Blue-Collar Leadership & Teamwork


Book Description

"The most valuable player is the one that makes the most players valuable." Peyton Manning In today's high stakes game of business, the players on the team are the competitive advantage for any organization. But, only if they are on the field instead of on the bench. Blue-Collar Leadership(R) & Teamwork provides a simple, yet powerful and unique, resource for individuals who want to increase their influence and make a high impact. It's also a resource and tool for leaders, teams, and organizations, who are ready to Engage the Front Line to Improve the Bottom Line. After logging over 11,000 hours leading leaders and their teams through process improvement, organizational change, and cultural transformation, Mack reveals the 30 key character traits of high impact players. Mack explains why each trait is critical and how adopting and leveraging each trait will help you develop 360° of influence regardless of your position, title, or rank. High impact players do more than get results. They motivate and inspire their teammates to get results. Adopting and applying these traits will help you and your team climb to the next level and beyond. "My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar!" Sam M. VP/COO




Blue-Collar Leadership


Book Description

Finally, there is a book specifically created for the often overlooked and underdeveloped blue-collar workers on the front lines. My passion is to help leaders and organizations invest in those on the front lines or to help you invest in yourself. For the blue-collar workers I value so much: I've written the book I wish someone would have given me this book nearly 30 years ago when I started my career on the front lines. It would have changed my life then. It can change your life now. Separate yourself from the crowd quickly by learning how to master the traits High Impact leaders value most. You will learn how to get noticed for the right reasons and how to get promoted for the right reasons. You will learn how to become recognized as a front line leader worth following, and you don't need formal authority (position) because you will develop something better: moral authority (influence). I've made this book easy to read for the non-readers on the front lines. There are 30 chapters with 3 pages each. If you read a chapter a day (3 pages) you will easily complete the book in 1 month even if you're a non-reader. I've written this book specifically for the often overlooked great people with so much untapped potential on the front lines. If you're on the front lines it will help you better understand: - how to make an impact from where you are - how to be recognized for your abilities - how to position yourself well for promotions - how to increase your influence with your leaders and your teammates - how to be a better team player - how & why you should accept more responsibility - how to intentionally become more valuable to the company - how to become more valuable and successful as an individual - how to lead yourself well in order to create a better future for yourself This book will actually be great for anyone at any level in any industry, but the greatest value will be for those in the blue-collar world on the front lines along with the first few layers of front line leaders. Of course, higher level leaders also need to know and understand what's in this book to multiply the potential of those on the front lines.




Blue-collar Kaizen


Book Description

"Where there's a will, there's a way; where there's a team, there's more than one way." Rex Murphy The biggest challenge in process improvement and cultural transformation isn't identifying the problems. It's execution: implementing and sustaining the solutions. Until there is authentic respect for the people, there will not be authentic buy-in to the Lean initiative and the gains will not be sustained. Blue-Collar Kaizen is a resource for anyone in any position who is, or will be, leading a team through process improvement and change. This book will help you take the lead in creating a meaningful, and sustainable kaizen culture one kaizen team at a time. Learn to engage, empower, and encourage your team for long term buy-in and sustained gains. Learn what it means to truly have authentic "respect for the people." The people will always know if there is authentic respect. Not because they hear it, but because they feel it. Mack Story has over 11,000 hours of experience leading hundreds of leaders and thousands of their cross-functional kaizen team members through process improvement, organizational change, and cultural transformation. He shares lessons learned from his experience and many years of studying, teaching, and applying leadership principles.




Blue-Collar Leadership & Culture


Book Description

"It's easier to compete when you're attracting great people instead of searching for good people." Mack Story"We just can't find any good people." is a phrase Mack hears far too often as he speaks to and interacts with leaders all across the USA. If you or a member of your leadership team has ever spoken these words, this book was written specifically for you. It doesn't have to be this way.Blue-Collar Leadership(R) & Culture will help you understand why culture is the key to becoming a sought after employer of choice within your industry.Culture matters because those who work there will determine who wants to work there.Becoming a sought after employer means, "People who don't work at your organization have a strong desire to work there."Becoming an employer of choice means, "People who already work at your organization have a strong desire to continue working there."Mack wrote Blue-Collar Leadership(R) & Culture specifically for leaders who want to become THE sought after employer of choice within their industry and in their area of operations.Sought after employers of choice attract great people and don't spend their time and resources constantly searching for good people.Mack has logged over 11,000 hours leading leaders and their blue-collar teams through process improvement, organizational change, and cultural transformation and speaks with his wife, Ria Story, on personal growth and leadership development throughout the USA as they help leaders transform their cultures and develop high performance teams.Although leaders in all industries at all levels will benefit greatly from this book, Mack structured the content specifically for the top leader who has never led a cultural transformation but is curious to find out what will be required. He'll help you not only discover why you should transform your culture, but also what to do and how to do it. Therefore, Mack includes many references and links to additional resources throughout the book that will support and accelerate your cultural transformation.Blue-Collar Leadership(R) & Culture is intended to not only teach, but also to serve as a tool, a guide, and a transformational road map for leaders who want to create a high impact culture that will become their greatest competitive advantage. It's a starting point for those who don't know how to start or those who want to become more intentional and methodical as they take their team to the next level and beyond.In Blue-Collar Leadership(R) & Culture, you'll also discover how to leverage the components of The Transformation Equation to create a culture that will support, attract, and retain high performance team members. To learn more about The Transformation Equation, visit GetTheTransformationEquation.com "My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been a part of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called 'Leadership-Training'...while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide...100% of the team that attended said that they were 'blown-away.'" Sam McLamb, VP Sam M. VP/COO




Good Work


Book Description

What Can Blue-Collar Business Teach Us About Work and Faith? The faith and work conversation is alive and well, but most resources focus on white-collar jobs, neglecting the majority of the workforce. When Dave Hataj realized he needed to go home and take over the family gear shop, he didn’t expect it to become a spiritually transformative season of his life. Yet as he began to think about what it meant to be a Christian in business, he discovered just how much our work matters to God and how blue-collar business can change people, communities, and even the world. Drawing on the stories of his business, Edgerton Gears, Dave teaches you how to cultivate true inner goodness, meaning, and mission at work—no matter what you do. Your workplace can and should be a place of significance.




Blue Collar Resistance and the Politics of Jesus


Book Description

To be faithful to the gospel, all ministry must be indigenous; it must participate in the distinctive practices and perspectives of the people among whom ministry is taking place. Because our society tends to ignore or deny the reality of class divisions and prejudice, too many congregational leaders know too little about the world of working class whites. Continuing his groundbreaking work on class and American religion, Sample opens up the lives and lifestyles of working class whites in order to engage with them in authentic and transformational ministry.From the Circuit Rider review: "Tex Sample has written one of the most fun books to read on ministry that you will ever come across. Weaving philosophy, theology, country western lyrics, and stories throughout the book Sample at once delights and provokes us to think about the way in which we live out church in this day and age." (Click here to read the whole review.)




Change Happens


Book Description

Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others Through Change gives readers two different perspectives (personal and professional) on 15 principles of dealing with change. Included are key lessons on overcoming resistance to change, leading change, communicating and overcoming fear of change, and more. Learning how to respond effectively to upcoming changes will allow you to turn challenges into opportunities.




Humble Inquiry


Book Description

Communication is essential in a healthy organization. But all too often when we interact with people—especially those who report to us—we simply tell them what we think they need to know. This shuts them down. To generate bold new ideas, to avoid disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we need to practice Humble Inquiry. Ed Schein defines Humble Inquiry as “the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” In this seminal work, Schein contrasts Humble Inquiry with other kinds of inquiry, shows the benefits Humble Inquiry provides in many different settings, and offers advice on overcoming the cultural, organizational, and psychological barriers that keep us from practicing it.




Limbo


Book Description

In Limbo, award-winning journalist Alfred Lubrano identifies and describes an overlooked cultural phenomenon: the internal conflict within individuals raised in blue-collar homes, now living white-collar lives. These people often find that the values of the working class are not sufficient guidance to navigate the white-collar world, where unspoken rules reflect primarily upper-class values. Torn between the world they were raised in and the life they aspire too, they hover between worlds, not quite accepted in either. Himself the son of a Brooklyn bricklayer, Lubrano informs his account with personal experience and interviews with other professionals living in limbo. For millions of Americans, these stories will serve as familiar reminders of the struggles of achieving the American Dream.




Blue-Collar Gold


Book Description

Problem: Most Americans don't realize the potential gold mine in blue-collar business. By "blue-collar business" I mean a business providing a specialized service requiring a trained employee and manual labor. In my case it is chimney sweeping, but it can range from construction to gardening to plumbing and junk removal. There are literally thousands and thousands of opportunities, but many people don't consider blue-collar work as an option and are missing out as a result... Over 3 million blue-collar and skilled labor jobs went unfilled in America last year! The service industry is wide open in America and this book will open your eyes to a growing opportunity that you probably never thought about. By reading this book you will learn how to: Think bigger - Don't be scared of starting or growing your existing business. Make a decision and then make the decision right. Be a leader - You have to learn to be a leader if you want to have a great business. Leadership is a learned skill and this book can help get you started. Start with a plan and an exit strategy so you can live the life you want without being stuck in your business. So come on America, let's get to work doing the "dirty" jobs and make a whole lot of money while you're at it