The Education of an Accidental CEO: Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office by David Novak and John Boswell I’ve often mentioned that I admire any author and/or publisher who can create a cover or title that can grab a potential reader in the fraction of a second those browsing eyes scan…
Jacked Up: The Inside Story of How Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World’s Greatest Company by Bill Lane I must admit that I almost passed on this one. In a personal library I’m very proud of, you’ll find every book that’s ever been written by and/or about Jack Welch. My first thought upon…
Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership by Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas Kuczmarski This is one of those publications that grab you at the cover. Come on, the title Apples Are Square tickles your intrigue just a bit now, doesn’t it? And who doesn’t want to think differently about leadership? If the book…
Broken Windows, Broken Business: How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards by Michael Levine This is one of those books promoting a theory that appears to be extremely obvious, easy to support, and somewhat difficult to argue with. Common sense, if you will. Or maybe uncommon sense better describes this theory. I say that…
The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees) by Patrick Lencioni Patrick Lencioni has done it again. He’s provided still another of his celebrated fables that both entertain and educate with equal success. This author is the president of The Table Group, a management consulting firm specializing in executive…
Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang I’m going to share very little about this book. Instead, I’d like to tell you WHY you should read it. It’s all about a very unusual man and even more unusual company—both of…
The Janitor: How an Unexpected Friendship Transformed a CEO and His Company by Todd Hopkins and Ray Hilbert It somewhat stands to reason that if you’re in search of effective business strategies and insights, you’re not going to find it in a book with the word “janitor” in the title, right? Ah, but we all…
The Other Side of the Card: Where Your Authentic Leadership Story Begins by Mike Morrison Knowing a little bit more about this author may explain the powerful content of still another of those many small books that seem to appear on our local bookstore shelves with regularity. However, don’t be mislead by the dimensions of…
The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies: … And How to Break Them by Jagdish N. Sheth Think back over the years and recount the number of very flourishing businesses that were promoted in magazines, on TV, and in management courses as great companies destined for successful futures. Many of them are no longer with us…