Nothing of consequence is ever accomplished without some form of leadership. Leaders are the change agents of society. They architect the future by challenging the status quo and striving to make things better. They lean into big problems and seize large opportunities. They create opportunities for others to find meaning through doing good work. I have been fortunate to work closely with hundreds of leaders through the years and this category is inspired by this experience.
Meetings Aren’t the Problem—Misunderstanding Leadership Is Why CEOs and Business Owners Need to Rethink Meetings and Their Role I’m always fascinated by leaders who complain about being in too many meetings. At a…
The Setting: The Hills of Galilee – The Night Before The Sermon on the Mount Evening settles over the hills of Galilee. The last light brushes the limestone cliffs of Arbel before fading…
For Leaders, Spring Is a Choice: Planting the Seeds for What Comes Next I’ve always loved the changing of the seasons. There’s something grounding about it. A quiet reminder that everything has its…
The Mirror Test: Five Hard Truths About Leadership Accountability Leadership conversations often revolve around strategy, vision, and growth plans. Those things matter. But after years of working with business owners and executives, I’ve…
Leadership Is Always on Stage Every morning when a leader walks into the workplace, something important happens—whether they realize it or not. People watch. They watch how the leader greets people. They notice…
Management vs Leadership: The Journey from Manager to True Leader Part of my work — and frankly, part of my calling — is helping participants in my Vistage Emerging Leader and Advancing Leader…
Presidents’ Day is more than a long weekend or a retail event. At its core, it is a moment to reflect on leadership at its highest stakes. It is a day to ask…
Growth Regardless of Obstacles: How Small Business Leaders Build Sustainable Growth in Any Economy Growing a business is rarely a smooth, predictable process. In fact, most business growth happens during seasons that feel…
The Two Most Important Things a Leader Needs to Be Able to Say Let me share something I’ve come to believe pretty strongly over the years. There are two statements every leader needs…
You Have to Stand Up to a Bully You have to stand up to a bully. It doesn’t matter whether it shows up in your personal life, your business, or public leadership—you have…
Book introduction Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win is a leadership book that centers on one powerful idea: you are responsible for everything in your world. Jocko Willink and Leif…
Introduction—Be the Best Part of Their Day Communication matters. Every leader leaves a footprint after every interaction. The only real question is: did you lift people up—or wear them down? In Be the Best…
Language and the Pursuit of Leadership Excellence How Extraordinary Leaders Build Relationships, Shape Culture and Drive Breakthrough Results(2nd Edition) Leadership Isn’t Just About Action—It’s About the Words That Shape It We’ve all seen…
Facing the Hard Truth About Leadership: A Closer Look at Bad Leadership Most leadership books aim to inspire. They showcase heroic figures, bold visionaries, and transformational change agents. But what if we flipped…
If you’re focused solely on today’s income, you’re likely sacrificing tomorrow’s wealth. The Secret Stock Market gives you the clarity, tools, and strategic mindset to shift from business operator to business architect—someone who…
Welcome to Beat the Odds – A Journey from the Stage to the Boardroom By Sandy Gennaro — Rock Star. Mentor. Speaker. Difference-Maker. What do Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, and The Monkees have…
Armstrong walks you through the layered approach, showing how great leaders don't just build businesses; they build other leaders. The book breaks down how to intentionally create layers of leadership that align with…
Whether you're a young professional mapping out your future, a business owner seeking clarity, or a seasoned executive facing reinvention, the insights within this book can become a personal compass.
Urgency isn’t running hot; it’s running clear. It’s fewer, better fights—and faster finishes. Build it, protect it, and your business becomes the kind of place where people do their best work and customers…
In a world full of slide decks and “big ideas,” the winners are the teams that ship. Bossidy and Charan cut through the noise and show you how to build a culture where…
You don’t need a louder voice or a bigger title to lead well. You need clear motives, steady habits, and the courage to do what’s right when it costs. Start there. Keep going.…
In short, this book is a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about knowing it all. It’s about being bold enough to ask, humble enough to listen, and wise enough to act on what…
How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership Lead with wisdom, not just willpower.What if the clearest playbook for today’s toughest leadership problems was written two millennia ago? How to…
Markets are noisy, talent is scarce, and attention is fleeting. The teams that win aren’t just fast—they’re deliberate. This book helps you slow the game down: define what you truly want, map the…
Trends come and go; trust and example-setting don’t. This book distills decades of evidence into practical truths you can act on right now—whether you run a shop floor, a service crew, or a…
Growth targets and dashboards can’t answer the bigger questions: What’s the point? What’s enough? What kind of leader do I want to be? Handy doesn’t preach; he shares honest accounts of choices and…
The book shows how to read what your boss actually needs, how to adapt to different styles, and how to collaborate across teams that don’t share your deadlines. You’ll set working agreements, pre-wire…
The Obstacle Is the Way is a manual for tough seasons. See clearly, act wisely, and strengthen your will. You don’t have to enjoy the challenge to benefit from it—you just have to…
Arbinger’s core idea is simple and unsettling: when we betray our own sense of what’s right toward others, we feel the need to justify ourselves. That self-justification is self-deception—what the book calls being…
Getting to Yes, And How improv builds better teams, faster decisions, and real momentum.Inspired by Bob Kulhan’s book Getting to “Yes And”: The Art of Business Improv (Stanford Business Books, 2017). Most teams…
Most companies don’t stall for lack of effort—they stall because the systems that got them here can’t carry them there. The Breakthrough Company lays out how solid, real-world firms push past the plateau:…
This isn’t just about General Electric. It’s about any company—big or small—that grows faster than its systems, confuses activity with progress, or lets pride outrun the facts. If you lead people and manage…
How to Be a Great Boss Simple, repeatable systems to set clear expectations, coach well, and get results—without drama. Most managers don’t struggle for lack of effort—they struggle because the job isn’t clear.…
If you want your company to outlast your own leadership, start with BE 2.0 by Jim Collins. Use it to realign your team around enduring values, strengthen your culture, and prepare your organization…
Even if you run a for-profit, Drucker’s nonprofit playbook sharpens fundamentals: clarify mission, translate it into measurable performance, align resources, and develop people. The nonprofit lens strips away buzzwords and forces focus on…
Leaders win or lose on the quality of their thinking. This How to Think More Effectively summary is especially valuable for founders and managers who must set strategy under pressure, navigate ambiguity, and…
At the center of Traction is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a practical framework designed to help leadership teams align around what matters most and execute on it relentlessly. Wickman’s premise is straightforward:…
Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore is a timeless and transformational guide to leadership excellence. Its emphasis on awareness, responsibility, and human potential makes it as relevant today as it was when…
In Winning, Jack Welch shares hard-earned lessons about competition, strategy, people management, and organizational culture. Rather than offering abstract frameworks, he answers the questions leaders actually face every day—how to win in the…
Introduction Straight from the Gut is Jack Welch’s candid and deeply personal account of his journey from a young engineer to one of the most successful CEOs in business history. In this autobiography,…
Don Yaeger’s Great Teams looks at high-performing teams across sports, business, and organizations—and pulls out something useful: Great teams are built on habits, not talent alone.
For leaders who want more than surface-level guidance, this anthology provokes reflection: What does it mean to lead in the face of tension, complexity, and contradiction? How do values shape action in uncertainty?…
For founders, executives, and senior leaders, Trillion Dollar Coach reframes leadership as a daily practice of presence: showing up, asking hard questions, holding people accountable, and supporting them as humans, not resources. It’s…
Please click on this link for the Time Really is Money Book Summary. “Time Really is Money” highlights the importance of time management and value creation in the modern economic landscape. Rob…
Please click on this link for the How to Lead by David Rubenstein Book Summary. “How to Lead” is a collection of interviews and personal reflections by David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle…
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, the need for effective succession planning has never been more critical. William J. Rothwell’s “Effective Succession Planning” is a comprehensive guide that helps organizations of all sizes…
Please click on this link for the Reflections on Life and Leading Part 1 Book Summary Please click on this link for the Reflections on Life and Leading Part 2 Book Summary …
Please click on the link for the Leadership in War Book Summary. A comparison of nine leaders who led their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and whose unique…
When America aspired to break free from Britain, the real-life David-and-Goliath situation required that a full-blown cadre of dynamic leaders arise immediately from the revolutionary populace. As history shows, it did. Now, Donald…
Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips A powerful blueprint for courageous leadership in turbulent times. In Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership, bestselling author Donald T. Phillips delivers an…
Layered Leadership by Lawrence R. Armstrong Book Excerpts INTRODUCTION Leadership, whether of a startup; Small, mid-sized, or large firm; team; church; or any organization, must work as a whole across the continuum…
There is nothing more important than understanding how reality works and how to deal with it. The state of mind you bring to the process makes all the difference. I have found it…
Myth and legend treat leadership as if it were the private reserve of a very few charismatic men and women. Nothing is further from the truth. Leadership is much more broadly distributed in…
Introduction: Why communication matters on the shop floor (and in the boardroom) Most teams don’t stall out because of skill gaps; they stall because people feel unseen, uncertain, or uninspired. When communication frays,…
Central Thesis Leadership is layered, not linear. Enduring organizations align several layers—self‑leadership, team development, clear strategy, disciplined execution, market focus, innovation, culture, and succession—so each layer reinforces the others. The leader’s ongoing task…
Introduction In the pursuit of organizational excellence, aligning the hearts and minds of employees is crucial. Jon R. Katzenbach’s “Peak Performance: Aligning the Hearts and Minds of Your Employees” provides a comprehensive guide…
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