The Edge for July 2018
It’s reading season, so for the second consecutive year we asked business executives to share with us the books that have motivated and inspired them, along with the lessons they gained. The lessons they shared include valuing employees; adopting positive habits; using honest communication; emulating U.S. Navy SEALS; and beginning each day with a one-minute lesson. Here is what they said:
Break Bad Habits
I recommend the Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Whether as individuals, groups, organizations and even societies, we humans are in the grip of strong habits. Habits help us survive and thrive when they are the right ones in the right environment. Good or bad, we all know it is hard to change habits. To break the bad ones, you have to set up new, healthful competing ones. To get started we have to recognize our organization’s or our customers’ habits before we can evaluate, respond to, or change them. New habits can be transformational for an organization, just as they are for any individual.
– Peter J. Woolley, Ph.D., Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Learn From History: Value Your Employees
We all read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair in 8th grade. I re-read it about 12 years ago, as an adult. It’s eye-opening what the immigrant population went through in the meat houses. It made me think about my grandparents and what they went through. It makes you think about how you treat employees. You can’t treat people like cattle. While conditions are not as harsh today, there are still sweatshops and there are still immigrants that don’t have anyone to speak for them.”
– Tom Cosentino, Executive Director, Garden State Wine Growers Association
Vision, Teamwork, and Honest Communication Can Make an Elephant Dance
The best business book I’ve ever read is Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? by Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Gerstner, a well-educated and extremely experienced senior manager/consultant, took over IBM when it was in a free fall. The book painstakingly describes the negative impact silos can have on a company, and how a lack of teamwork across business lines can create political nightmares. Under his leadership, senior managers were redirected largely through honest and candid communication. This produced a solid management team that returned the organization to its leadership role in the high-tech industry. Gerstner was able to turnaround IBM with quality people, vision, communication, and teamwork, which had the elephant dancing.
– William J. Ruckert, III, Senior Vice President, Provident Bank
The Maxwell Minute:
Begin Each Day with a Lesson
“I read John Maxwell’s A Minute with Maxwell. It comes into my inbox every morning, and each email has a one-minute topic. It helps you start your day. It is like having your own business coach. It gives you a different perspective. It sharpens your mind a little bit before you walk into work or events. Yesterday, the theme was ‘Are you tactical?’ Today, it was about contentment. Every day is a different topic. Everybody needs a little coaching.”
– Sara Andreyev, Vice President – Business Development, Ontrak Solutions
Take Ownership: In Business, like the Military, Leadership is Critical
One of the more interesting leadership books I have read in recent years is Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, two former U.S Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq war. Rather than focusing on individual characteristics and practices, the book focuses on effective leadership and teamwork. Building on the premise that leadership is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails, the book details the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult combat missions and shows how to apply them to any team or organization. Besides having a sound premise for success in any endeavor you might undertake, the book is truly a good read!
– Kenneth R. Orchard, Regional President – New Jersey, TriState Capital Bank
