Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last
By Simon Sinek
Portfolio/Penguin
244 pp.
2014

Leaders Eat Last was first recommended to me by Trent Selbrede, a graduate in Cohort 1 of the HTM Master’s Program.   The title of this book certainly gives away the main message.  It is subtitled: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t.

Bestselling author, Simon Sinek, observed that in the Marine Corps, junior marines ate first while the most senior marines assembled at the back of the line.  Sinek found that what is symbolic in the food line carries over to the far-more-serious battleground.  That is, great leaders tend to care so much for their charges that they sacrifice their own comfort, even their lives, for the good of those in their care.

As noted in the Foreword of the book by George Flynn, “Marine leaders are expected to eat last because the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others beyond your own.  Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.”

However, do not think that this central lesson is all this book has to offer.  To the contrary, it has a higher agenda toward elevating the work world to one in which, rather than mass dissatisfaction with work, we have a system in which people are fulfilled and inspired by their work, in an environment of trust and care.

The contents of this book provide many examples of companies that have succeeded by virtue of caring leadership with an emphasis on people—employees and customers—and not the bottom line.  In fact, the focus on people will ultimately enhance the bottom line.  The book also provides numerous examples of the results of failures of leadership when the focus is only on the top of the company.

In addition, the book indicates through an in-depth look at our anthropology and biology that the human species thrives within an environment of trust and cooperation.  To achieve such collaboration and getting along with each other results in success within our business (and other) endeavors.

In discussions with Jeff Campbell, we determined that this book is one whose messsage we want to promote in the HTM Master’s program.  We very highly recommend the book.  Furthermore, Simon Sinek has previously written Start with Why.  His TEDTalk based on that book is the second most popular video of all time on TED.com.  We further encourage you to watch that talk!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Lean In


Lean In
Sheryl Sandberg
Alfred A. Knopf
New York
2013
228 pp.

Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg, was recommended to me by Natalie Peerali, one of our current graduate students in the new HTM Master’s program.  I immediately set out to find it and almost ran into the display shelf featuring the book at the entrance of my local Barnes and Noble.  The book is currently #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for nonfiction and has opened up a national conversation about leadership roles for women.  Indeed, the book is subtitled Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Just Listen

Just Listen
By Mark Goulston
AMACOM
American Management Association
New York, NY  
234 pp.
2010

Just Listen is subtitled Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone.  In this book, Mark Goulston reveals numerous strategies for getting through to anyone based on an understanding of their needs and agendas.  Interestingly, one of the author’s areas of expertise is training hostage negotiators to effectively handle life-or-death situations.  He has also served as a business coach for companies such as Hyatt and Disney.  Warren Bennis, author of Becoming a Leader, offers this praise:  “A groundbreaking work that all leaders, present and future, should read, and more important, practice.”