters several times and spent time writing out how I could apply the principles (I usually do this in the margins - but with Influencer I ended up using a journal since there was so much to write about).
It's well worth the time and effort - I'm excited by the results I'm seeing personally as I apply the concepts in my roles as a father, husband, church leader and business leader.

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The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere Review

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(More customer reviews)This author enlightens and inspires those who seek to become leaders by giving them the comprehensive tools and knowledge to know that they are leaders. The author emphasizes that "leaders are not born", they are developed over a period of time. This is confirmation that anyone in this universe can lead others. The author Dr. Marques clearly layout the details of the characteristics and qualities and behavioral traits any leader must exemplify. She discusses how one can forge ahead to becoming a leader even in a non-supportive environment and how to become awakened by your already existing capabilities and create your own leadership style. This author has some research/survey study results on leadership and what is valued the most. Overall the leader can't lead if no one is following, therefore it is imperative that future leaders build positive relationships among their peers, practice what they preach, walk the walk and lead by example to be great leaders and this book details on how to do those things.

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The Leader's Voice: How Leaders Communicate During Turbulent Times Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Leader's Voice" reveals how to change static communication and poor performance into dynamic communication for extraordinary results. A manager speaks to only ensure the job gets done. The leader's voice uses facts, emotions and symbols to motivate and create change. A leader carries out authenticity, and foresight to not only get the job done, but to also promote a willing to go the extra mile. Providing plenty of proven examples from leaders throughout history, with the ABC's of leadership, "The Leader's Voice" equips the reader with the necessary information to remove any obstacles preventing success.
Boyd and Crossland practice what they preach. Their written communication style is direct and to the point, with the determination to make a difference. Using the pictures to stir emotion, the various type fonts to personify symbols and the straight facts from the lives of other leaders immediately captured my attention. They did a fantastic job organizing the material and appealing to my creative core. I would recommend "The Leader's Voice" to anyone attempting to motivate a crowd of one to one hundred and one or more.
Now let me reflect . . .
I used to complain about my mother fixing so much tuna casserole. Her response, "There are alot of starving people in the world. You should be thankful we have food on the table." When my father knew I didn't feel as smart as my sister because of my grades, he would tell me, "You're intelligent. You just need to study a little longer." And when I cried after being hit by a car, my grandmother's words consoled me with, "If God looks over the sparrow, surely he'll take care of you." These voices addressed me with emotion. These voices encouraged me with facts. These voices motivated me with symbols. I now realize these are the voices of the leaders in my life.

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In this provocative and instructive book, The Leader's Voice: How your communication can inspire action and get results!, business executives and others can acquire the much-needed skills effective leaders use to manage change in turbulent times. "To say language is everything to a leader is no understatement.It's a fact," says Tom Peters, America's Number One business guru. Clarke and Crossland, executives at tompeterscompany, show how others can use leadership principles to discover the power in their voice. The authors define the core principles of effective leadership communication.In a volatile business climate like today's, the ability to communicate authentically and powerfully is the crucial leadership competence. Unfortunately, the complexity of the current workplace has muted the voices of many leaders. Ever wonder how John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher and Martin Luther King, Jr. commanded through communication?Read this book and apply the principles.You'll discover the power in your voice!The Leader's Voice is backed up by twenty years of communication research. Reviewing over 1,100 examples of leadership communication, and studying the inferences of modern neurological science has led the authors to a simple, stimulating leadership communication model. Leaders, at their best, communicate simultaneously on three channels: Factual, Emotional and Symbolic (FES).Clarke and Crossland demonstrate how FES can be used in public presentations, one-on-one meetings and even via email to enhance a leader's effectiveness and ability to move his or her constituency to greater conviction, consciousness and competence.

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Employee Morale: Driving Performance in Challenging Times Review

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(More customer reviews)I read this book in preparation for an advanced workshop on employee engagement and felt it provided excellent groundwork for this and related topics. David Bowles has the combined precision of an academic and facile mind of a practitioner which makes his material both accessible and relevant to the workplace. You can read this book front to back, or like me, dive in anywhere and find excellent material in a well-framed context.
I especially liked the author's use of his experience and authenticity in presenting concepts from the field. He sorts out ideas that (in my opinion) have not been given enough scrutiny. This is an intelligent read and facilitates deeper reflection on how we link people factors to organization success.

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The Action Learning Guidebook: A Real-Time Strategy for Problem Solving Training Design, and Employee Development (Book & Diskette) Review

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(More customer reviews)"This book", writes W.Rothwell in his Introduction, "is a primer that serves a three-fold purpose. The first purpose is to show how Action Learning can be used as a real-time strategy for problem finding or problem solving. It can be valuable tool by which to tackle business problems and meet business needs. The second purpose is to show how Action Learning can be applied to training design. It is intended to stimulate the thinking of instructional designers about a new way to analyze needs, design and develop training, deliver training, and evaluate results. The third purpose is to show how Action Learning can be maximized to build intellectual capital and enhance human talent. In this sense, the book shows how team or group work can be become a means for developing people in its own right."
In this context, W.Rothwell :
* defines Action Learning, lists barriers that may prevent its application, and introduces a model of the Action Learning process.
* reviews occasions when applying Action Learning is and is not appropriate.
* focuses on who decides when Action Learning is appropriate, how decision makers recognize situations suitable for the use of Action Learning, and when a problem or improvement opportunity should be handed over to an Action Learning team.
* focuses on issues associated with recruiting, selecting, and orienting members of an Action Learning team.
* examines the team facilitator's role.
* focuses on the application of Action Learning as a means for identifying and solving problems or addressing other organizational issues.
* describes the application of Action Learning to training design.
* explains advantages and disadvantages of using an Action Learning team to design training.
* focuses on evaluating Action Learning efforts and on debriefing Action Learning teams and individuals who participated on those teams.
I highly recommend this invaluable study to all line managers, trainers and HR professionals.
(Reviewed by FreeImage HR Consulting / a division of T.B. FreeImage HR Group, Istanbul, Turkey)
*

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TIME 105 Ways to Get More Done Every Workday Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a decent book for somebody who is either really struggling to do everything they need to do, or for a manager who has had problems getting the most out of his employees.
As the introduction reads, the vast majority of the tips for better utilizing your time are common sense. They take minimal effort other than just doing it. Some of them are more about your work style, your work flow, and your attitude, and they will require a bit more sustained effort. That includes keeping notes, changing the way you file your paperwork, the way you organize your computer, and even the way you deal with your boss, coworkers and employees. I think there are a lot of good take-aways from these lists but it is up to the user to decide which ones to implement first. Like anything else, it's best to change one or two things at a time, get comfortable, and then work on something else. Trying to implement all 105 points of the book on Monday morning will leave you frustrated and in no better shape than on Friday afternoon.
Perhaps this is also a good book for parents, when their kids reach 3rd or 4th grade and start to bring home more serious homework, and are probably involved in sports, music, or some after school activity, and time management becomes something they need to learn and develop productive habits as well. Getting them into the mindset of grouping like tasks, keeping thoughts and notes organized, and thinking about what is productive and what isn't (shooting 50 extra foul shots after practice, or trying to beat Level Ten on that video game?).
As a final note, this is a quick read. Most people will be able to ingest it in 30-60 minutes, reading some sections and skimming others. While it's only [...], you might be better off just reading it at the bookstore over a cappuccino on Saturday morning. Then again, that cappuccino might run you [...] too so you'd only break even haha!

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Time is our greatest asset. Yet, many of us tend to waste it, kill it, lose track of it or spend it without ever considering the return on our investment.One of the greatest challenges today is improving productivity and morale at the same time. TIME! provides practical tips on how to do that. The tips shared in Time! can help every employee find 10, 20 or even 90 minutes a day to invest more wisely.One employee wasting one hour a day could cost your organization $6,000 in productivity this year. This book will provide them the tools they need to make better choices with their time.

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You Can't Predict a Hero: From War to Wall Street, Leading in Times of Crisis Review

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(More customer reviews)I have a large palette when it comes to what I read, and on first look, the story of a Wall Street broker is not something I would usually place high on my list as a "must read". At the urging of a family member whose advice when it comes to good books is top rate, I picked up this one. I absolutely loved it. It is one of the most compelling true stories I've read quite some time and it is wonderfully written. Getting to know Mr. Grano and his accomplishments in the face of diverse and sometimes harrowing challenges is one of the most compelling human stories I've read in some time. The book is both inspirational and educational, one I will keep in my library and refer to when needed. Thank you Mr. Grano.

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Many things set Joe Grano apart from the typical corporate leader: his decorated military career, his humble origins, his lack of a formal college education, his meteoric rise. But perhaps the most unique aspect of Grano's life and career is his ability to deal with crisis. When things are at their worst, Grano is at his best. From Vietnam to 9/11, from the market crash of '87 to today's financial crisis, Wall Street legend Joe Grano has been at the front lines of the most defining American crises of the last forty years. Whether leading draftees through combat as a Green Beret in Vietnam, regrouping a team of brokers during the market crash of 1987, or working tirelessly to reopen Wall Street after the attacks on 9/11, Joe has served at the forefront, leading and even inspiring others when things seem at their darkest. Structured around six specific crises he faced in his life and career, You Can't Predict a Hero tells the unique story of how Grano was able to triumph over challenges both personal and professional.

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Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) Review

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(More customer reviews)Kevin Eikenberry has experience in the real world. It makes this book better. He is an avid learner and experienced trainer. They make this book better. And he's worked with real people one-on-one to help them improve their leadership. That, too, makes this book better.
If you're looking for an informed, practical and effective way to accelerate your own leadership development, you should buy, read, and use Remarkable Leadership. This will also be a good book for you if you're responsible for the leadership development program in a company or for the development of a protégé.
Like the experienced trainer he is, Kevin states his goal at the beginning of the book. "This book is designed to help you identify the parts of your personal leadership package working in your favor and help you develop those parts, and any others you wish to work on, to become the leader you are capable of becoming."
He moves directly from that statement to setting up the material that will fill the rest of the book. He has you do an exercise I've done with groups in training for years: identify a great leader you know and define why you rate them as great or remarkable. Then he shares the core competencies as he sees them. Here's the list.
Remarkable leaders ...
Learn continually
Champion change
Communicate powerfully
Build relationships
Develop others
Focus on customers
Influence with impact
Think and act innovatively
Value collaboration and teamwork
Solve problems and make decisions
Take responsibility and have accountability
Manage projects and processes successfully
Set goals and support goal achievement.
After anchoring his thinking in the principle of building on strength, Eikenberry moves to the next chapter where he discusses leadership development in the real world. His model matches my Apprenticeship Model in all important respects.
The three most important are that most leadership development happens on the job, not in the classroom, good leadership development makes extensive use of feedback, and your boss and other more experienced leaders play a crucial role in your development.
Chapter 3 tells you how to get the most out of the book. Then comes the real meat of the book, a chapter on each of the competencies.
Each chapter includes examples and stories to help you get the concept. There are resources to help you develop. And there are two features that make this book stand out. "Now Steps" offer you suggestions for immediate ways to apply the principle of the chapter. And "Bonus Bytes" give you a link to a web site where more resources and ideas await.
This book is for you if you want a guided way to take charge of your own personal development. You'll get solid information and insight, coupled with learning tools and suggestions for action.
This is also a book for you if you're responsible for the development of leaders in a smaller company or for a protégé. The structure of the material and learning tools should make you more effective at that task.
If you support leadership development in a larger corporation you'll find many good ideas here that you'll be able to incorporate. You should also consider buying multiple copies to share with the working managers in your company to help them assume a mentor role.
Now, who should not buy the book? If you expect to learn leadership from simply reading this or any other book, save your money. Leadership is an apprentice trade and learning it takes work on the job. Remarkable Leadership can help you do it better.


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Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance Review

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(More customer reviews)Many books come across my desk as a department chair, and I send most to junior faculty to read. I held on to this one because I couldn't put it down. Very well written. Flawlessly edited. Full of content and references to business. In my last book about leadership In Extremis Leadership: Leading As If Your Life Depended On It (J-B Leader to Leader Institute/PF Drucker Foundation) I wrote about high performing teams in high risk contexts. But Guttman's book has much broader applicability and is laser focused on teams--it will soon be a classic among leaders and managers. It's the best book I read all summer. Great Business Teams will find its way into my classroom, but I'm even more excited about applying the ideas in this book to the teams that I help lead. This one's a gem. Tom Kolditz

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Understand and decode the inner workings of great business teams with the more than 30 in-depth examples in Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance. Author Howard Guttman examines and dissects teams at top-management, business-unit, and functional levels and isolates five key factors that drive team performance to offer you insight into the ways these teams achieve success. Using this book, go directly to the marketplace to scrutinize teams in a variety of industries, evaluating the challenges they face and the methods they choose to manage these challenges.

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Fish Sticks: A Remarkable Way to Adapt to Changing Times and Keep Your Work Fresh Review

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(More customer reviews)How do you get a group of people to adopt new strategies of coping with change? This story provides food for thought. I recommend you read it along with Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self. When we use Optimal Thinking, we take the most constructive actions and achieve what is supremely important.

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Onboarding: How to Get Your New Employees Up to Speed in Half the Time Review

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(More customer reviews)How many times have we dropped the ball in onboarding new employees? Too many times to count.
This step-by-step guide will ensure that it never happens again. The book is a must read for every HR professional, no matter where you work.
I recommend it to all my colleagues.

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A guide to getting new employees recruited, oriented, and productive—FAST
"Onboarding," a growing trend in the business community, is a focused methodology that gets people in new roles up to speed quickly and efficiently. This book guides you through a process that enables you to recruit, orient, and enable your new employees to get the job done. Learn how to inspire and encourage your new employees to deliver better results faster.
George Bradt and Mary Vonnegut's Onboarding helps ensure that your new employees are productive and efficient from day one. You'll learn how to help them assimilate into your corporate culture and accelerate their learning.
Onboarding is one of the hottest trends in business
This is the first book about onboarding
George Bradt is a leading speaker and consultant, and the author of The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan

For business leaders and managers who want well-trained, responsive, efficient, and effective employees, Onboarding helps you get the best from your new employees.

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Bounce: The Art of Turning Tough Times into Triumph Review

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(More customer reviews)The subtitle of this book is "The art of turning tough times into triumph," and could not be timelier. Calling the 2008 and 2009 "tough times" could be the understatement of the decade. In the preface, McFarland states as a universal truth that, "It's often during life's most difficult times that we discover our most critical hidden strengths and that we forge our most important capabilities." Certainly we can use some strengths going into thus new decade - hidden or otherwise. But what causes that resilience, that ability to bounce back?
Bounce is written as a story, a technique that I've come to appreciate and respect in getting across sound business and personal growth lessons. Using a story based on real world experience and people while creating a fictitious company and characters allows the author to keep the reader's interest while making his or her point. In McFarland's case, he used a compelling story to reveal and demonstrate his six principles of "Bounce":
1.Embrace the bounce. Life is adaptation, which is the repeated disintegration and reintegration in the face of change.
2.Manage the anxiety. Excellent leaders know how to absorb anxiety from a fear of the discontinuous change happening and convert it to anxiety over what will happen if people and the organization doesn't change and adapt.
3.Manage the mental factor. Change leaders know how to manage their own mental processes in times of stress and how to help their teammates do the same.
4.Manage the money. Why? Because a company can have a great mission, terrific morale and enlightened leadership and still hit a rough patch that runs them out of money.
5.Manage the mission. Organizations, like people, are inspired, lead happier, healthier and longer lives when they have a clear mission.
6.Manage the morale. Moral is "firmness in the face of danger, fatigue and difficulties." People want strong decisive leaders who listen, understand the reality of the difficulty of the situation and also keep an eye on the bright side of the things as well.
McFarland also makes it clear that you can't learn everything there is to know about bounce by reading a book. You will have to learn to bounce from experience. You will have to learn what works for you in creating bounce as well as for the organizations you lead or in which you participate. This short, easy read will help you understand bounce and raise your awareness of the essence of bounce so that you can help yourself and your colleagues to bounce back in these difficult times.

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Why do many people and companies crumble in the face of difficulty, while others use adversity to bounce back even stronger? Here from New York Times bestselling author Keith McFarland is a leadership fable for those wary of fables, a story that rejects pat, heard-it-before advice and shows–in a startlingly fresh way–how to use challenges to make both yourself and your organization stronger.Mike Maloney, division manager for Boston-area tech firm CRX, returns from a business trip late one night feeling demoralized. His unit is about to lose its biggest customer and its most valuable employee. Mike wonders how much longer he and his staff can keep up their relentless work schedule and meet upper management's new request for cost cuts. Something has to give. Hoping to blow off steam, he heads to a gym, where he runs into Joe, a former army Ranger.After listening to Mike vent about the cards he's been dealt, the ex-soldier says, "Sounds like your company is ready to bounce." Mike looks confused, so Joe begins tutoring him in lessons from the battlefield. It is precisely when all seems lost, says Joe, that the opportunity exists to rethink a situation and make real progress. Over the next two weeks, Joe turns Mike's view of himself and his company upside down. Despite his Ivy League MBA and extensive experience running companies, Mike has a lot to learn from this young grunt just back from Afghanistan. For example, he learns that under pressure, people experience two kinds of anxiety–one that hurts performance and one that helps it. Mike uses the insight to get his troops running toward the sound of gunfire, and in the process, learns that "bounce" can happen outside the workplace, too. With Joe's help, he finds his own personal bounce.Drawing inspiration from such sources as the work of M.I.T. social scientist Ed Schein, the film Saving Private Ryan, and his own experiences as a CEO leading companies, McFarland cleverly weaves a story whose practical insights can be put to use immediately. With an invaluable wrap-up section at the book's end that analyzes each of the key ideas and shows how they can be applied in work and personal life, Bounce may be the most indispensable guide to facing challenges ever written.

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Optimizing the Power of Action Learning: Solving Problems and Building Leaders in Real Time Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael J. Marquardt has developed a problem-solving tool. His process, which can be adapted by organizations of any size not only provides solutions but also builds leaders and teams.
Marquardt, a professor of HRD and Program Direction of Overseas Programs at The George Washington University, is an expert in action learning. His process has six components.
1. A problem - It must be significant and urgent.
2. A group - The ideal group has between 4 and 8 diverse members.
3. Questions - Initially, team members are restricted to questions. This reflective inquiry period develops a thorough understanding of the problem.
4. Action - The group is authorized to implement their solution.
5. Learning - A commitment to the process is as important as the solution.
6. A coach - Someone is needed to keep the group focused.
A key step is "action." Learning is meaningful only if some type of action is taken. Action generally involves four steps:
1. Understand and Redefine the Problem. This is often the most important step.
2. Articulate a Goal.
3. Develop and Test Strategies.
4. Take Action and Reflect on the Results.
Marquardt includes a 12 step plan to introduce action learning to your organization. Properly implemented, it will accomplish three goals for your organization:
1. It will provide solutions to problems.
2. Develop leaders.
3. Build a problem-solving culture.

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Cut to the Chase: and 99 Other Rules to Liberate Yourself and Gain Back the Gift of Time Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're just starting out in the business world this is a good little book to keep around.
I've been in the business world since receiving my MBA in 1988. Time management is something I have a pretty good handle on but hadn't thought about for a couple of years. However, last week my brilliant consultant-wife dropped this book on my desk. She rolled her eyes which I interpreted as "you're on your own with this one". . I read it in 90 minutes and there is some good common-sense advice throughout the volume.
If you have a desperate need to make big strides in time management, then this book would have value to you. I personally found it somewhat "new yorkish". We're not quite so ruthless about people intruding on our schedules out here in Chicagoland. The main issue I have is that there is so little "meat". This is the type of stuff people might have written in the 70's (setting aside references to Blackberrys and email, of course).
My advice would be to keep looking for other books on time management/personal management. Amazon has them all.


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The Hamster Revolution for Meetings: How to Meet Less and Get More Done (Bk Business) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this book. As with the first Hamster Revolution, the team's second book, The Hamster Revolution for Meetings: How to Meet Less and Get More Done (Bk Business) is about improving productivity in meaningful and MEASUREABLE ways. It lays out a method that is sure to make a difference in how you get things done!
It is also lots of fun to read!!!

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Meetings have changed. They're more frequent, virtual, and informal. Yet, most professionals haven't upgraded their meeting skills. It's no wonder that 43% of meeting time is wasted.

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Leading in Times of Crisis: Navigating Through Complexity, Diversity and Uncertainty to Save Your Business (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) Review

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According to David Dotlich, Peter Cairo, and Stephen Rhinesmith, "whole leaders" are those who "use their head to set strategy, their heart to connect with the world, and their guts to make instinctive and intuitive decisions based on clear values." Nonetheless, for various reasons, "we still too often see top business executives attempting to solve problems or seize opportunities using only their head...or their heart...or their guts." That said, the fact remains that some decisions are best made primarily with reason, others primarily with emotion, and others primarily with instinct or intuition. Moreover, determining which is most appropriate for each decision requires highly-developed judgment in combination with sufficient real-world experience. This is what Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis have in mind in their book, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls, when asserting that what really matters "is not how many calls a leader gets right, or even what percentage of calls a leader gets right. Rather it is important how many of the important ones he or she gets right." They go on to suggest that effective leaders "not only make better calls, but they are able to discern the really important ones and get a higher percentage of them right. They are better at a whole process that runs from seeing the need for a call, to framing issues, to figuring out what is critical, to mobilizing and energizing the troops." According to Tichy and Bennis, there is a framework of three "critical domains" within which all decisions are made. Judgments about people are the most difficult, and most critical; the others involve strategy and crisis. They stress that good judgment calls are a process, not an event. Each begins when a leader recognizes a need and frames the decision to be made, with the process continuing through execution and adjustment. They also stress the importance of possessing sufficient self-knowledge because making a right call "isn't a solo performance; support teams are vital." Dotlich, Cairo, and Rhinesmith wholeheartedly agree.
With a unique combination of intellectual rigor and linguistic eloquence, they identify and then discuss nine ways for business leaders to "navigate" what they characterize as "a perfect storm," one that involves "a rare convergence of complexity and diversity, a convergence that challenges all our leadership assumptions. Imagine leaders as captains steering ships through this perfect storm. The old charts are outdated, and even the smartest strategists have not yet been able to adequately map a new world." Moreover, they go on to point out, "Every time someone conducts a study of the new territory, a storm starts shoaling the terrain and changing the navigation lanes. As fast as leaders develop new strategies, powerful external forces render them obsolete." Hence the need for leaders to rely on their own beliefs (i.e. be guided by their own moral compass, by what Bill George calls one's "True North") and instincts (a strong sense of what is correct, accurate, reliable, trustworthy, etc). "Like the best captains trying to keep their ships afloat during the fiercest storms, leaders have to depend on what they know to be true. They also have to depend on the advice and suggestions of others"; as Tichy and Bennis emphasize, "possessing sufficient self-knowledge because making a right call isn't a solo performance; support teams are vital."
After identifying the nine ways to navigate the perfect storm through whole leadership, Dotlich, Cairo, and Rhinesmith devote a separate chapter to each within clusters of three: Navigating the Wave of Complexity (Chapters 3-5), Navigating the Wave of Diversity (Chapters 6-8), and Navigating the Wave of Uncertainty (Chapters 9-11). Then in Part Three, they explain how to develop whole leaders and teams by aligning a company's talent to navigate the storm, aligning members of a team around whole leadership, how to develop one's self as a whole leader, and a "Final Thought" by which to explain why whole leaders will succeed.
When concluding their book, they review some of the challenges discussed: "Blowing up your business model, turning green without bleeding red, leading an unfamiliar workforce, relying on what you believe in." These are indeed formidable challenges. How must whole leaders respond to them?
1. Act Authentically: "The more confusing and uncertain the world becomes, the more people want leaders who are real...[What helps] is knowing that their CEO will be exactly the person they expect, will respect them enough to be authentic, and will deserve their continuing respect."
2. Balance Money and Meaning: "Leaders are confronting what we refer to as the [begin italics] money-meaning gap [end italics], and the future will make this gap wider and more difficult." Therefore, "To win the war for talent, to build brands, to function effectively in a global environment - all this involves managing meaning."
3. Develop the Capacity to Connect: "The best leaders in the future will be connectors and collaborators, not just in terms of bringing people together but also allying disparate ideas and organizations. Interdependence is the watch word for he future, and people who can facilitate connections will have a huge advantage over those who can't." Organizations that develop and retain an abundance of such people have a hue advantage over those that don't. "This means being able to connect the [right] dots - to figure out how seemingly unrelated concepts or views can be brought together in a synergistic whole."
Note my frequent use of the word "how." Those who read this book will especially appreciate the fact that David Dotlich, Peter Cairo, and Stephen Rhinesmith are diehard pragmatists who rely almost entirely on empirical, verifiable evidence when identifying the "what" of developing and executing whole leadership; they devote most of their attention to explaining how to achieve those separate but related, independent objectives.
Congratulations to them for collaborating so well on what I consider to be a brilliant achievement. Bravo!

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Praise for Leading in Times of Crisis
"Building on the solid base of their book Head, Heart, and Guts, Dotlich, Cairo, and Rhinesmith lay out the ways to become the kind of leader needed to navigate through today's complexities and uncertainties. Leading in Times of Crisis is a necessary guidebook to survive and thrive in the global perfect storm."—John Naisbitt, author, Megatrends and Megatrends 2000
"The risks and opportunities that confront today's leader have never been greater. Leading in Times of Crisis provides unique and valuable insights, along with straightforward principles, that will help point the way in an increasingly diverse and rapidly changing environment."—Ken Frazier, president, global human health, Merck & Co., Inc.
"This book blends practical business solutions with useful insights about leading people.It should help anyone looking for new ideas to deal with the uncertainty and complexityfacing leaders everywhere today."—Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN (formerly Home Shopping Network)
"The main message of this provocative book is that leadership as we have known it ischanging rapidly and dramatically. Moreover, research shows that well over half of people in leadership positions fail. The challenge for leaders today is daunting. But a carefulreading of what Dotlich, Cairo, and Rhinesmith have to say from their extensive experiences will help to reduce significantly this troublesome failure rate."—W. Warner Burke, Edward Lee Thorndike Professor of Psychology and Education; chair, Department of Organization and Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Research demonstrates that the #1 leadership competency in shortest supply is 'dealing with ambiguity and complexity.' Dotlich, Cairo, and Rhinesmith give you the real-world tools to actually do it. This book helps us to reach deep inside ourselves, our organizations, and our markets to achieve dynamic, sustainable success. Get this book to effectively navigate change, inside and out!"—Kevin Cashman, senior partner, Korn/Ferry Leadership & Talent Consulting, and best-selling author, Leadership From the Inside Out

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