Book Recommendations
from Bret L. Simmons

From Bret's review: "In this book, Nayar tells the story of how he transformed an already successful company, HCLT, into one of the fastest growing IT service partners in the world. The personal story Nayar shares is compelling, insightful, and at times funny and brutally honest. Have your highlighter handy when you read this because it is packed full of wisdom and quotable passages."

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From Bret's review: "Despite its flaws, it is a good book. It will make the list of optional readings for my MBA class this fall because I think it will have an impact on the students that read it. The book is very well written with excellent organization and a very conversational style. The best thing about the book is the numerous excellent examples Liz gives to support her points, coming from her years of experience as a top executive and consultant."

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Alita Burke: Thank You For Your Leadership

February 4, 2010 by Bret L. Simmons · Filed under: Leadership

In my January 2010 newsletter, I invited my subscribers to tell me about the best leader they have ever known personally. I offered to publish these stories at my blog to recognize these leaders for their service. One of my subscribers, Jackie Christensen, shared with me the story of her favorite leader, Alita Burke. The story I share below is in Jackie’s words, and Jackie graciously gave me permission to publish it here and share it with you.

I am a subscriber to your newsletter and when I read about you wanting stories of great leadership there was only one person who came to mind for me. That person is Alita Burke. I have had many bosses before and after her and no one has compared to her leadership. She is the type of leader who knows and understands her people. She knows those on her team she can rely most on and those who will give her the honest information/feedback she needs. If she cannot get information in a meeting from the team and yet knows there is a problem no one will talk about, she knows who the person on her team is she can go to and get the information in order to fix it if she can. She is the type of leader who will always stand behind her people if she thinks they are right, no matter the cost; who will take a decision/idea to the top to get approval if she thinks its right; but is also the type of leader who will tell you when you are wrong without hesitation. She is the type of leader you always know where you stand with her. She is the best in the company I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and I’m probably one of her great supporters and will not hesitate to let others know how wonderful she is. She is the type of leader every company wishes they had more of!

Alita has always treated peers with dignity and respect. She never raises her voice. If you need to be corrected for something with Alita it is always done in private and its done when it happens not day/week etc later. One of the best books she ever got me to read was the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard. She is excellent at developing people by example and by sharing leadership and motivation books/knowledge with them.

Thanks for sharing this story, Jackie! And thank you, Alita, for all you do for the people you have been given the privilege to lead.

Do you have a story of a great leader that you would like to share? If so, contact me because I’d love to hear it.

My Best Leaders: Part I

Another Great Leader

Another Great Leader: The Paradox of Repsect