 Execution
by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Bossidy, the legendary CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., joins forces
with consultant and prolific author Charan to explain how getting things
done — not strategy, innovation or anything else — is the most important
function of a leader. The authors examine in detail the three key processes
of execution — people, strategy and operations — and show how all three are
linked. Click to get this summary free! |
 Goals!
by Brian Tracy
Prolific author, speaker and sales trainer Tracy (his book Advanced
Selling Strategies was summarized in 1995) offers specific advice to
help executives and others achieve their personal and workplace goals.
Clarifying your values and finding your “major definite purpose” is a key
step. Tracy also identifies the self-imposed barriers that so many people
put between themselves and their goals.
Click to get this summary free! |
 Good to Great
by Jim Collins
What do good companies need to do to become great? To answer this question,
Jim Collins (the author of the bestseller Built to Last) and a team
of researchers used strict benchmarks to identify a group of 11 elite
companies that made the leap from good to great and sustained that greatness
for at least 15 years. The companies that made the list, and those that did
not, provide a vast supply of strategies and ideas that leaders can use
within their own organizations to propel them to greatness.
Click to get this summary free! |
The Responsibility Virus
by Roger L. Martin
In The Responsibility Virus, Roger Martin unveils a vicious cycle of
over-responsibility and under-responsibility infecting working relationships
in many companies. Martin shows how heroic leaders take on too much
responsibility, passive followers take on too little, and the two groups
feed off each other. The result, general unhappiness and a dysfunctional
operation. Click to get this summary free! |
 When Goliaths Clash
by Howard M. Guttman
In When Goliath’s Clash, Howard M. Guttman describes how
unresolved conflict in organizations, especially at the highest level, can
have dire consequences. These include low productivity, employees’ anger and
hostility, increased costs, and increased absenteeism and turnover. He
explains that it is important for leaders to realize that conflict handled
properly can actually be a great asset to a company. When conflict is
managed well, it can lead to new ideas, improved teamwork and commitment,
and a better understanding of the people who work alongside you day in and
day out. Click to get this summary free! |
 The Heart of Change
by John Kotter and Dan Cohen
While most companies believe change happens by making people think
differently, that isn’t the case. Instead, according to John Kotter and Dan
Cohen, change happens when you make people feel differently. You have to
appeal more to the heart than the mind. The authors offer a new dynamic —
the “see-feel-change” dynamic that fuels action by showing people potent
reasons for change that spark their emotions. Built around the eight steps
of change first introduced in Kotter’s bestseller, Leading Change,
The Heart of Change gives straight advice on successful change — and
true stories of companies making change happen.
Click to get this summary free! |
 Purple Cow
by Seth Godin
Jingles, slogans and pretty ads aren’t good enough. Marketing guru and
best-selling author Godin shows how you need to seek out the exceptional and
the remarkable to get your brand or product noticed in today’s cluttered
markets. Click to get this summary free! |
 Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance
by Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
The visionary former chairman and CEO of IBM gives his detailed, insider
account of the now-legendary turnaround at the giant computer company. Among
the lessons you will learn: If it’s broken, fix it; if it’s not broken, fix
it anyway. Click to get this summary free! |
 Primal Leadership
by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee
Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us.
When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy,
vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more primal, according to
Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee: Great leadership works through the emotions.
The authors, experts in the concept of emotional intelligence (EI), describe
what managers and executives must do to become emotionally intelligent
leaders ‘using EI competencies such as empathy and self-management’. The
authors also explain how to build emotionally intelligent organizations.
Click to get this summary free! |
 Leading Quietly
by Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.
Every profession and walk of life has its great figures, leaders and heroes,
people who are exalted for their achievements and treated as role models.
Yet, in day-to-day life, we often find that the most effective leaders are
rarely public heroes; they maintain a low profile, yet they do what is right
(for themselves and their organizations) inconspicuously and without
casualties. These are the "quiet leaders" Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr. studies
and celebrates in his book. Through four years of research, Badaracco
identifies a set of common guidelines all quiet leaders follow, and notes
how the seemingly small steps these leaders take often result in the
biggest, most successful actions of an organization.
Click to get this summary free! |