Leading Your Team Books

The full title of this book by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman is

Act On It: Solving 101 of the Toughest Management Challenges

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means it is Good and Well Worth Reading.

Here is my book review.

A handy reference to keep within arm’s reach

Some may think Google has made this book redundant. If you have a question, you can just go to your favourite search engine and ask “the wise men” out there.

Personally I feel there is still a use for the book. It’s hard to know who is giving the answers on Google and whether they are qualified. Yes you can read three answers but what if they are all fools? [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Verne Harnish is

“Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a FOUR Stars book, meaning that I think its in the range of good to very good.

Here is what I posted.

How you can grow past the normal constraints on growth

This is an interesting book which looks at how you can push past the constraints which stop most businesses from growing.

It’s split into four sections – people, strategy, execution and cash.

I started reading it and throughout the People section, I was convinced this was going to be a five star book but, the more I read, the more I was tempted to knock off one star. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Kenneth Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi and Drea Zigarmi is

“Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book the book a FIVE STARS rating. This means I think it is excellent.

Here is my book review.

The third excellent One Minute Manager book

This is the third One Minute Manager book I recommend without hesitation. The others are the update of the original book The New One Minute Manager (The One Minute Manager) and The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey (The One Minute Manager).

The original book introduced a simple model based on management by goals/objectives. The Monkey book stops delegation going badly wrong as you try to e supportive in the wrong way. This book introduces situational leadership although it’s probably more accurate to call it situational management. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Kenneth Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles is

Gung Ho!: How To Motivate People In Any Organization

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.

Here is my book review.

American Indian based fable on how to get employees working better but it lacks substance

This book promises to teach you how to motivate people in any organisation so you can increase productivity, profits and your own prosperity.

It tells the story of how Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw (an American Indian), that is a new plant manager and the manager of one department regarded as troublesome saved the plant from threatened closure by making the work force Gung Ho!

It is written as a true story but I have my doubts and there is a sentimentality in the book that I found hard to take. It starts with the deathbed scene as Peggy promises to share the secrets with the world after Andy dies.

The book presents the three secrets to turning a business Gung Ho and while it is a short book, it still seemed padded out to me and could have been told more precisely.

The three secrets can be found in nature – hence the American Indian in the story:

1 – The Spirit of the Squirrel – basically the idea that people work best when they know they are doing worthwhile work.
2 – The Way of the Beaver – give your employees control over how they achieve the goals
3 – The Gift of the Goose – cheer each other on as work improves and the business becomes more successful.

As normal with the Ken Blanchard / One Minute Manager books, it is easy to read (once you can stomach the sentimentality) and while the main messages are not brought out in the text so you can quickly scan for them, there is a two page summary of each way to Gung Ho at the end of the book.

I am a Ken Blanchard fan of the “common-sense lessons” told in a simple story form but I was disappointed by this book. The basic ideas of are sound and the link to nature has interest to me but I found myself thinking “is that it?” when I’d finished.

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The full title of this book by Gary Cohen is

“Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions“.

In my review posted to Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is Good and Well Worth Reading.

Here is my book review.

A good book to dip into when you come up against a new management problem

The book is written on the premise that leaders are much more successful if they ask their team questions to focus attention and action rather than if they issue commands on the basis of “I’m the boss. I know best and you must do what I say.”

The book is based on interviews with nearly 100 highly effective leaders as well as the author’s own knowledge and experience. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Ken Blanchard, John Britt, Pat Zigarmi and Judd Hoekstra is

Who Killed Change?: Solving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars.

Here is my review.

A nice idea but done badly when the author is usually so good

The full title “Who Killed Change? Solving The Mystery Of Leading People Through Change” gives some hints that this shocking book is business training wrapped up in a murder mystery story. [continue reading…]

The full title of this famous book by Jan Carlzon is

“Moments of Truth: New Strategies for Today’s Customer-Driven Economy“.

In my review posted at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the Four Stars level. This means I think it’s Good and Well Worth Reading.

Here is my book review.

A powerful story of leadership for customer service

Jan Carlzon shares the story of his turnaround of three Scandinavian airline businesses and in particular the biggest – SAS – in the early eighties.

The focus is on customer service and leadership and in particular empowering the front line who deal with customers to deliver powerful moments of truth and make this a classic leadership for customer service book. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Cameron Herold is

“Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less“.

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the Four Stars level. This means it is Good and Well Worth Reading.

Here is my book review.

Helps good companies become great

The aim of this book is to help entrepreneurs to double sales and profit in 3 years. That’s the equivalent of 25% growth per year thanks to the magic of compounding.

I thought this was a well written book for helping good companies to become great. It’s particularly strong on leadership, organisational culture and team building. It also has some useful tips on how to grow within a recession including some that are counter-intuitive. [continue reading…]

The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

Book Review – 5 Stars

If you have problems managing your team then I highly recommend this short, simple, easy to read The One Minute Manager.

The One Minute Manager – Simple Ideas Make A Big Difference To How Well Your Employees Work

The big ideas in the One Minute Manager book come down to three simple techniques

• One Minute Goal Setting

• One Minute Praisings

• One Minute Reprimands

That is all there is to it. [continue reading…]