It's Personal, Not Personnel


Book Description

There has never been a more important time -- in corporate America and in the American military -- for leaders, at all levels, to understand how to invest in people. This book teaches you to do just that. Written by a 27-year Army Colonel, veteran and leader of more than 5,000 troops in the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, It's Personal, Not Personnel: Leadership Lessons for the Battlefield and the Boardroom offers true stories and practical frameworks you can apply to the people in your organization and on your team. Whether from lack of will, experience or training, many leaders pay lip service to investing in people. Instead, they manage them on spreadsheets and in HR-focused software applications without personal consideration, failing to truly know them, care for them or establish healthy, fulfilling environments in which they can work and serve. Leaders focus on task completion, blind to the true effect it has on a person and his or her family. Those appointed to guide and delegate -- in business and in the armed forces -- often miss the opportunity to create a people-centric environment where productivity and efficiency will improve. It's less about making mechanics, IT managers or soldiers better at their trade, and it's more about making people better people. Explore the intricacies of personal connection in the workplace by following Rob Campbell through his own experiences leading large teams in high-stakes work, and then learn to apply those insights to your own work as a leader. It's all too easy for leaders to misplace their primary focus on customers and investors, and even on their own over-committed schedules, when the most important thing they could be doing is investing in their people. By understanding that leadership is personal, you will begin to understand that all workplace challenges -- productivity issues, efficiency issues, turnover problems, lack of employee engagement -- all come down to whether employees are being acknowledged, valued and understood. Through his own applications of people-first processes, Rob Campbell will instruct you in how to reinforce your team, identify weaknesses to be strengthened and expand your definition of conscious leadership. If you are a leader in any capacity, whether in the boardroom or on the battlefield, this book will teach you to embrace the soul of powerful leadership: guiding and empowering people to enable every teammate to play to their greatest strengths and aptitudes. It's time to understand what makes your people tick, and to lead them in new and better ways.




It's Your Ship


Book Description

The legendary New York Times bestselling tale of top-down change for anyone trying to navigate today's uncertain business seas. When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of USS Benfold, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. Knowing that responsibility for improving performance rested with him, he realized he had to improve his own leadership skills before he could improve his ship. Within months, he created a crew of confident and inspired problem-solvers eager to take the initiative and responsibility for their actions. The slogan on board became "It's your ship," and Benfold was soon recognized far and wide as a model of naval efficiency. How did Abrashoff do it? Against the backdrop of today's United States Navy, Abrashoff shares his secrets of successful management including: See the ship through the eyes of the crew: By soliciting a sailor's suggestions, Abrashoff drastically reduced tedious chores that provided little additional value. Communicate, communicate, communicate: The more Abrashoff communicated the plan, the better the crew's performance. His crew eventually started calling him "Megaphone Mike," since they heard from him so often. Create discipline by focusing on purpose: Discipline skyrocketed when Abrashoff's crew believed that what they were doing was important. Listen aggressively: After learning that many sailors wanted to use the GI Bill, Abrashoff brought a test official aboard the ship-and held the SATs forty miles off the Iraqi coast. From achieving amazing cost savings to winning the highest gunnery score in the Pacific Fleet, Captain Abrashoff's extraordinary campaign sent shock waves through the U.S. Navy. It can help you change the course of your ship, no matter where your business battles are fought.




This Time It's Personal Level 6


Book Description

Violent crime suddenly becomes personal for New York private investigator, Nathan Marley. A relative of Stella Delgado, Marley's assistant, is arrested for a brutal murder, and unidentified bodies are washed up on a beach. Marley's search for the truth takes him to the Russian American community where he finds a wall of silence. Behind the wall, there is trade in illegal immigration and a lot of dirty money.




The Personal Librarian


Book Description

The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Good Morning America* Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! Named a Notable Book of the Year by the Washington Post! “Historical fiction at its best!”* A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection. But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American. The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.




It Worked for Me


Book Description

New York Times Bestselling Author Colin Powell, one of America’s most admired public figures, reveals the unique lessons that shaped his life and career It Worked for Me is a collection of lessons and personal anecdotes that shaped four star-general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s legendary career in public service. At its heart are Powell’s “Thirteen Rules,”—notes he accumulated on his desk that served as the basis for the leadership presentations he delivered throughout the world. Powell’s short-but-sweet rules such as “Get mad, then get over it” and “Share credit,” are illuminated by revealing personal stories that introduce and expand on his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and above all, respect for others. In work and life, Powell writes, “It is the human gesture that counts.” A compelling storyteller, Powell shares parables both humorous and solemn that offer wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond. “Trust your people,” he councils as he delegates presidential briefing responsibilities to two junior aides. “Do your best--someone is watching,” he advises those just starting out, recalling his own teenage summer job shipping cases of soda. Powell combines the insight he gained serving in the top ranks of the military and in four presidential administrations, as well as the lessons learned from his hardscrabble upbringing in the Bronx and his training in the ROTC. The result is a powerful portrait of a leader who was reflective, self-effacing, and grateful for the contributions of every employee, no matter how junior. Powell’s writing--straightforward, accessible, and often very funny--will inspire, move, and surprise readers. Thoughtful and revealing, his book is a brilliant and original blueprint for leadership.




Extreme Ownership


Book Description

An updated edition of the blockbuster bestselling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations. From promising startups to Fortune 500 companies, Babin and Willink have helped scores of clients across a broad range of industries build their own high-performance teams and dominate their battlefields. Now, detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team, family or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership revolutionizes business management and challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.




The Ideal Team Player


Book Description

In his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.




Corporate Confidential


Book Description

Cynthia Shapiro is a former Human Resources executive who's pulling back the curtain on the way that companies really work. In Corporate Confidential, she unmasks startling truths and what you can do about them, including: * There's no right to free speech in the workplace. *Age discrimination exists. * Why being too smart is not too smart. * Human Resources is not there to help you, but to protect the company from you. * And forty-five more! Cynthia Shapiro pulls no punches, giving readers an inside look at a secret world of hidden agendas they would never normally see. A world of insider information and insights that can save a career!




The Type B Manager


Book Description

In The Type B Manager, Victor Lipman offers a unique lens through which to view the challenging problems of management. While management has long been considered the realm of Type A individuals—hard-driving, competitive high achievers—all too often these high-intensity traits aren’t effective when it comes to motivating your employees. Many characteristics of Type B individuals—being more relaxed, less competitive, more reflective, slower to anger—can be considered “people skills” that better influence motivation and productivity. And successful management after all is the practice of accomplishing work through other people. In a business landscape where 70 percent of employees are disengaged and not working at full productive capacity, Lipman focuses on practical tactical aspects of management viewed through a Type B lens, including: · Motivating and developing employees · Handling conflict, and · Engendering trust and respect He examines specific skills, behaviors, and situations where a Type B mindset is advantageous and suggests ways that self-described Type A managers can boost their effectiveness by adopting Type B approaches—and vice versa.




The Effective Executive


Book Description

The measure of the executive, Peter Drucker reminds us, is the ability to 'get the right things done'. Usually this involves doing what other people have overlooked, as well as avoiding what is unproductive. He identifies five talents as essential to effectiveness, and these can be learned; in fact, they must be learned just as scales must be mastered by every piano student regardless of his natural gifts. Intelligence, imagination and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that convert these into results. One of the talents is the management of time. Another is choosing what to contribute to the particular organization. A third is knowing where and how to apply your strength to best effect. Fourth is setting up the right priorities. And all of them must be knitted together by effective decision-making. How these can be developed forms the main body of the book. The author ranges widely through the annals of business and government to demonstrate the distinctive skill of the executive. He turns familiar experience upside down to see it in new perspective. The book is full of surprises, with its fresh insights into old and seemingly trite situations.