Give and Take by Adam Grant
I hope you don’t get too sick of me posting reviews of books I had to complete for my course. I really did enjoy this one a lot. It had a lot of interesting facts and data/examples to show why helping others leads to win/win. It’s hard out there if you are a manager and you have employees or bosses that are set to win and they want to make sure that you lose. Heck, I have to deal with agency officials at times that […]
Switch by Chip Heath
So this is the first of the books I had to read for my training this summer. I have to say that “Switch” was my favorite just because it really gets down into why change is hard for people and organizations. And it shows how small changes can build into such big successes. I am at an organization right now going through some upheaval since our boss was let go after our employee feedback survey and overall morale dropped over three years. Of course looking […]
It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell & Tony Koltz
It Worked for Me is a collection of about 30 vignettes and stories intended to offer leadership advice from one of America’s most famous military leaders of the last 35 years. I think it does that and does it well. Powell reflects on a life of service, both military and civilian, and recounts instances when he made decisions and describes the generalized thoughts and ideas that led to the choices he made. This book, let’s call it a memoir, feels quite genuine and honest but […]
I usually do not wax poetic about public figures, especially those in politics. I try to remain objective which more often than not means that I am harsher in my judgments of things or people I like. I love Robert Gates and go out of my way to work with and for him. Knowing this, I read A Passion for Leadership trying hard to be objective about it. Even given my aforementioned predisposition towards such scenarios, I loved this book. I find Gates to be […]
Matterhorn reminds me a little of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead in I had to look up to see if the books were fiction or non-fiction. I found Marlantes’ depiction of war that believable and visceral. While not an expert in any way, I have deployed twice so I understand some of what that means. Unlike the characters from Bravo Company in this novel, I never spent time “in the bush” and if I am being completely honest, they would look down on me […]
Read this one for work, for a class I was co-teaching, but it still counts! It was a little dense for some of our students I think, but the concepts were solid and stories from actual college students were helpful, and overall I think it is a good text to help college students expand their definition of leadership, and find ways to employ leadership lessons and skills in their daily lives.
