Management Excellence Book Series Podcast-Full Steam Ahead
I had the pleasure to connect on the phone with Jesse Lyn Stoner, co-author with Ken Blanchard of Full Steam Ahead-Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Work and Your Life (second edition), and this podcast is the output.
I like the book a great deal…and as I indicate in my intro comments, I tend to approach books on Vision with a bit of trepidation. Not only did Jesse and Ken quickly assuage my concerns that this might be another challenging walk through the V topic, but they had me turning the pages and truly loving both the story-line and the power and simplicity of their approach to this important but often abstract topic.
Full Steam Ahead truly helps bring the topic of vision to life for all of us on a professional and a personal level.
As an aside, some interviews flow and some are just a bit awkward. Talking with Jesse was a delight for so many reasons. Her energy, clarity and obvious deep practical knowledge and thoughtfulness on the subject matter, made this a true pleasure. I hope you enjoy the discussion about with Jesse as much as I did!
Note: My copy of Full Steam Ahead was provided by Jesse. Unlike many books that I receive, this one has earned a permanent place on my business bookshelf.
Management Excellence Book Review: Management? It’s Not What You Think
Filed under: Career, Decision-Making, Leadership, Leading Change, Performance, Professional Growth, Strategy, Surviving Lousy Leaders
I confess to having a proclivity for essay collections when it comes to reading about management. Essays move along quickly and they offer the reader the opportunity to capture quick sound bites over breakfast, on the train or in other ideal reading rooms. Also, there’s the reality that many management books struggle to adequately fill the space between the book-covers, offering up their best in the introduction, the first chapter and the wrap-up chapter.
Irreverent, Funny and Pointed with a Point:
I enjoyed the often irreverent, frequently amusing and always thought-provoking collection of essays in: Management? It’s Not What You Think, by Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampelis.
Like watching the popular show, The Office, reading many of these essays induces a cringe factor. The situations are a bit too close to reality for our own comfort, and we can see and hear ourselves and others in similar situations.
I laughed out loud while reading, Accenture’s Next Champion of Waffle Words, which unabashedly tackles the issue of our abuse of the language with business-speak…meaningless jargon wrapped in layers of B.S.
Other essays that induced laughter and agreement included: PowerPoint is Evil, Maxims In Need of a Makeover, and A Long Overdue Letter to the Board. Oh to meet a senior executive capable of writing that letter!
Mintzberg is known for his discomfort with contemporary MBA education (a view that I share), and his essay, Managers, not MBAs, strikes a blow for experience and immersion in the business over the stripes that we confer in the classroom.
Some Important Ideas Between the Covers:
And while there’s a decidedly irreverent tone concerning the traditional practice of management and leadership, the editors and authors serve up some important and thought-provoking ideas.
In the essay, Change Management, the author skewers the “dubious consulting industry and profession claiming to provide change management services.” The author offers, “Change can’t be managed. Change can be ignored, resisted, responded to, capitalized upon and created. But it can’t be managed and made to march to some orderly step-by-step process.”
Mintzberg’s essay, “Managing Quietly,” is a fitting capstone, based on the premise, “Quiet management is about thoughtfulness rooted in experience,” and, “…the best managing of all may well be the silent.”
The book is organized in 9 sections (including that ever-valuable, Introduction section) ranging from Misleading Management to Management of Meaning, Myths of Managing, Maxims of Managing, Managing Modestly and several others.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
If this were a movie review, I would be more positive than negative.
This collection of management essays is ideal for anyone on your list that is a thoughtful practitioner and student of the craft of management. The reader will enjoy the lighter moments as well as the irreverent pokes at much of what passes for contemporary management thinking and practice.
I’m not certain that there’s content in Management? It’s Not What you Think!, that will alter anyone’s view or drive new actions and cure old ills, but for those looking for reassurance that we’re all living and working in a universe that parallels “The Office” a bit too closely, this is entertaining and stimulating.
Management Excellence Book Series: Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Filed under: "To Do" List, Career, Marketing Yourself, Professional Growth
Power and influence are topics in the workplace that everyone recognizes but that few talk about. I suspect that after reading Jeffrey Pfeffer’s newest book, Power (available 9/14), this will change.
Pfeffer does a great job drawing the topic out, making it relevant and then politely suggesting that we ignore the development of our own influence…and ultimately, our power, at our own career peril. The book is filled with good examples, practical guidance, and I suspect for some people, eye-opening perspectives on why you should care about cultivating your influence.
I posted recently on this topic in a Leadership Caffeine piece, entitled: “The Noble Pursuit of Power and Influence,” which was in part inspired by a cover-to-cover reading of Jeffrey’s book. The topic is easily misconstrued and even inappropriately linked to the many ethics and legal violations that we’ve seen from too many leaders during the past decade. The comments and feedback on the post reflect both the recognition of the importance of the topic and some of the angst that we have over those that actively and overtly pursue power. At the risk of being redundant, I suspect that “Power” will help move the conversation towards the positive.
My bottom-line: this is an important “Why” and “How” guidebook for the modern professional.
Enjoy the conversation!
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Disclosure: a copy of the book was provided at no charge for my review.
Management Excellence Book Series Podcast: Strategic Speed
Filed under: Leadership, Leading Change, Management Innovation, Performance, Strategy
Every year, a number of the large consulting firms publish surveys outlining the issues that keep global corporate leaders awake at night. Inevitably, the topic turns to strategy and more specifically to the headaches and challenges of executing strategy.
For those of us that have labored in the corporate world for a couple of decades, it comes as no surprise that translating ideas into programs and projects and then executing these programs accurately and quickly to seize market opportunities is darned difficult.
It also turns out that we’re not so good at it for a lot of reasons, most of which have to do with people.
It is this critical issue of improving strategy execution (speed and quality) by focusing on the people & leadership issues that bedevil so many programs, that the authors of: Strategic Speed-Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution, take on in this interesting, and research and helpful tool-filled new book. This is a practical, interesting and immediately useful book for anyone engaged in the work of creating and driving strategy and execution.
I had the good fortune to connect recently with Jocelyn Davis, one of the co-authors (along with Henry Frechette, Jr., and Edwin Boswell) of Strategic Speed, for an interview, where we discussed the high failure rate of strategies, the meaning of “strategic speed,” and a number of other issues important to anyone interested in improving strategy execution. Jocelyn’s insights into the book and the world of strategy and leadership were fascinating.
Enjoy the interview.
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-In case you missed it, check out my recent interview with Bob Sutton on his new book, Good Boss, Bad Boss.
-Note from Art: the authors supplied my review copy of Strategic Speed.
Management Excellence Book Series Kicks Off Featuring Good Boss, Bad Boss
Filed under: "To Do" List, Career, Leadership, Professional Growth, Surviving Lousy Leaders, Values
For as long as I can remember, books have played a major role in my life.
I still recall the day my Mom took me to the Hild Library in Chicago for my first library card. And I remember distinctly the scene a few months later, when she engaged in a vigorous discussion with the library staff on my need for an Adult card. I had consumed everything worth consuming in the Children’s section and needed to move on. Mom prevailed, and the rest for me is reading history.
This preoccupation with reading continued through my summers as a child, including one memorable, slow, hot season reading the World Book from A to Z. While it wasn’t Britannica, it was what we had in our apartment in Chicago. And yes, I read more than the cool transparent overlays. I read the complete text. Every entry. It was a little like work, but I was on a mission. As a result, I have a remarkable store of trivial knowledge on everything that happened in the world up until 1973. Beyond that, I’m a bit fuzzy.
Fast forward a few decades, and books are still a major part of my life. I’ve authored one, I’m working on another and I consume content in history, business and science in an unquenchable thirst to learn more. Given this preoccupation with the written word, it’s fitting and about time that I extend my love of books and regard for the hard work of authors to a feature here on the blog. Thus, welcome to the first post and first interview for the Management Excellence Book Series.
About the Management Excellence Book Series:
First, I’m not a book critic, I’m a book lover. You’ll never find a negative review here, because, if I don’t like the book, I won’t write about it or interview the author. It is my intent to offer a resource with this series that extracts and shares insights and introduces you to new or time-tested great ideas.
I intend on using a mix of audio interviews (podcasts) and posts with transcribed interviews to share ideas and learn more from management book authors that have labored long and hard to help us learn and grow. My mission is to search for the pearls of wisdom, the fresh ideas or the classic ideas that help us all make a difference.
While my audio interview skills are clearly in need of practice, there’s no reason not to start. We are living in a period of time rich with the flow of information and ideas, and I’m excited to help all of us gain just a little bit more insight and context from great management thinkers for use in our professional and personal lives.
I look forward to sharing with you via the interviews. Enjoy!
Art Interviews Bob Sutton About Good Boss, Bad Boss
Art Petty Interviews Bob Sutton on Good Boss, Bad Boss [ 33:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Art Petty Interviews Bob Sutton on Good Boss, Bad Boss [ 33:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadGood Boss, Bad Boss by Robert I. Sutton, Ph.D.
Just about everyone is familiar with Bob’s prior work, The No A**Hole Rule! Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn’t. That great read talked about what many of us have been thinking, and even made the “A” word acceptable business meeting and cocktail party discussion fodder (in the context of the book, of course!).
Bob is back with a tremendous new book, Good Boss, Bad Boss-How to Be the Best and Learn from the Worst, available for pre-order from major booksellers now, with a scheduled publication date of September 7th.
His emphasis in his latest work is on describing the good habits of great bosses, and once again, Bob is saying what many of us are thinking or, living through in our working lives. In this era of the seemingly “disposable worker,” and after a decade of corporate scandals and a great number of bosses doing the “perp walk,” Bob focuses squarely on what the best bosses do day-in and day-out. He contrasts the great habits of good bosses with the equivalent lousy habits and approaches of bad bosses, providing anecdotes and vignettes that we can relate to or anguish over. We all know a few of the bad bosses. Let’s hope that our good boss experiences outweigh those others.
I had the great fortune to connect with Bob recently on a phone call/interview, and our scheduled 10-15 minutes turned into 30 minutes of fascinating insights about the book, and about Bob’s work as a professor and consultant. He was a delight to interview and I sincerely believe that you will find his insights and anecdotes as fascinating as I did. Enjoy the interview and enjoy the book!
And finally, this section from the preface of his book sets the tone well:
“The best bosses don’t ride into town, save the day with a bold move or two, declare victory, and then rest on their laurels. There is no final victory. The main reward for success is usually that you get to keep doing a damn hard (but often satisfying) job for a while longer. Despite the horseshit spewed out by too many management gurus, there are no magic bullets, instant cures or easy shortcuts to becoming a great boss. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. The best bosses succeed because they keep chipping away at a huge pile of dull, interesting, fun, rewarding, trivial, frustrating, and often ridiculous chores. …Devoting relentless attention to doing one good thing after another-however small-is the only path I know to becoming and remaining a great boss.“
Nine chapters of pure boss gold! Thanks, Bob!
Note from Art: Bob supplied me with a pre-release copy of his book for this interview.
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