andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The Shaping of an Effective Leader


The Shaping of an Effective Leader: Eight Formative Principles of Leadership
by Gayle D. Beebe

Westmont College president Gayle Beebe presents his eight principles of effective leadership and weaves in the wisdom of Peter Drucker, under whom he studied. The eight principles are character, competence, chemistry, culture, compatibility, convictions, connections, and commitment.

“Character is the foundation of all leadership responsibilities for all our life.” However, “without threshold competencies, even the most well-meaning individual can do real harm.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

More Human


More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead
by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter

“More human means leveraging AI to unlock the best of our humanity and, simultaneously, to help us overcome some of our limitations. This is the art of the toggle, where we skillfully navigate getting the best of both human capabilities and AI. In this way, we can develop ourselves as better human leaders and thereby create better and more-human workplaces.”

The authors quote Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: “I’m not worried about artificial intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans. I’m more concerned about people thinking like computers, without values or compassion, without concern for consequence.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Discover Your True North


Discover Your True North
by Bill George

The term True North refers to “the internal compass that guides you successfully through life… It is derived from your most deeply held beliefs, your values, and the principles you lead by.” Quoting Warren Bennis, “Leadership is character.”

Everybody develops their own True North. “Today authenticity is seen as the gold standard for leadership… The reality is that no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else. You can learn from others’ experiences, but you cannot be successful trying to be like them. People will only trust you when you are genuine and authentic.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Authentic Leadership


Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
by Bill George

Former Medtronic chairman and CEO Bill George wrote this book following a series of corporate scandals, including Enron, Sunbeam, Tyco, and Worldcom—just to name a few. These companies imploded because management was fixated on maximizing short-term shareholder value.

To paraphrase my favorite line in the book: you are running a business, not a stock. That said, the compound annual growth rate of Medtronic split-adjusted stock price was 28.5% during George’s 12-year tenure, according to my calculations. Not too shabby!

The first part of the book deals with the character, values, and sense of purpose required to inspire employees. George also shares his wisdom and personal experiences regarding customers, quality, market share, growth, innovation, acquisitions, FDA approval delays, Wall Street analysts, and corporate governance.

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andreweverett360 Finance, interview

An interview with Alastair Thomson author of Cash Flow Surge

After posting more than 250 book reviews, I decided to try something new: an author interview on YouTube. I am grateful to Alastair Thomson for graciously sharing his wisdom on managing small and medium-sized businesses. Alastair has an accounting background, but this conversation is not about debits and credits. It’s about improving your business from the perspective of an experienced CEO and CFO. We cover cash flow, profit, customer experience, metrics, business ethics, marketing, quality, continuous improvement, front-line employees, growth, margins, inventory, and receivables.

An interview with Alastair Thomson, author of Cash Flow Surge
July 16, 2020 – 1 hour – Book Review – Amazon

Transcript

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Create Lasting Success


The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Create Lasting Success
by Rich Karlgaard

It is noteworthy that a prominent business journalist from Silicon Valley—where technology and IPOs dominate headlines—wrote a book about the human factors of business success. “The yin and yang of effective management has always been about the search for the right spot between data truth and human truth.”

“Hard-edge execution is all about managing exactly to the numbers. The people who live on the hard edge of business are good at making the trains run on time. They focus on profit. Their language is time, money, and numbers. Every company in the world needs these employees.”

“Soft-edge excellence—in trust, smarts, teams, taste, and story—tends to attract loyal customers and committed employees.” Karlgaard says the soft edge is “the heart and soul” of your company.

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life)

how


How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life)
by Dov Seidman

The book is about ethics and reputation, value-based cultures vs. rule-based cultures, and as the author likes to say, “getting your hows right.” There are some valuable messages in the book.

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