Title:

Reviewed by: Daniel Zampelli

What were the overall strengths of this book?
John Maxwell writes of being a leader in your organization regardless of your position in the agency.  He begins his book by addressing the myths associated with leading from the middle of the organization.  He then assesses the challenges and ways to lead-up, across and down the organization.  He concludes by listing five values of a 360-Degree leader.

This book re-enforces the fact that leaders are not just at the top positions of an organization.  Rather, “The true measure of leadership is influence- nothing more, nothing less”

What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book?
I did not see any drawback to this book.  It was easy to read and John Maxwell did an excellent job drawing from personal experiences and stories to help exemplify each point.

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community? How might you apply the insights in this book to your own leadership?
On a professional level, this book describes how a person at any position of the organization can be a leader by exercising influence to those around him/her.

From a personal perspective, this book makes clear that leadership comes from within.  “A position doesn’t make the leader, but a leader can make the position.”

To whom would you recommend this book and why?
I would recommend this book to anyone who is in the middle of their organization, especially to those who may be frustrated or believe they do not have value or make a difference in their organization.  In addition, I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to strengthen their personal leadership skills.

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
The bottom line of this book is that leaders are not defined by the position they hold in the organization but, rather, the influence they have with those above them, below them and across from them: the “360-Degree Leader.”

Is there anything else you would like to add that stands out about this book?
John Maxwell has written numerous books about personal and professional leadership.  His focus is from a spiritual point of view and utilizes these beliefs to guide him throughout the book. It is my belief that, regardless of the readers’ spiritual perspective, they will benefit from the structure and content of these writings.

Reviewed By:  Sue Pierson

What were the overall strengths of this book?
As I was reading this book I kept thinking “he’s been watching over my shoulder at work.”  In a concise, often humorous, format Mintzberg puts into words all the thoughts, doubts, and struggles that managers face every day.  This book is a great reality check for those who manage because he emphasized the fact that even if you have mastered all the competencies of managing you still might not be a competent manager.  To be successful you must maintain a dynamic balance of communication, analysis, interpersonal skills, change, influence, reflection, nuance, decisiveness, and judgment.  Most importantly you need to know when to use each, a skill you learn on the job, not in a classroom.

What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book?
I didn’t find any real drawbacks.  His style is straightforward and in his “Note to the Reader” he sets the tone of the book and explains things to watch for in each of the chapters, even highlighting sentences he feels are important.  The Appendix describes a day in the life of eight of the managers discussed in the book.  In hindsight I might read this section first to get a feel for the manager’s personalities and their daily activities before I read the theories of how they managed.

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community?  How might you apply the insights in this book to your own leadership?
“Nothing is quite so powerful, or so natural, as engaged managers who are committed to developing themselves, their institutions, and their communities.” Henry Mintzberg

This book gives you an opportunity to step back and evaluate your own management style.  It reinforces that many of the tasks and conversations and activities of every day are exactly what you need to be doing. He also clearly pointed out areas that I could target for improvement in my own management style- in particular those things I don’t like to do!

To whom would you recommend this book and why?
I would recommend this book to two different groups.  The first group would be those managers who have been away from school for awhile and have been managing for years.  Mintzberg causes you to look at your daily work in a methodical way and helps you verbalize the myriad tasks, skills and talents you must possess to manage well.  You finish the book energized because you are doing so many things right and can concentrate your efforts on the areas you hope to improve.

I would also recommend this book to those just starting out on the management path.  It speaks volumes to the intangibles of managing far beyond any formal coursework or classes completed.

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
Mintzberg has a great deal of respect and empathy for those who manage.  Fifty years ago Peter Drucker put management on a pedestal, but in recent years leadership has knocked it off. Mintzberg insists that managers are leaders and leadership is management practiced well.

Is there anything else you would like to add that stands out about this book?
This is a book that will help you grow in your profession and community activities. It is filled with “A-ha” moments.  I took pages of notes to review again at a later time to remind me of important concepts and things I want to improve.

In Supreme Power, Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court, Jeff Shesol takes on the conventional wisdom that President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s attempt to name additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, known as the “Court Packing” scandal, was a product of FDR’s hubris and drive for power.

Shesol sets the stage by describing the personalities and political agendas that permeated the Hughes Court.  As an example, Shesol depicts Justice Louis Brandeis as having “always dabbled in public affairs, more or less discreetly, from the bench.” He also described the close relationship that some members of the Court had with the preceding Hoover administration.

Although the Court had a history of invalidating progressive legislation (as criticized by FDR during his 1932 campaign for president), the Court took a hiatus from this approach during the darkest days of the Great Depression.  It seemed the Court gave FDR some latitude due to the economic crisis.

However, the Court’s passivity was not long-lived.  The Court appeared to push the envelope with its invalidation of numerous New Deal laws.  The Court felt it needed to take a stand against the increasing centralization of power within the federal government.  This exchange (after the Court struck down the National Recovery Administration in Schecter), among Justice Brandeis and FDR insider Tom Corcoran, is instructive:

“You have heard,” he gasped, “our three decisions.  They change everything.”  Make sure Felix [Frankfurter] is in Washington by morning, Brandeis told them; he needs to explain the situation to FDR.  “The President,” Brandeis said in the most damning judgment delivered that day “has been living in a fool’s paradise.”

Corcoran expressed concern that the Court’s holding … would imperil some of the bills now making their way through the Congress.  Brandeis was unmoved. “I am not familiar with the various pieces of legislation,” he replied, “but I should not be surprised if everything would have to be redrafted….  Everything that you have been doing must be changed” in light of the Court’s unanimous decisions.  “I want you to go back and tell the President that we’re not going to let this government centralize everything,” Brandeis told the two men.  “It’s come to an end.”  (pp. 136-7)

For FDR, the Schecter case made all the difference. FDR and his closest advisors carefully constructed a plan to expand the Supreme Court.  Various constitutional amendments were considered and set aside.  Despite his careful planning, FDR did not test the concept outside of his inner circle.  According to Shesol, FDR misjudged the situation on two primary fronts. First, he underestimated the American public’s reverence for the Supreme Court, and their reluctance to support any change in the Court’s standing vis-à-vis the executive branch. Second, the Court successfully out-maneuvered FDR politically and through its jurisprudence.

In cases like West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, where the Court took an abrupt turn to the left, Shesol describes various maneuvers in which the Court undercut FDR’s arguments that the Court was not in tune with the present times.  The Court’s most striking decision in this regard related to the Jones & Laughlin decision in which the court upheld the controversial Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Board.  As Shesol states, “The Chief Justice’s ‘rather adroit piece of work,’ as Cummings put it, left even some liberals feeling as Johnson did:  pleased by the outcome, appalled by what they saw as the cravenness behind it.”

Shesol recounts the continued machinations by which FDR tried to resurrect his doomed court packing bill.  Ultimately, though, the court packing bill died.  The final blow was a well-timed retirement by one of the court’s more conservative Justices.  This gave FDR the ability to place another liberal, Hugo Black, on the bench and establish a moderate/liberal majority on the Court.

Admittedly, the conventional wisdom on FDR’s court packing – that it was an exercise of uncharacteristic carelessness and hubris—has its shortcomings.  Anyone familiar with FDR knows the care with which he built consensus around his actions, laying very careful groundwork, especially with the Lend-Lease Program which preceded the United States’ entry into World War II.  And, FDR was an adroit enough politician to know when to drop a bad idea.

Why then would FDR continue to push his court packing plan?  FDR believed that he heralded a new way for government and for its relationship with the American people.  He also believed strongly in the need for reform.  But perhaps more importantly, FDR understood the interpersonal dynamics among the Court’s justices and what Shesol describes as the dialectic between judges and law.

Shesol contends that the old adage that the United States is a nation of laws and not men places too firm a division between the rule of law and the men who interpret the law.  Shesol believes that it’s a much more dynamic relationship and draws upon a variety of arguments and facts which support his contention.  Interestingly, even opponents of the court packing plan spoke in terms of this division, contending that the effect of FDR’s plan “would be to make this Government one of men rather than of law. . . .” (p. 469).

Shesol’s analysis provides a lens through which we can observe modern jurisprudence.  The parallels between FDR’s time and ours are staggering:  an economic crisis, a President with a vision for reform and a judiciary in large part appointed by the current President’s predecessors and political opponents.

Certainly, the current nomination of Elena Kagan and George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers hearken back to a day that saw the nominations of political insiders such as Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter and Abe Fortas.  Arguably, people such as Black, Frankfurter and Fortas were appointed as much for their political favors as for their judicial experience.

It will be interesting to see how the current administration deals with the federal judiciary in light of the almost certain judicial review of the current health care legislation and myriad other federal programs.  It seems that an attempt to “court pack” would be impossible.  One wonders what other strategies might be considered?

Title: The Go Point:  when it’s time to decide :  knowing what to do and when to do it
Author: Michael Useem

Reviewed by Terry Link

What were the overall strengths of this book?
Useem analyzed several “real world” situations where decisions were made that had significant positive or negative consequences. For example, Useem discussed in detail certain key decisions made by a smokejumper during the 1994 Storm King mountain fire in Colorado that helped saved lives but put other lives in peril.  Other examples included decisions made by the CEOs of Cisco Systems and Boeing.   The book is full of good examples and offers a template for leaders on how to make tough decisions. 

What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book?
You often hear leaders say “follow your gut” or “use your instincts”.  Useem did not offer much insight into the emotional side of decisions.  I would have liked to have seen Useem further explore this aspect of decision-making.  Also, Useem seemed to offer too much detail and too much analysis with respect to a few of the examples used in the book.

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community? How might you apply the insights in this book to your own leadership?
This book offers leaders a framework to make decisions in a fast-paced environment.  The practical, straightforward examples used in the book have broad application to any organization, whether for-profit or non-profit, large or small, public or private.   I think the decision making template contained in the book could assist me with my own leadership development.

 To whom would you recommend this book and why?
Anybody who is responsible for making decisions in his or her organization would benefit from reading this book.  Individuals who are analytical in nature and take a methodical approach to solving problems and making decisions would particularly enjoy this book.   

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
This book is worth reading.  It is interesting and informative, although some readers may be tempted to skim or skip a few of the examples discussed in the book.  The decision template discussed toward the end of the book has broad, practical application.

Is there anything else you would like to add that stands out about this book?
Chapter 7 – Unforced Errors – reviews common problems to effective decision making and offers tools to overcome these problems.  This is a useful chapter that I will most likely revisit from time to time.

Title:  Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big
Author: Morten T. Hansen

Reviewed by Sylvia Trundle

What were the overall strengths of this book? 
The author provides interesting examples to thoughtfully examine the successes and failures of prominent corporations and leaders as they wind their way thru various minefields in search of correct amounts of collaborative initiatives.  Hansen acknowledges that collaboration is not always the answer, but that disciplined collaborative initiatives coupled with personal responsibility can improve bottom line results.   

 What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book? 
Just when you think you’ve figured out a strategy to implement the author’s ideas, he throws out another potential roadblock.  It sometimes feels like the reader needs to draw continuous roadmaps to keep on track with Hansen’s concept that a combination of teamwork and individual ownership leads to disciplined collaboration. The various pros and cons of collaboration, goal setting, and networking keep the reader guessing as to the best solutions. 

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community? How might you apply the insights in this book to your own leadership? 
Some of the author’s insights created a visual imagery of centering the workplace under the hot lights and providing a sound grilling.  It’s sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary. Strengths and weaknesses are exposed, personalities revealed, and motivations challenged.  Its obvious leaders need to know more than superficial information about their agencies’ core functions and personnel. They must be able to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and set the example for collaborative practices. 

 To whom would you recommend this book and why?  
I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles and finds it challenging to accomplish projects and meet goals both internally and externally.  It compels a leader to examine time management and organizational issues such as whether a meeting is held just because or whether it will facilitate goals and results. 

 What is the “bottom line” of this book? 
The crux of this book is to learn to play well with others when it benefits the bottom line.  Too often, personnel work at cross purposes whether intentionally or not. It’s incumbent that leadership cultivates and builds relationships that will promote buy-in as well as facilitate personal and business success.

Is there anything else you would like to add that stands out about this book? 
The self-assessment is not for the faint hearted!

Reviewed by Bernie Rochford

What were the overall strengths of this book?
The authors provide practical examples of how to apply their principles and techniques. The focus is on how to make you a better leader and take responsibility for your actions. They use the title of the book in a cleaver way to really drive home their point which is “How did I let that happen”. It can be easy to look to other people’s errors as to why a project fails but the leader of the project must take ownership for his or her own shortcomings. The authors go further and show you how to get others involved in the project to accept their own personal responsibility.

What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book?
The book is much more of a training manual that would be better presented in a classroom format over time allowing for group interaction and role play. There are several references to web sites and material outside of the book itself that the reader was expected to review and I found that distracting. I didn’t disagree with any of the points being made; it was just a bit hard to work through them in a book format. If I had realized the format before beginning the review I might have approached the book differently.

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community?  How might you apply the insights in this book to your own leadership?
The book is geared specifically for application in the workplace. Some or all of the book would be useful as part of a leadership training and development program facilitated by a trainer. I have used some of what I have gleaned from the book for a project that I am currently undertaking involving a committee of our staff. I am hopeful that I have framed the project appropriately and will have the buy in from the committee.

To whom would you recommend this book and why?
I would recommend the book to corporate training staff or consultants looking for material on leadership and group processes.

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
It is not an easy read or one that is full of inspiration. It is a training manual that would be useful in certain settings. I did find it more complicated than it needed to be and slow in developing some of their points.

Title:

Reviewed by Pamela Hickson-Stevenson

What are the overall strengths of this book?
Warner and Schmincke list and expand upon the eight dangers that every leader faces and how those who are high altitude leaders overcome them. Each danger – Fear of Death, Selfishness, Tool Seduction, Arrogance, Lone Heroism, Cowardice, Comfort, and Gravity – is treated in its own chapter. What sets this book apart are the thrilling and sometimes terrifying accounts of life and death experiences the authors survived while climbing mountains around the world. The book is a fascinating combination of travel narrative, adventure tale, and lessons in leadership. Both authors also have their own experiences in the business world, running their own companies and training executives, management teams and entrepreneurs around the world.

What were the drawbacks, if any, of this book?
Some readers may assume that a book about leading that is illustrated with mountain climbing stories is too extreme and not realistic for the day to day lives of most people. But Warner and Schmincke are careful to draw parallels between their extreme adventures and the more ordinary leadership challenges that we all face, such as battling dangerous, unproductive, dysfunctional (DUD) behavior.

How can you apply the author’s insight to your own leadership?
One of the concepts that resonated best with me is that of the importance of taking informed risks. The authors argued that the Fear of Death is a stumbling block to innovation and growth. I suspect most of us need to be reminded that we learn best through our mistakes.

How could you take these insights into the workplace and/or the community?
I will probably jot down the list of eight dangers and keep them close for handy reference whenever I am faced with challenging situations or difficult decisions.

To whom would you recommend this book and why?
Anyone interested in leadership concepts, or in mountain climbing! Those accounts were chilling and fascinating all at the same time.

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
Leaders who strive for peak performance must guard against the dangers that prevent them from succeeding.

Leadership Energy (E=mc2)
by David Cottrell
Published by CornerStone Leadership Institut.  2008.   112 pages.
Paperback $14.95, ISBN-10: 0979800935

Review by Mary Jones

What were the overall strengths of this author’s writing?
David Cottrell writes in a simple and easy-to-read style that turns complicated ideas into practical applications. He makes it easy to recall these concepts and thus apply them to everyday moments.

What (if any) are some caveats you could offer to future readers of this book?
In the first chapter, Cottrell makes a comparison between Einstein’s equation for relativity and his theory of Leadership Energy that is strained and doesn’t showcase this great little read well enough. Keep reading—the book gets much clearer in Chapter 2.

What is the “bottom line” of this book?
Leaders need to be the catalysts for their organizations’ energy. Without this energy, the whole organization suffers and runs the risk of dying. Workplace energy explosions require synchronization of the business; speedy decisions that are in line with the organization’s goals and priorities; effective communication to employees; a focus on the customer; and integrity with the cornerstones of trust and honesty. Leadership Energy also involves excitement, enthusiasm and passion to implement.

How does this book tie into the workplace and/or our community?
This book can be applied to any workplace or community that needs to come together and that needs a jolt of energy. What company doesn’t need that?

How can you apply the author’s insight to your own leadership?
While the concepts are not new to me, the format and organization of them made them seem fresh. It was a good review of how to energize my staff. This book has helped me refocus on these concepts and apply them, everyday, in the workplace. I would recommend this book for any level of management staff.

How is the book different? What new insights did it have to offer?
Its simplicity makes it very user friendly and effortless to retain the information. It reads like an instructor’s manual rather than a theoretical thesis, which is a refreshing change from some other leadership books I have read.