Showing posts with label leadership development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership development. Show all posts

Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen Review

Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen
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Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen ReviewI do not think there are many people that will find this book useful. Most people will be in one of two camps:
1.) If you think about communication at all, probably nothing in this book will be new to you.
2.) If the information in this book *is* news to you, then its style will not be helpful to you.
The book is intentionally short and takes a very imperative tone. I read the whole thing in under 30 minutes. The problem is, with nuanced topics like communication, when you distill them down that far, you end up with recommendations like - I am not making these up, they are taken directly from the book:
"Be tolerant of different viewpoints"
"Contain the outbursts"
"Show respect"
Those are particularly egregious examples, but my point remains, as I read this book every page just felt blindingly obvious.
That would be fine, if the book were evocative and resonated. Plenty of books in this genre tell us what we already know but do so in an emotional way so that it really sticks, or speaks to us anew. Patrick Lencioni's "Five Dysfunctions of a Team" is a great example - the whole book is an evocative 'fable', a story, with well-developed characters that bring his points to life.
By contrast, Talk Less, Say More distills even the stories down. Here's an example, verbatim:
"Sharon learned the hard way that firing off an e-mail was not the right way to thank the vice president who interviewed her. The vice president chose another equally qualified applicant, in part because the other applicant took the time to send a handwritten thank-you note. Sharon lost the job by not noticing that the vice president valued a personal approach. If she'd scanned his desk during the interview, she would have noticed many handwritten notes."
That's not evocative at all. All of the stories are just like that - very matter-of-fact with no interesting characters or anything memorable. There's nothing emotional to any of them.
In fact, I found nothing emotionally compelling about the entire book, and that's why I say that if this information *is* new to you, I doubt you'll be able to meaningfully use it. Dieken provides checklists at the end of each section for what points you should work on, but if you have the self-awareness to fill out those checklists, then by definition you don't need them.
I'm sure when Ms. Dieken works personally with clients, they benefit immensely because she's able to observe them and give personalized feedback, but the value isn't just in the words she's saying but her demeanor, her engagement, her personal connection: all the things she talks dispassionately about in this book.
Some people might find this an entertaining read, but it's hard to imagine anyone reading this book and actually using it to become a better communicator.Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen Overview

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Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss Review

Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss
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Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss ReviewThe best business books are brief, clear and pertinent. Monday Morning Leadership fits all of those requirements.
You can read the whole book in a few minutes . . . and think about and apply what you learned for a lifetime.
The format is around a man who's struggling as a manager. His operation isn't performing well. His boss isn't happy. He's not happy. He doesn't have time to be with his family or to do what he likes to do. It looks like his career has peaked . . . and his job may be in jeopardy. What to do?
If that sounds familiar, almost everyone has had that experience who has taken on a management role.
Jeff decides to do something about it. He contacts an old family friend, Tony Pierce, who has had a very successful business career. Tony has agreed to meet with Jeff for eight weeks on Monday mornings.
In their eight sessions, Jeff learns the following lessons:
1. He has to accept total responsibility for results without excuses and to think like a leader rather than a manager or follower.
2. Be sure everyone knows what the main thing is that they have to accomplish and keep their faith in you as a leader.
3. Get closer to your people and help your top performers improve.
4. Act with integrity and prepare for how to handle problems before they occur.
5. Improve the team you have by only hiring high performers.
6. Manage your time carefully by looking for ways to save minutes wherever you can and by being more effective at whatever you do.
7. Encourage, recognize and respect your people.
8. Advance your learning by reading, being open to trying new things, listening, helping others, setting goals and always being professional and positive.
Those points make it sound like you don't need to read the book. You already knew most of those things, didn't you? But the story will embed the learning into your mind in powerful ways. Don't miss it!
I was especially impressed by Mr. Cottrell's ability to turn a phrase. The book abounds with aphorisms that you will find yourself remembering and possibly quoting as you coach your replacements. Many of the best ways are repeated on pages 97-101. Here's one of my favorites: "People quit people before they quit companies." Key principles are also summarized on pages 102-103.
This book would also make a great gift to some you know who is just starting out as a manager. The gift will be even more meaningful if you offer to coach that person as well.
Make a difference!Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss Overview

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It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy Review

It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy
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It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy ReviewThis book and its author have received a lot of media exposure, so I decided to check it out. While Abrashoff espouses proven leadership techniques, the only really new learning is how one man applied the principles on a Navy ship with a complement of 311 sailors. This is more a story of one man's awakening to how leadership is considerably more effective than management; how getting out of people's way is wiser than micromanaging them.
Leadership is emphasized in the book, and in every endorsement quote on the back cover. Yet, the subtitle says "management techniques," not "leadership techniques." Leadership did not come easy to Abrashoff; he had a lot of learning to do...and undo. As he moves through the chapters, this retired Navy Captain talks about his experiences in leading by example, listening, communicating purpose and meaning, creating a climate of trust, focusing on results, taking calculated risks, building people and unity, and strengthening quality of life.
Good leaders can tell you all about these concepts and how they are applied in their organization. Aspiring leaders and those who have not yet seen the light will be awe-struck by what Abrashoff accomplished. Solid, experienced leaders will see this book as more of a case study and a reinforcement of what they're already doing. As I have observed today's military leaders-as a citizen and as a consultant who has had the privilege of working with military leaders, the "system" is not as counterproductive as the author would lead us to believe. Bureaucracy is still bureaucracy, but Abrashoff is not alone in his practice of leadership skills.
Abrashoff applied leadership skills on his ship to achieve significant measurable results. I'm glad he documented his achievements so others might be inspired. I noted that he compared and linked his military experiences and perspectives to civilian applications. Through relationships with Fast Company magazine and other organizations, this author is now giving speeches and probably consulting. This book and the attendant publicity could be viewed as effective tools to position him as a sought-after speaker.
In all fairness, while the leadership principles and anecdotes from the USS Benfold are certainly present, this book struck me as more of an autobiography of the growth of a leader. For a treatise about leadership and considering the title, I was surprised to see such heavy use of first person pronouns in the writing.
Company owners and senior executives will find the book valuable as a case study of one man's experience. Managers will learn principles and techniques that can substantially improve their performance. Some readers will feel reinforced; others will feel discomforted by the heavy sense of ego and rationalization. It's a shame that Abrashoff did not choose to stay in the Navy to effect those changes he says are so needed; instead he left the service to write a book focused on two years of his work and hit the lecture circuit.It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy Overview

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