Do you really think you'd find Cat Fancy in Bill Gates's bathroom? Oh, no. www.800CEOREAD.com publishes a short-list of the best selling business books in corporate America. So if you want to know what the big-wigs read when they're sitting on top of it all, here are my summaries and personal takes on the top 4 picks as of July 2009.
1) “Creating Success from the Inside Out: Develop the Focus and Strategy to Uncover the Life You Want”, by Ephren Taylor.
Back-cover brilliance:
“Follow your own path and refuse to be defeated”
Stats:
Founded GoFerretGo.com, a job-hunting website for teens, when he was only 16.
Became a millionaire before his 17th birthday.
Founded an alternative energy company in 2007
Maintains his street cred by managing the finances of Snoop Dogg and Fat Joe
Likes to be called a “Wealth Engineer” and a “Socially-Conscious Capitalist”
My Takeaway:
Money is the greenest energy source of all. Aaliyah said it best, “Age ain’t nothing but a number.”
Job titles are everything. I want mine to be “Mental Acrobat and Alphabetical Magician”
He started his first business at age 12. So did I. I took random household objects and attempted to sell them in my backyard to get money for Barbie clothes. My mother was not happy.
Overcome a difficult past. This way, if your business venture doesn’t succeed maybe your memoirs will.
2)
“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful”, by Marshall Goldsmith
Back-cover brilliance:
“Are you ready for the Succession?”
Stats:
An executive coach to the corporate elite
He helps the successful become more successful.
Has written 24 books on executive leadership
Has also been a professor/leadership coach for his entire professional career.
Does not sell himself short. His bio says he is “A worldwide authority…One of the most influential…preeminent practitioners of leadership…greatest living business thinkers…”
My Takeaway:
All the superlatives in the world don’t make up an ounce of proof of one's accomplishments.
He warns not to add your two cents to every discussion within earshot. I am guilty of this and will from now on limit myself to doodling my reactions to the topic at hand.
Avoid what he calls, “The Three Martini Lunch Syndrome,”—getting too comfortable in past victories, old ideas and leisurely indulgences. While his first two goals are fine aims, I’d like to counter the third with an article from Modern Drunkard magazine praising the strategic benefits of the Martini Lunch. My favorite quote: “Nothing of lasting import was ever accomplished sober.”
3)
“It's your ship! Management techniques from the best damn ship in the navy” by Michael Abrashoff
Back Cover Brilliance:
"The American Military understands leadership better than most business corporations.”
Stats:
The author is a decorated Navy captain.
He took command of the USS Benfold when it was the worst performing ship in the fleet and turned it around. Now that’s credibility. (Hear that superlative-man?)
My Takeaway:
It’s easier to run a “tight ship” when your employees are all in uniform.
Effective leadership is imperative when your workplace is a guided missile destroyer.
The Seven Dwarves were right after all. You work better if you’re having fun. In his words, “The secret to lasting changing is implementing policies that people will actually enjoy carrying out.”
Nugget of truth. Rather than top-down management, Abrashoff encourages bottoms-up command. “This is your ship,” he would say to each and every one of his sailors. I can see how this self-motivational strategy was revolutionary to the military and how it could be so for some companies too. Thankfully, it’s just the way things are at McKinney.
4)
“Thank God it’s Monday! How to create a workplace you and your customers love” by Roxanne Emmerich
Back Cover Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar:
“Inspiring you. Inspiring workplaces. Inspiring results”
The Stats:
All cheese aside, her bio actually comes with some meat. She was the CEO of her own consulting company, the Emmerich Group, that’s worked with Fortune 500 dives like Lockheed Martin and Allianz.
My Takeaway:
Once again, have a kick-ass job title. Her’s is, “Workplace transformation expert.”
Us busy-bee game-changers don’t have a lot of time. So whatever you do, keep it short. Even her book is only 44 pages long.
“Create significant emotional events.” Apparently a successful workplace has a lot in common with the programming on Lifetime.
“Enroll your employees to become unstoppable.” Does this require paperwork? Nope. Just coffee. “Light That Fire in Your Belly.” No, you don’t need habañeros, just enthusiasm.
What did I learn from all of this? Don't underestimate the importance of the time you spend in the bathroom. And basically, care. Be humble. And take Prozac.