Are You A Leadership Reader? Try These

Leadership continues to be a fascinating and in-demand topic. If you Google "leadership"  you'll find 180,000,000 responses from which to choose.

It's a sunny Sunday afternoon in southern NJ, so I thought I would offer up just some of the writers that I find useful or who are new to the scene.

The Leadership Development Carnival #2  is up and running at Great Leadership, hosted by Dan McCarthy. This month’s Carnival is a great collection of the best leadership development advice and commentary from more than 40 leadership bloggers and includes the All Things Workplace article 10 Lessons for Self-Leadership.

Kiss Theory Good Bye

If you are a manager and are feeling unfocused because you are overwhelmed with "stuff" and need a framework for getting on track, read: Kiss Theory Good Bye.

"Organizations have the tendency to make things too difficult. There is a belief that for something to be good it has to be sophisticated, elaborate, and complex."
  --Bob Prosen

Bob Prosen has done a good job using his experience to focus on what is important, why, and practical ways to deal with each. I will admit that I am biased because 5 minutes into the book I realized that Bob and I come from a similar experience base and think identically about the organizational issues he addresses. That said, I backed off and really did read the rest of the book with as much objectivity as possible.

I use a standard mental test to determine whether or not someone really knows what (s)he's talking about. The test is simple: Does this person know enough about the complexities of a topic to be able to explain it in language that a lay reader can understand?

Kiss Theory Good Bye passes the test, starting with The Five Attributes of Highly Profitable Companies:

1. Superior leadership

2. Sales Excellence

3. Operational Excellence

4. Financial management

5. Customer loyalty

You may say, "Sure, that's textbook stuff." Well, sort of. Most writers will focus on one and proclaim, "This is your path to business nirvana." Prosen uses the rest of the book to show you the what, why, and how of each ("how" is what we usually find missing in business tomes), then suggests additional, specific resources to advance your learning.

Note: You have seen everything in this book in some form before. That is not a reason to avoid the book. I can see managers using this as a one-stop resource to quickly diagnose business strengths and weaknesses and what to start and stop pursuing as a result.

For those critics who say, "There's nothing new here" I would counter with, "There is nothing new about managing effectively." My experiences each day show that the quest for a magic management potion--especially one that works instantly--is one of the greatest deterrents to managing well now.

Speaking of now: Kiss Theory Good Bye was published in 2006. That is ancient history in the world of books, especially for those who believe in the "latest and greatest."

Use Kiss Theory Good Bye in the foundational way that you might use the works of  Peter Drucker.

Update, 6 August 2008. According to comments and emails, it seems my enthusiasm for applied knowledge got in the way of an important point: I do believe, as Kurt Lewin stated, "There's nothing so practical as a good theory."

The effective practice of any discipline requires a mental model for what you are doing and why. It's important to examine the foundation of those models and be sure that the foundation is a solid one. However, when you start managing, it's the application of that theory--not the discussion of it--that gets the job done.

The Alpha Factor

If Kiss Theory Good Bye will help you focus on all of the areas of good management, then The Alpha Factor is what you may want to read if Sales Excellence and Customer Loyalty are your real challenges.

I get suspicious when I see the word "Factor" used in titles. It often leads to some pop-psyche take on a serious business problem that someone contends can be resolved if you simply have "The Factor."

Wes Ball doesn't take this path. He uses his experience--along with actual client stories--in ways that will cause you to re-think at least some portion of your current approach to landing and retaining customers. I was especially taken by Chapter 3 where he makes the bold statement "Relationship Is Not A Primary Driver." Ball shows the similarity and subtle differences between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and what he calls the "Hierarchy of Purchase Drivers." You may be surprised.

The Alpha Factor is definitely written for those who are focused on getting and retaining customers. It's not the kind of "puff piece" that is an entertaining read if you aren't really concerned about customer issues. But if you are concerned, the 206 pages of The Alpha Factor offers actionable information as a result of the models provided and the stories of familiar companies who needed to turn around their own thinking on the topic.

Here's to some new learning. . .

Comments

[Steven Sonsino]

Hi Steve, I was glad to find your blog, but sad to find you'd consigned theory to the trashcan. If you're agreeing with the idea behind 'Kiss Theory Goodbye' then you and I will have to agree to disagree. A good theory is nothing more than a great explanation. It helps us to understand and then repeat something valuable. Like 'superior leadership', for example.

In fact, I don't think 'Kiss Theory Goodbye' IS trashing theory, frankly. It lists superior leadership and customer excellence, among other things, as the answer to business success. So with its catchy title it's just cashing in on the widely held view that theory is bunk and useless to practising managers and leaders everywhere. Big mistake.

OK, OK, I hear you. The folks in the ivory towers who put the theory stuff out there don't do a good job of communicating. Their ideas ARE relevant and practical. Only we don't do a good job of communicating this.

Oops. Mea culpa. My first leadership book, Leadership Unplugged, was so dense my wife didn't understand it - and she actually read it. (But it was good though.) My second 'The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders' is much easier to read. But not as good. (Go figure.)

So I'd like your readers to take the advice to 'kiss theory goodbye' with a pinch or two of salt. There's some great theory out there. Now we just have to find communicators, like you Steve, who can capture it simply and incisively.

Just don't read 'The Secret'. It's hogwash and completely ungrounded in theory. Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of being nice to people and 'paying it forward'. But to claim it's a law or any way based on scientific thought is hokum.... (Sorry. Don't know how that got in here.)

Keep up the good work, Steve.

Take care
Steven Sonsino

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Steven

Well, I'm clearly not as good a communicator as you graciously allowed. I'll make a revision to the post a bit later today.

The fact of the matter is, I do believe that sound theory provides the framework out of which we operate. Without some kind of mental model there is no coherent application. So it's actually necessary to have some theoretical framework that drives actions.

Double mea culpa.