[.ca] Leadership: Best Advice I Ever Got (ISBN 1595940553)

Priceless Advice from 137 Top Leaders and Leadership Experts:
Just this week, I got a nice e-mail from a 20 year-old college student who wanted to know what books I wished I had read when I was his age. As I answered his question (the Bible), I thought about how incredibly useful it would be to ask similar questions of those who are knowledgeable in various fields. That reminded me of Leadership--Best Advice I Ever Got. Paul B. Thornton was inspired to develop this book after reading an article called "The Best Advice I Ever Got" in the March 21, 2005 issue of Fortune magazine. He contacted many leaders and leadership experts to find out their answers. Then, he compiled 137 responses in this fine book. The advice in the book addresses important topics like: 1. What do you stand for? 2. What are your core values? 3. What is your mission? 4. What is your vision? 5. What is the best way to communicate? 6. What is the best way to influence others? 7. How can you enhance your presence? 8. What is a good leadership style for you? Mr. Thornton kicks off the book with a definition of what leadership is: "Leadership is the process of helping individuals, teams, and organizations become more and achieve more than they ever thought possible." "Leaders help people become more . . . Confident Principled Knowledgeable Skilled Passionate Determined Integrated Balanced Leaders help people achieve more than success!" To lead, he suggests that you have to have ideas, conviction, courage, confidence, decisiveness, connection skills, good communication talents, passion, enthusiasm, persuasiveness and an ability to execute. Business CEOs quoted in the book include: William H. Swanson, Raytheon Klaus Kleinfeld, Siemens Richard J. Faubert, AmberWave Systems Anne Mulcahy, Xerox Cordia Harrington, Tennessee Bun Company Well-known authors quoted in the book include: Bill Jensen, Simplicity Robert Sutton, The Knowing-Doing Gap Marshall Goldberg, The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science David Cottrell, Monday Morning Leadership Oren Harari, The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell Ken Shelton, ghostwriter of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People The list is also seasoned with deans, people who have founded non-profit organizations, leadership coaches, sports coaches, professors and ordinary people with extraordinary insights. In Part Three, Mr. Thornton summarizes his own advice on all of these areas to integrate the individual lessons. Filled with enough epiphanies to transform almost every life on Earth, I highly recommend that you read, re-read and apply what you learn from this remarkable resource!