Serve to Lead®--Your Transformational 21st Century Leadership System Review

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Serve to Lead®--Your Transformational 21st Century Leadership System Review
What we have in this substantial volume is a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effect system that will enable aspiring leaders to understand what Martin Luther King, Jr., meant when asserting that "everyone can be great, because everyone can serve...You don't have to have a college degree to serve, You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve...You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love." You also need what Strock offers in this book: an abundance of practical advice that will provide invaluable assistance as the reader proceeds through the four-week process which is central to Strock's "Serve to Lead" system. Throughout his lively and thought-provoking narrative, he anchors his insights in real-world situations and rigorously examines the major leadership styles and those who best exemplify them.
He poses identifies and then explains "Ten Principles of Twenty-First Century Leadership" (Pages 26-64) that serve collectively as the ideological foundation of the "Serve to Lead" system. Strock also realizes the truth of what Thomas Edison once observed, "Vision without execution is hallucination." Therefore, most of his attention throughout the book is focused on explaining HOW to apply those principles in effective service to others.
Early in the book, Strock poses four questions that only each reader can answer. They are:
"Who are you serving?"
COMMENT: It is impossible to lead others effectively unless and until we are both willing and able to assume leadership of our own lives. Consider these lines from a poem that helped Nelson Mandela to survive more than years of solitary confinement in prison, William Ernest Henley's Invictus:
"I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."
"How can you serve best?"
COMMENT: Just as we cannot be everywhere at once, we cannot serve everyone everywhere all the time. Strock urges his reader to select those relationships and those situations in which we can be of greatest service to those in greatest need.
"Are you making a unique contribution?"
COMMENT: This is best considered in combination with the second (previous) question but there are subtle differences, notably the reference to "unique." Each of us has special gifts, special talents, etc. If I understand Strock on this point (and I may not), he is stressing the importance of making a difference in a way that is unique to us. In a workplace, for example, some people have a special talent for formulating and then expressing constructive criticism; others have a "sixth sense" for recognizing when someone needs encouragement; still others have an uncanny ability to focus on a problems causes rather than on its symptoms.
"Are you getting better every day?"
COMMENT: I interpret this to have two key points: Increase the value of assistance to each individual served, and, increase the number of those who are served. Can I become a better listener? Can I ask better questions? Can I become more alert to the "messages" that tone-of-voice and body language send?
Before concluding this brief commentary, I want to discuss the four-week program that Strock recommends, one that will help aspiring servant leaders to get their values in alignment with their life experiences.
Weeks One and Two: Audit allocation of resources (especially hours and dollars) to serving others
Week Three: Conduct a rigorous evaluation of most important relationships in all domains (i.e. home, at work, in the community) to determine how each can be strengthened
Week Four: Move to the next level by reviewing and evaluating core values, ongoing thought patterns, routines, and "habitual ways in which you process and respond to your life as you experience it."
The details of HOW to accomplish these worthy objectives are best revealed in context but I do not hesitate to suggest that James Strock is both an idealistic and a pragmatist, one who is determined to do all he can to help each reader to become an increasingly more effective leader through high-impact service to others.Serve to Lead®--Your Transformational 21st Century Leadership System Overview

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Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life Review

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Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life ReviewI sell 1500 audio visual training products and 1000 book titles from the worlds leading authors such as Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn etc etc. I have therefore listened to about 200 tape programmes and read about 90 books on success, in the last few years.
I recomend very few books as most are rehashed versions of classic authors such as Napolean Hill, Robert Allen etc etc.
This book by Tommy Newberry, is rehashed material. There is nothing new or mind blowing in this book. When reading it you will read Zig, Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, N Hill, Maxwell Maltz etc.
What makes this book very very good is the way he brings you to conclusions, without you realising you have done it. An example; I have always struggled trying to set goals, usually the authors get you to brainstorm, pick a few suggestions and use them as goals. Newberry doesn't mention picking goals until chapter 3. By chapter 3, with your assignment work from the prevoius 2 chapters, the author has brought you to the right conclusions so you can EASILY set your 3 year goals.
His approach is brilliant, each chapter builds up to the next one, so logical are the conclusions, you never have to jump a massive mental valley to find answers to the questions posed in the assignments at the end of each chapter.
The author brilliantly takes you several steps futher than a mere goal setting book, he teaches you the basic fundementals of Physco Cybernetics and Visualisation. If you study success/goal setting and have failed in the past to get results, it will be down to the fact you have not reprogammed your "servomechanism" as in Physco Cybernetics/Visualisation. This book teaches you what other goal setting books do not, combing Maxwell Maltz's Cybernetics to Lee Pulos's work on visualisation.
If I could give this book 10 stars I would because this book has got it all. The only thing it does not have is an author who loves himself, and loves telling his audience how great he is. A refreshing change from some other authors!
HIGHLY RECOMENDEDSuccess Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life Overview

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The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World Review

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The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World ReviewEdit of 11 Sep 08 to add links.
This book should be read together with Imagine: What America Could be in the 21st century, edited by Marianne Williamson. Taken together, the two books are inspirational while still being practical.
Cultural Creatives as a book, and some of the other reviews, tend to over-sell the success of the emergence of an alternative lifestyle to Traditionalists (stereotyped as somewhat red neckish and religious rightists) and Moderns (stereotyped as ravish the earth anything-goes corporate carpetbaggers). The reality is that there are as many "cultural creatives" as there are people with disabilities in the United States--50 million. Not one quarter of the population, as one reviewer claims.
Having said that, by way of somber stage-setting, I cannot say enough good things about this book. It should be required reading for every citizen, every student, and every public official. In a very real sense, this book strikes me as a truly seminal work that could help millions of individuals reframe their personal connection to one another, to their Republic, and to the earth.
This is neither a tree-hugger book nor a mantras R us book. This book provides a thoughtful review of how different movements--first the environmental movement, then the human rights movement, and finally the consciousness movement--have come together to define an alternative lifestyle and alternative paradigm for political and economic and social relationships in the larger context of a sustainable "whole" earth.
I found this book motivational and meaningful at both a personal level and a larger national level. At the personal level, its detailed and well-organized description of fifteen very distinct aspects of a "cultural creative" lifestyle helped me understand--as it has helped many others--that there is actually a category of people who have come to grips with and found solutions that enrich their lives--and this explains my great disappointment that the book does not offer a "resources" section at the end. I would have been very glad to discover, for example, a "Cultural Creative" journal or magazine that combined a strong book review section, art and culture, a consumer reports section tailored to the higher standards of the "CCs", new innovations in home restoration and remodeling, vacation options known to be attractive to CCs, etcetera.
At the higher political level, I found the book constructive and just this side of a tipping point. An increasing number of people, all of them generally outside of Washington and not associated with Wall Street, clearly have some strong positive values and a real commitment to achieving reform through "many small actions". What this group has lacked is a means of communicating and orchestrating itself on a scale sufficient to demand respect from politicians and corporation. The Internet now provides such a vehicle--and as the Internet explodes from 3.5M people worldwide to 3.5B people worldwide, in the next ten years, I am convinced that Cultural Creatives may finally come into their own as a new form of global political party. Cultural Creatives would sign the Kyoto Treaty (and know what it is); Cultural Creatives would demand a 100% increase--from a half-penny a dollar to a full penny a dollar--in America's foreign diplomatic and humanitarian assistance budget--and Cultural Creatives could conceivably give the Republican Party a real beating in the next Congressional elections if President Bush persists in breaking his campaign vow on reducing carbon emissions. A peaceful revolution in our national agenda may truly be a near-term reality.
This is not a book where a summary can do it justice. It needs to be experienced at an individual level and ideally also at a community level, where it could be understood and accepted as a common point of reference for individual choosing to live "in relation" to one another and to the world, at a level much higher and more satisfying than our current arrangements. When this book makes it to the best-seller list, America will have matured and there will be hope for our children's future quality of life.
Other books along these lines:
The leadership of civilization building: Administrative and civilization theory, symbolic dialogue, and citizen skills for the 21st century
How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Updated Edition
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (Helix Books)
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
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The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self Review

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The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self ReviewThis is classic Csikszentmihalyi. He and Rochberg-Halton hit the ball out of the park!
History, scientific analysis, a survey and the ability to hold it all together blend to enable the reader to get a glimpse of a sustainable future. This book is like a good play, the intriguing teaser front end, the slogging thru volumes of information, the wondering if you should walk out during the intermission because of TMI (too much information), and the roller coaster ride you get once the story tips into the final run to the climax.
The authors begin to see patterns flowing from their survey that reach way beyond their initial hopes and they are able to gather this information, combine it with historical and scientific data, and pitch a proactive and beautifully simple way of beginning to transform our understanding of ourselves so that we may engage meaningful challenges and new ways of reflectionThe Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self Overview

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Web Analytics: An Hour a Day Review

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Web Analytics: An Hour a Day Review'Web Analytics: An Hour a Day' describes in an absorbing and insightful way the most important topics for a Web Analyst or any professional related to the management of a website. Topics covered include: basic terminology, tool selection/implementation, online segmentation, conversion rates improvement, competitive analysis, and many others.
The Business trinity, created by Avinash, is a very powerful business process that can radically improve the performance of online efforts. It is also the spirit of the book. Avinash describes the trinity as follows: "The goal of the Trinity mindset is to power the generation of actionable insights. Its goal is not to do reporting. Its goal is not to figure out how to spam decision makers with data. Actionable Insights & Metrics are the uber-goal simply because they drive strategic differentiation and a sustainable competitive advantage (...) The Trinity mindset empowers you to Understand the customer experience so explicitly that you can influence the right customer behavior which will lead to win-win outcomes for the company and its customers."
The book is indispensable to those who want to understand and practice the art and science of web analytics. It is organized in a very friendly way, turning the reading into a pleasant break amid the rush of day-to-day duties; like a challenging conversation. It is rich in examples, facilitating the understanding of the `what', `how', and `why' of online measurement strategies.
I have profited from Avinash's writings in various situations; the practical advices given in the book are clear and bring great results. I warmly recommend reading this book and following the author's blog.Web Analytics: An Hour a Day Overview

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The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks Review

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The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks Review+++++
Self-rate yourself on a scale from 1 (meaning little agreement) to 5 (meaning strongly agree) on the following ten items:
(1) In a crisis or chaotic situation, I calm myself and focus on taking useful actions.
(2) I'm usually optimistic, seeing difficulties as temporary and believe things will eventually turn out well.
(3) I can tolerate high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity.
(4) I'm good at bouncing back from difficulties and quickly adapt to new developments.
(5) I'm self-confident and have a healthy concept of who I am.
(6) I prefer to work without a written job description since I'm more effective when I'm free to do what I think is best in each situation.
(7) I trust my intuition and "read" people well.
(8) I'm a good listener and have good empathy skills.
(9) I've been made stronger and better by difficult experiences.
(10) I've converted misfortune into good luck and even found benefits in bad experiences.
A low score of (under 25) means your resiliency skills are weak and you would greatly benefit from this amazing, easy-to-read, psychobabble-free book by Dr. Al Siebert, a clinical psychologist and Director of "The Resiliency Center". (`Resiliency' means (i) coping well with ongoing negative change (ii) sustaining good health and energy under constant pressure (iii) bouncing back from setbacks and adversities (iv) changing to a new way of living and working when an old way no longer works (v) and doing all this without acting in harmful ways.)
A middle score of (25 to 45) means your resiliency skills are adequate but probably can be greatly enhanced by using this book.
A high score of (over 45) means you have good resiliency skills and this book will validate many things you are doing right.
This book in a nutshell presents five resiliency "levels" or skills (level four is divided into 4 sub-levels while level 5 is divided into 3 sub-levels) so, in effect, the reader is presented with ten essential resiliency skills that Siebert has distilled from "the emerging new science of resiliency psychology." This book, besides other important things, shows you how to:
(1) Sustain strong, healthy energy in non-stop pressure and change
(2) Bounce back quickly from setbacks
(3) Gain strength from adversities
(4) Convert misfortune into good fortune
(5) Overcome tendencies to feel like a victim, and stay detached from victim reactions of others
(6) Overcome the three main resiliency barriers.
Who is this book written for? Siebert explains: "The resiliency guidelines in this book focus mainly on resiliency in the workplace, but they apply broadly to all aspects of life." (Actually, I think Siebert is being too restrictive in saying that these principles "focus mainly on resiliency in the workplace." Personally, I think these principles are essential to know so as to effectively play the game of life.)
What will this book NOT tell you? It "will not tell you what to do or how to act or think...Resilient people are those who decide that somehow, some way, they will do the very best they can to survive, cope, and make things turn out well." This book helps you develop your own unique way of being resilient by being both self-reliant and socially responsible.
As a physically disabled person, my personal favorite chapter was entitled "Mastering Extreme Resiliency Challenges." Included here are true stories from 9/11 survivors. I feel Siebert outdoes himself in this penultimate chapter.

Finally, this book has some key features. Important definitions, exercises, and other important and essential information are isolated from the main narrative as inserts so as to highlight key ideas. Each chapter is broken up into sections with anecdotes, examples, and true stories instead of having one long narrative. At the end of each chapter are insightful "Resiliency Development Activities" that help you utilize and think about the information from each chapter.
In conclusion, this is truly a helpful and unique book. Discover for yourself why this book was named the winner of the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the "Self Help" category at BookExpo America (the largest book publishing event in the United States) and why it was endorsed by the past president of the American Psychological Association!!
(first published 2005; preface; 13 chapters; main narrative 200 pages; notes; index; acknowledgements; about the author)
+++++
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The Business of Consulting, (CD-ROM Included): The Basics and Beyond (Essential Knowledge Resource) Review

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The Business of Consulting, (CD-ROM Included): The Basics and Beyond (Essential Knowledge Resource) ReviewI purchased The Business of Consulting, (CD-ROM Included): The Basics and Beyond (Essential Knowledge Resource) shortly after its publication. It has been a Godsend! Like most consultants, I'm an expert in my chosen area of consultation, which happens to be human behavior in the workplace. However, I found myself in desperate need of step-by-step guidance when it came to establishing and doing business. Your book and Alan Weiss's, Million Dollar Consulting, have become the Old and New Testaments of my Business Bible.
I established my consulting firm late last year. After reading several books on how to start a consulting practice, I found The Business of Consulting to be the most helpful. Reading the first two chapters allowed me the opportunity to reexamine my reasons for getting into consulting as well as putting on paper what I actually bring to the table to be a successful businesswoman.
Chapter four, "Starting..." and chapter five, "...And Staying In Business", along with the CD-ROM of exhibits were particularly helpful to me. I cannot stress enough the importance of developing a comprehensive written business plan. Even if you're not looking for outside funding, a comprehensive business plan will guide you when you feel the need to be all things to all people. The best advice I received from The Business of Consulting book was "Go for the Big Fish; You'll Spend the Same Time Baiting the Hook." That statement was worth the price of the book. As the new kid on the block, I labored under the misassumption that I needed to start with smaller companies and earn a reputation. I soon discovered that smaller companies could not afford my services. I spent too much time presenting to people who wanted to haggle price. When I refined my market niche, I began to get the type of business I needed and desired. Now I market consulting services only to companies that need my services and can well afford my fee.
I realize that some people have disparaged The Business of Consulting as being "fluff" or void of substance. I take issue with such assessments because The Business of Consulting did, for me, what I feel the author purposed it to do; it guided me in creating a sound business foundation. Furthermore, when I face a business management problem, The Business of Consulting is the first source I turn to for a solution. Most importantly, The Business of Consulting continues to help me as I strategize for continuous growth.
I highly recommend The Business of Consulting as an excellent business development resource manual.The Business of Consulting, (CD-ROM Included): The Basics and Beyond (Essential Knowledge Resource) Overview

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The Gift - A Revolution in Networking Mastery Review

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The Gift - A Revolution in Networking Mastery ReviewI read this book in one sitting because it was too good to put down. For anyone who is a business owner, employee, family member or friend, this book is a must read. This book with help you with your business but more importantly, all your relationships. It simply teaches you how to contribute.The Gift - A Revolution in Networking Mastery Overview

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The Attractional Church: Growth Through a Refreshing, Relational, and Relevant Church Experience Review

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The Attractional Church: Growth Through a Refreshing, Relational, and Relevant Church Experience ReviewThe first book I've read that paints a positive picture of the Attractional Church! I recommend it for Pastors and Church Planters. Especially if you are looking to be Refreshing, Relational and Relevant!
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The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization Review

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The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization Review
With Jonathan Littman, Kelley provides in this volume a wealth of information and counsel which can help any decision-maker to "drive creativity" through her or his organization but only if initiatives are (a) a collaboration which receives the support and encouragement of senior management (especially of the CEO) and (b) sufficient time is allowed for those initiatives to have a measurable impact. There is a distressing tendency throughout most organizations to rip out "seedlings" to see how well they are "growing." Six Sigma programs offer a compelling example. Most are abandoned within a month or two. Why? Unrealistic expectations, cultural barriers (what Jim O'Toole characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom"), internal politics, and especially impatience are among the usual suspects. That said, I agree with countless others (notably Amabile, Christensen, Claxton, de Bono, Drucker, Kelley, Kim and Mauborgne, Michalko, Ray, and von Oech) that innovation is now the single most decisive competitive advantage. How to establish and then sustain that advantage?
In an earlier work, The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm, Kelley shares IDEO's five-step methodology: Understand the market, the client, the technology, and the perceived constraints on the given problem; observe real people in real-life situations; literally visualize new-to-the-world concepts AND the customers who will use them; evaluate and refine the prototypes in a series of quick iterations; and finally, implement the new concept for commercialization. With regard to the last "step", as Bennis explains in Organizing Genius, Apple executives immediately recognized the commercial opportunities for PARC's technology. Larry Tesler (who later left PARC for Apple) noted that Jobs and colleagues (especially Wozniak) "wanted to get it out to the world." But first, obviously, the challenge was to create that "it" which they then did.
In this volume, as Kelley explains, his book is "about innovation with a human face. [Actually, at least ten...hence its title.] It's about the individuals and teams that fuel innovation inside great organizations. Because all great movements are human-powered." He goes on to suggest that all good working definitions of innovation pair ideas with action, "the spark with fire. Innovators don't just have their heads in the clouds. They also have their feet on the ground." Kelley cites and then examines several exemplary ("great") organizations which include Google, W.L. Gore & Associates, the Gillette Company, and German retailer Tchibo. I especially appreciate the fact that Kelley focuses on the almost unlimited potential for creativity of individuals and the roles which they can play, "the hats they can put on, the personas they can adopt...[albeit] unsung heroes who work on the front lines of entrepreneurship in action, the countless people and teams who make innovation happen day in and day out."
Because organizations need individuals who are savvy about the counterintuitive process of how to move ideas forward, Kelley recommends three "Organizing Personas": The Hurdler, The Collaborator, and The Director.
Because organizations also need individuals and teams who apply insights from the learning roles and channel the empowerment from the organizing roles to make innovation happen, Kelley recommends four "Building personas": The Experience Architect, The Set Designer, The Caregiver, and The Storyteller. Note both the sequence, interrelatedness and, indeed, the interdependence of these ten "personas."
I am reminded of comparable material in A Kick in the Seat of the Pants. Specifically, Roger von Oech's discussion of what he calls "The Four Roles of the Creative Process" (i.e. Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior). Also Six Thinking Hats in which Edward de Bono explains the need for a creativity "wardrobe" comprised of several hats. Specifically, white (rational, logical, and objective), red (emotional), black (negative), yellow (positive, hopeful, optimistic), green (creative and innovative), and blue (ordered, controlled, structured).
What Kelley achieves in this volume is to develop in much greater depth than do von Oech and de Bono what are essentially ten different perspectives. He does so, brilliantly, by focussing the bulk of his attention of those who, for example, seek and explore new opportunities to reveal breakthrough insights...and while doing so wear (at least metaphorically) one of de Bono's hats (probably the green one). Kelley devotes a separate chapter to each of the ten "personas," including real-world examples of various "unsung heroes who work on the front lines of entrepreneurship in action, the countless people and teams who make innovation happen day in and day out."
Two final points. First, most of those who read this book can more easily identify with "unsung heroes" such as those whom Kelley discusses than with luminaries of innovation such as Thomas Edison or with celebrity CEOs such as Andrew Grove, Jeffrey Immelt, Steve Jobs, and Jack Welch, all of whom were staunch advocates of constant innovation in their respective organizations. Also, presumably Kelley agrees with me that those who read and then (hopefully) re-read his book should do so guided by a process which begins with the curiosity of an anthropologist and concludes with the empathy of a caregiver. This is emphatically not an anthology of innovation recipes. Rather, it offers a rigorous intellectual journey whose ultimate value will be determined, entirely, by the nature and extent of innovative thinking which each reader achieves...and who then uses the breakthrough insights to drive creativity throughout her or his own organization.The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization Overview

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The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team Review

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The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team ReviewDr. Maxwell has taken on a very difficult challenge in this book. He looks at effective teams from the perspective of being a better team member, playing various roles in a successful team, and being a team leader . . . all in the same book! If you are like me, you will feel that he has carried off the challenge well.
The format of the book will be familiar to those who have read Dr. Maxwell's excellent leadership books. In this case, there are 17 laws, with each one being comprised of additional elements. Each law has one or two overriding examples, and then many small examples . . . usually as one for each subpoint. At the end of each law's section, you have questions to answer and assignments to do. This aspect of the book is like having a workbook to help you begin to apply the lessons to your own situation.
The book begins with a key question, "Will your involvement with others be successful?" In emphasizing that all 17 laws are important, Dr. Maxwell starts out with an anecdote about how a young leader absolutely insisted on knowing what one thing was most important about teams. Dr. Maxwell thought and told the young man that it was that there was no one most important thing about teams. In the end, the same point is made by observing that good chemistry (not one of the 17 laws) only occurs on a team when all 17 laws are being observed.
Here is my rephrasing of the 17 laws:
(1) By combining their efforts and talents, teams can outperform any individual. Anyone who has seen a great player brought down by a special effort from the opposing team will know the truth of that observation.
(2) Team players have to subordinate their self-interests on behalf of the team's purpose. In the NBA, the teams with ball hogs don't win championships. I find that this law is violated more often than it is followed.
(3) Each team player can add a greater contribution when in the correct role. If you turned a great linebacker into a tight end, the results usually wouldn't be as good.
(4) The more difficult the goal, the more important the teamwork. The example used here is climbing Mount Everest and the hard work that dozens of people have to do so that two people can climb atop the peak. Most teams suffer from having weak or inappropriate goals. Spend time on this area . . . and take on something worth doing!
(5) The team's results will only be as good as the performance of the weakest person. The poor leadership by the captain of the Exxon Valdez is used as an example.
(6) People on the team have to find ways to spark the team on to greater accomplishment. Michael Jordan during his years with the Bulls is the example.
(7) Teams need a vision of what needs to be accomplished to inform and inspire their efforts. If the company leader doesn't do this, then someone on the team must. IBM's improved marketing under Lou Gerstner's time as CEO is the key example.
(8) Bad attitudes can spoil great talent. You are better building great attitudes on the team than having great talent. Ideally, you should try to have both.
(9) Team members need to be able to rely on one another. Many people have trouble either trusting others or being trustworthy. Many teams find that exercises can help. There is a terrific example of demolishing the Omni in Atlanta using explosives that makes this point well.
(10) Be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to do what needs to be done. Most people know what should be done, but are not able to discipline themselves or the team to get there. The book describes the opportunity that Montgomery Ward missed to become a retail department store ahead of Sears in the early 20th century.
(11) Keep track of your progress to focus your attention. Think of this as keeping score. When you are not meeting your quantitative goals, you should adapt.
(12) You need to have lots of people who can play the same roles. When one person isn't being effective, you should substitute. This gives your team the chance to benefit from more perspectives, creativity, and energy.
(13) Build from shared values that everyone on the team has. I think this is extremely important. If someone doesn't have the same values as the team, you should not have them on the team. In most cases, teams ignore this point. That's a big mistake!
(14) Great communications are essential. Otherwise, you just work at cross-purposes.
(15) The team's leadership will make the difference when all else is equal.
(16) With everyone is feeling good about the team, hurdles can be overcome. There is the moving story of Ms. Kerri Strug making her vault in the 1996 Olympics while severely injured and overcoming the pain to get the points needed for the U.S. women to win the gold medal for gymnastics.
(17) Keep doing what works for teams, and the results get even better with time. I enjoyed reading about Morgan Wootten, a high school basketball coach with an 87 percent winning average over 40 years who was inducted into the basketball hall of fame.
As you can see from some of the examples I cited from the book, one of Dr. Maxwell's great strengths as a writer is that he picks terrific examples and puts them into interesting, brief anecdotes.
After you finish this book, I suggest that you think about who else you need to be a better teammate for. Be sure to include at least your spouse, your family, your colleagues at work, your neighbors, those you volunteer with, and those who are like minded about important social goals.
Build from a sound plan and foundation to reach higher than has occurred before!
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team Overview

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