The top ten business books of all time
I read a lot of business books because it’s part of my job. I find many of them thought-provoking and exciting. Some, even, are as exciting as a John Grisham thriller. I have collected a top ten list of business books and thought I’d share them with you. The main criteria for selection is…
An Interview with Muhammad Ali
A trailblazing leader who never wished to be one What? Ali’s dead? Yes, I know. He may have passed away in 2016, but he lives on in the minds of hundreds of millions of people. I’m one of them. As a small boy, I listened to his fights on the radio. Ali singlehandedly…
Are mentors critical to career success?
An interview with Jacqueline Szeto-Meiers It’s striking to me how many wildly successful people had mentors. Some notable examples include Richard Branson, whose mentor was Sir Freddie Laker, Mark Zuckerberg, whose mentor was Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates, whose mentor was Warren Buffett. I never thought of having one myself and…
What Shoe Dog taught us about shy leaders
Back in the 1960s, who would have thought the humble running shoe could become a fashion icon? Well a shy, 21-year-old middle-distance runner named Phil Knight did. And Nike was the result. When Nike founder Phil Knight was growing up in the 1960s, running wasn’t even a sport. “Running for pleasure, running for…
Ready to write your book? You need to find the right shoe.
If you’re contemplating writing a business book, that’s great. There are three fundamental rules to making it work, which I covered in my previous post. Here’s a quick reminder: 1. Clarity beats brilliance. 2. Promote your ideas, not your business. 3. Authenticity trumps authority. If you’re done contemplating, if you’re now ready to write that…
Want to write a successful business book? Follow these 3 rules.
Lots of businesspeople want to write a book—and many of them should. Just make sure you do it for the right reasons. If you’re thinking of writing a book, I say go for it! But just make sure you do it for the right reasons. Some would-be authors want to have a New York Times bestseller….
The new leaders value empathy and vision
The new leaders: When Microsoft’s Nadella speaks about leadership he talks about empathy, while PayPal’s Schulman talks about inspiring hope. Leaders lead by inspiring others. But where do they find their own inspiration to lead? I was watching a Facebook Live interview with Paypal’s CEO Dan Schulman, and Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, and what struck me were…
The ROI of writing a business book
While there are many good reasons to write a book (my website offers plenty of them), this post, courtesy of Mike Dowling at Wool Street Writers, absolutely nails it. It reveals how writing a book created nearly a million dollars of new business for one of his clients. What kind of ROI can you expect from writing…
Conversations on thought leadership—with David A. Fields
A conversation with David A. Fields, Managing Director, Ascendant Consulting Today’s topic: Are consultants ignoring the best way to win new clients? Clients don’t hire consultants for their problem-solving expertise, says author, speaker and consultant David A. Fields. So why do they hire them? You’ll find the answer in my interview with David below. A…
Conversations on thought leadership — with Carl Friesen (Part 2)
Thinking about writing articles for trade publication? There’s more to it than meets the eye. If you’re looking to carve out a reputation as a business thought leader, one route is to write a book that showcases your journey or your expertise. Publishing shorter content, such as articles, can be part of your “book” journey….