The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success
by Brian Tracy

I’ll be short with this one. For more than 30 years, Brian Tracy has been teaching the world about business success via his best-selling books and audio tapes. This book is the bottom-line, cut-to-the-chase, keep-it-simple success guide. Here is a set of principles or “universal laws” that lie behind the success of business people in every kind of enterprise, large and small. These are natural laws, and they work everywhere and for everyone, virtually without exception. Every year, thousands of companies underperform or even fail, and millions of individuals underachieve, frustrated by thwarted ambition and dreams—all because they either attempted to violate or did not know these universal laws. However, ignorance of the law is no excuse!

Tracy breaks the 100 laws into eight major categories: life, success, business, leadership, money, selling, negotiating, and time management. He not only identifies and defines each, he also:

• Reveals its foundation, whether in science, nature, philosophy, or common sense;
• Provides real-life examples that show how it functions in the world; and
• Shows how to apply it to your life and work through specific questions and practical steps and exercises that anyone can use—sometimes in just minutes—to begin the journey toward greater success.

Brian Tracy has done it again, and you’ll want to take advantage of it a.s.a.p.

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 7.)

Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People
by Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D.

THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. Those predisposed to protect “dead wood” will take issue with the basic underlying philosophy of this book. Those who, way down deep, would sooner see an organization die than nudge a hopelessly incompetent person out of a job, should not read this book. This person is probably not an A player, will not become an A player, will not want to hire A players, will not want to coach people to become A players, has difficulty retaining A players, and does not belong in a premier, topgraded organization. Topgrading is for A players and all those aspiring to be A players.

The author defines topgrading as the practice of filling every position in the organization with an A player, at the appropriate compensation level. A player is defined as the top 10% of talent available at all salary levels—best of class. He believes that great companies are made, not born. The secret is hiring the right people—the “A” players. This is, of course, easier said than done. Statistically, half of all employment situations result in a mis-hire: the wrong person for the wrong job. And with the cost of a mis-hire at 24 times salary, the financial drain can be staggering.

This 400+ page book is a compilation of insights and advice based on more than 4,000 career case studies … first-hand, exhaustive interviews of successful managers’ entire careers. The tools and strategies offered here come from 27 years of working with dozens of organizations, many premier in their industries.

Discover a silver-bullet assessment technique, the Chronological In-Depth Structured (CIDS) interview. CIDS can boost your hiring success rate from 50% to 90% or better. It’s not perfect but close enough that it permitted entire companies to topgrade in one year, replacing players with almost all A players and a few Bs. If you attempt to topgrade and your batting average in replacing C players is only .500, you will fail. CIDS is not just desirable, but necessary in assuring that you replace Cs with As.

I could go on and on describing the useful contents of Topgrading, but I fear you’d break a leg racing to the bookstore. Walk slow. Read fast. You need this one.

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 7.)

The Mind of the CEO
by Jeffrey E. Garten

If you ran across this “jewel” in your favorite bookstore and read the few words that appear on the cover, you’d want to sit down and immediately investigate further. It reads: “Suppose you had the chance to travel around the globe and meet today’s most powerful business leaders, one on one. Suppose they talked frankly and openly to you about their business strategies, what it takes to be a leader, their vision of the future, and what keeps them up at night. Jeffrey E. Garten took that trip. Here’s what he heard—and what he didn’t hear.” How could you walk away from an invitation like that? 

Reading this book is like being at the World Economic Forum—not at the formal presentations but in the hotel bar afterward, where the microphones are turned off and world-famous business leaders say what they really think. Better still, their confidant, Jeffrey Garten, interprets what they say, telling you how their views relate to each other and the world economy, and noting the many important things left unsaid. Learn from the experience of 40 of today’s greatest leaders as they share insights to their careers and their organizations. This impressive list includes Leonard Riggio (Barnes & Noble), Stephen Case (AOL), Michael Dell (Dell Computer), Andrew Grove (Intel), Jack Welch (GE), William Clay Ford (Ford Motor), Fred Smith (FedEx), Roger Enrico (PepsiCo), Christopher Galvin (Motorola), John Brown (Amoco), and many others. 

This author is obviously well credentialed to offer this revealing glimpse into the future of business. Jeffrey Garten is the Dean of the Yale School of Management and a monthly columnist for Business Week.  He was previously Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade in the Clinton administration, and before that a managing director for two Wall Street Banks.

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 6.)

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable
by Patrick Lencioni

This is the stunning follow-up to the author’s best-selling book, The Five Temptations of a CEO. You’ll certainly enjoy the author’s profound insights and the simplicity of his theories. According to Lencioni, there are truly only four things that should keep you, as a leader, up at night in order to sustain a successful organization. The rest can and should be delegated to your able team. 

This book is a very quick read that still manages to hit you right between the eyes with a one-two punch of reality and hope. I don’t know how he does it, but the author has a knack for story-telling that will convince you that he knows your organization and your people as well as you do … maybe even better. The good news is that he articulates a straight-forward prescription for a better functioning organization. This is a powerful model for any organization, large or small.

(This book review was originally published in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 6.)