I first heard of “The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins To Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work” by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer at Bob Sutton’s blog, where he called it “a masterpiece every manager should own.” I got my copy of the book free from the publicist. I don’t think it is a masterpiece, but I do think it is the most important evidence-based management book I’ve read this year; consequently, I do think every manager should strongly consider moving this book to the top of their reading list.

The book focuses on something the authors call the inner work life effect: “people do better work when they are happy, have positive views of the organization and its people, and are motivated primarily by the work itself.” (p, 47). They go so far as to claim their research shows “as inner work life goes, so goes the company.” (p. 3). That’s a bold claim that I’m not sure is supported by the data in their one study; however, I do believe it is supported numerous related studies on employee attitudes, emotions, motivation, and performance published in leading peer-reviewed journals over the last 30 years.

The book also highlights the power of events that are part of every workday. The power of events is great news for us as managers, because we can take planned, systemic action to control events that impact the inner work lives of our employees. Here are the main points that the book explains in detail (pp 8-9):

1. The types of events – what we call the key three – stand out as particularly potent forces supporting inner work life, in this order: progress in meaningful work; catalysts (events that directly help people work); and nourishers (interpersonal events that uplift people doing the work).

2. The primacy of progress among the key three influences on inner work life is that we call the progress principle: of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work.

3. The negative forms – or absence of – the key three events powerfully undermine inner work life: setbacks in the work, inhibitors (events that directly hinder project work); and toxins (interpersonal events that undermine the people doing the work).

4. Negative events are more powerful than positive events, all else being equal.

5. Even seemingly mundane events – such as small wins and minor setbacks – can exert potent influence on inner work life.

The authors admit that their research does not establish causality – which is very difficult to accomplish. “Were all of these inner work life changes caused by daily progress and setbacks, or might some of them have caused progress or setbacks in the first place? There is no way of knowing from the numerical data alone.” (p. 79).

I love the concept of catalysts: events that support progress and positive inner work life. The authors identified seven consistently effective catalysts (pp 104-105): 1) Set clear goals; 2) Allow autonomy; 3) Provide resources; 4) Give enough time, but not too much; 5) Help with the work; 6) Learn from problems and successes; and 7) Allow ideas to flow. Please note these ideas are not new - they can be found in one form or another in most contemporary approaches to leadership and are evidence-based.

The book also provides a very helpful daily progress checklist that you can use to review your daily managerial actions and plan for the next day. I think it is brilliant. I concur with the authors when they state:

The aim of the checklist is managing for meaningful progress, because that is your real job inside the organization. This may require a significant mind-shift. Business schools, business books, and managers themselves usually conceptualize management as managing organizations or managing people. But if you focus on daily progress in meaningful work, managing people and the entire organization will become much more feasible. (pp. 174-175).

This book is packed with both sound philosophy and evidence-based advice. Anyone and everyone can benefit by reading this book, because “whatever your level in your organization, even if you lead only by your work as a good colleague, you bear some responsibility for the inner work lives of the people around you…you can become a better contributor to the climate and success of your organization. (p. 181).

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I purchased “Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership,” by John Dickson after hearing him speak at the Global Leadership Summit. Most leaders will never hear about this book, but all who do should consider reading it. It has too much fat for my taste, but the meat is exceptional.

Dickson defines humility as “the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself,” such that a “humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service of others.” (p. 24). By this definition you can see that humility starts from a position of dignity, strength, and a healthy sense of my own worth and abilities.  Unlike humiliation, which can be thrust upon me by others, humility is a choice I make willingly. And humility is social, more about how I treat others than about how I think of myself. Bob Sutton has written that the best test of a person’s character is how he or she treats those with less power.

Dickson argues that humility is important for leadership because humility is persuasive. Humility unlocks the door to referent power. “We are more attracted to the great who are humble than to the great who know it and want everyone else to know it as well.” (p. 69). He quotes Aristotle’s belief that character is the controlling factor in persuasion: “We believe good-hearted people to a greater extent and more quickly than we do others on all subjects in general and completely so in cases where there is not exact knowledge but room for doubt.” (p. 139). We trust the humble more than the proud to act in our best interest.

Dickson also argues that humility is generative, a powerful key to learning and growth. Pride is the engine of mediocrity because the proud think they have “arrived” and have nothing left to learn, certainly not from you and me.

I agree with Dickson that humility trumps tolerance. Tolerance requires all parties to soften their convictions, whereas humility does not. “Humility applied to convictions does not mean believing things any less; it means treating those who hold contrary beliefs with respect and friendship.” (p. 167). Dickson maintains that as leaders we must:

Learn to respect and care even for those with whom we profoundly disagree. We maintain our convictions but choose never to allow them to become justification for thinking ourselves better than those with contrary convictions. We move beyond mere tolerance to true humility, the key to harmony at the societal level. (p. 170).

I like that a lot. Bob Sutton has written that the “attitude of wisdom” in leaders is having the courage to act on knowledge while doubting what you know. Effective leaders have strong opinions which are weakly held.

In my opinion, every leader would be wise to consider reading “Humilitas”.

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I purchased and read “Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries” by Peter Sims because Bob Sutton gave it a glowing review at his website. As usual, Bob was right. I did not love it as much as Bob, but I liked it enough to recommend it to you.

The main point of the book is the power of experimental innovation. Experimental innovators don’t begin with a few big brilliant ideas. Instead, they discover what they should do via a series of “little bets” and small wins.

Learning by doing and having fun in the process are cornerstones of the experimental innovation process. This is nothing new. But he also highlights the importance of immersion, which I think people would be wise to pay a lot more attention to:

Take the time to get out into the world to gather fresh ideas and insights, in order to understand deeper human motivations and desires, and absorb how things work from the ground up. (p. 14).

When you understand why people do the things they do you have the ability to create unique solutions that force others to try to copy what you are doing. If you don’t understand how and why things work, the best you can ever hope to achieve is strategic parity.

I don’t normally like business books with lots of stories, and this one has lots of stories. But Sims does a very good job of telling a few interesting stories that support his main points quite well. I loved his story in Chapter 6 of how Muhammad Yunus immersed himself in the problem of poverty in Bangladesh and ultimately formulated the microfinance solution.

By absorbing poverty from the worm’s eye view, asking lots of questions, and being open to changing his assumptions, Yunus could understand what he could not from a bird’s eye view. (p. 102).

If you have entrepreneurial aspirations, you should read this book. Even if you don’t think you want to be an entrepreneur someday, if your success as a leader requires enabling your people to continually produce creative insights and innovative solutions, I’m betting you will find this book worth your time.

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I would love to spend a few days on an aircraft carrier at sea. The thrill of landing on its deck, observing its crew at work, and then taking off again would be an experience of a lifetime. That’s exactly what Donna Sturgess had the opportunity to do, and I’m envious.

Donna writes about her experiences on the aircraft carrier USS Stennis in her book Eyeballs Out. I received my copy of the book free from her publicist. It’s not a great book, but it does have some unique aspects, so I am going to recommend it.

Donna uses her experience on the USS Stennis to frame the major themes of her suggested strategy to renew business excellence: thrill, sacrifice, pride, and immersion. I can’t recall ever reading about immersion in a business book, so I found this very intriguing:

Part of the value of an immersion is returning to the experience of being a beginner. When we learn something new, our thinking slows down and we absorb information differently. The brain has a relaxation response that allows for insight and the emergence of other options. New connections are made during this time because we are sifting and sorting information differently as a beginner than we do as a professional. Our whole body is involved in the experience – it’s not just a mental exercise like activities at work. The new stimulus bumps and rattles our operating assumptions as we seek to put the learning into context: these new relationships start to rearrange our existing stores of information into novel patterns to produce new thoughts. This is where original idea float free and opportunities are discovered. (p. 98)

That’s cool. The ability to continually learn how to learn is a key aspect of our core performance technology, and I learned from Donna that seeking immersion experiences is one way we can enhance our ability to learn more effectively than our competitors.

For example, I think learning the full power of social business requires an immersion experience if you want to lead rather than lag your competition. You can never really understand what people are doing on blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebeook and why they are doing it unless you jump in and do it yourself. Its only when you understand why we are living through a fundamental paradigm shift in the way people communicate that you can create a unique social business experience for those you’ve been given the privilege to lead.

One thing I really appreciated about Donna’s book was how frequently she referenced the work of other authors, the sources for her own learning. Several times during the book she even referenced peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals, which I found impressive. Although extremely accomplished, Donna does not write as if she thinks she is or even wants to be another leadership guru. Her writing left me the clear impression that she is more interesting in sincerely helping than in selling her services.

Eyeballs Out is a good book, not a great one, and it is a quick and engaging read. I think you might like it, so I am happy to recommend it.

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I received my copy of Jeremie Kubicek’s book “Leadership is dead: How influence is reviving it,” free from his publicist. Let me first say that the book never fully delivers on its catchy title. While I believe that leadership might be unwell, it is certainly not dead. And while I love how Jeremie describes influence, it’s impossible to show that influence is reviving leadership because influence has been and will always be the heart of leadership.

I’m going to recommend this book because I love the message, but I have to tell you honestly that I did not enjoy reading it. I’ve heard this message before, so I found it distracting that the author never credited sources that have previously written similar things. For example, his first two of seven actions to make leadership come alive are 1) give trust to become trustworthy, and 2) be credible. James Kouzes and Barry Posner emphasized the importance of trust and credibility a long time ago.

The core of Jeremie’s message can be summed up in his list of attributes that define a true influence leader (p. 77):

• leads with vision
• leads from the head and the heart
• practices humility and service to others (let’s go of status and self-preservation)
• influences rather than pushes or demands
• invests in the success of others first
• rises above unethical practices, pressure, and petty politics
• attracts a diverse and dedicated team of future leaders
• delivers more than expected
• wields the tools of forgiveness, gratitude, and laughter
• reaches out to make the last first

Jeremie goes on to say:

Leadership is influence. Influence is power. How that power is used comes from the intent of the leader, from the motives of the heart (p.78).

I love that message, even though it’s very familiar to me and many others. If this message is either new to you or you’re not entirely sold on it, then you will be very well served to get your hands on this book and consider it very carefully.  If you’ve seen it before and are already sold, then you should probably save your money.

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I’ve written a lot about purpose on my blog, because I love it. Purpose is why we do what we do, and I think it is the missing ingredient in many businesses. Many businesses go to great lengths to produce statements that describe what they do, how they do it, where they do it, and their values as they pursue some nebulous future; however, very few have given any serious thought to why what they do matters. Mission statements are virtually worthless, but purpose lives in the hearts and minds of those that serve it, which makes purpose a powerful driver of behavior.

I met Jesse Lyn Stoner on Twitter, and when I found out she had co-authored a book with the great Ken Blanchard on vision, we had a frank discussion about how much she loved the concept of vision and how much I hated it. But to be honest, I’ve never in my life read a book on vision, so when Jesse offered to send me a free copy of her and Ken’s revised book “Full Steam Ahead: Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Work and Your Life,” I agreed to read and review it.

The book is written as a story with fictional characters. I know many people love that style of business writing, but frankly I do not. Even though I did not like the style, I LOVED the message Ken and Jesse share about vision:

Vision is knowing who you are, where you are going, and what will guide your journey. Knowing who you are means being clear about your purpose. Where you are going is the picture of the future. And what will guide your journey is your values. (p. 79).

I was both surprised and thrilled that they made purpose the foundation of vision. That’s the way it should be, but as they point out in the book, many organizations still miss that critical point. The authors assert “The vision must benefit everyone it touches” (p. 167). That’s a very high and appropriate standard that is simply not possible to achieve void of purpose.

The book concludes with some very useful tools that will help you create, deploy, and evaluate your vision. I am very glad to recommend this book to anyone and everyone that is interested in vision at work.

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Linda Finkle’s book “Finding the Fork in the Road: The Art of Maximizing the Potential of Business Partnerships,” is not one I would normally read, simply because I don’t have a specific interest in business partnerships. But Linda sent me a free copy of her book to review, along with a very nice handwritten note, and she followed that up with several nice, personal e-mails. That goes a long way with me, so I read the book and I’m happy to say I can recommend it if you are involved in or considering a partnership.

Linda focuses on the interpersonal aspects of having a partner in business. The book is very well written and includes 19 checklists that address all phases of the life cycle of a partnership. If you currently have a partner or are considering going into business with someone, you and your partner can work through these checklists together and prepare for all the major issues you are likely to encounter as you build your working relationship.

The book includes a lot of sound advice about communicating with your partner. I love this quote from Francis Garagnon that Linda includes in her book:

Between what I think I want to say, what I believe I am saying, what you believe you understood, and what you actually understood, there are at least nine possibilities for misunderstandings. (p. 92).

In her chapter on building a healthy relationship through communication, she shares Finkle’s Rules of Engagement (p. 96):

1. Remember you are adults, not children. Children are taught not to scream, accuse, throw things, call names, stomp out of the room, tattle, etc. Don’t be guilty of these things.

2. Follow the golden rule. Be respectful and treat others as you want to be treated.

3. Time out is OK. If emotions are high, its OK to agree to stop and come back to the discussion.

4. Listen more than talk. It really isn’t all about you.

5. WAIT. This stands for Why Am I Talking? Ask yourself whether you have something significant to say or you’re talking just to be heard.

6. Keep a clean sweatsock handy. If you can’t control yourself stuff the sweatsock in your mouth.

7. Clearly state your objective. Whether it’s a decision, to share information, ask for input, etc., lack of clarity on your part will result in assumptions by the other party.

8. Be honest, not brutal. Honesty is essential, brutality is not.

9. Care more about the outcome than being right. Who cares if you’re right? All that matters is a successful outcome.

The book has a lot of sage advice just like these rules of engagement. It’s a quick read, and even if you are not considering a partnership, you should find useful tips on how to get along with others at work.

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If your business still has not embraced the tremendous strategic opportunity of the massive cultural shift being driven by social media, then you need to read Gary Vaynerchuck’s new book “The Thank You Economy.” Even if you have gotten started with social business, you might not be doing it correctly or at least have great room for improvement. This book can help because Gary articulates the powerful operating principles as well as anyone because he practices that he preaches.

For the record, I asked Gary for an advanced review copy of the book but he told me he was out. I got my hands on one anyway through one of Gary’s employees, Kade Dworkin, who always has Gary’s back. Thank you, Kade!

Gary writes exactly the way he speaks. He is passionate about what he believes and he does not pull his punches. I love that! The book is full of great quotes – here are two about social business that I really like:

When you know without a doubt that you’ve made good hires, it’s easy to give employees the freedom they need to give the kind of one-on-one customer service that will resonate in The Thank You Economy. Create a culture of openness. Let your employees blog and tweet as much as they like. And let them be themselves. Authenticity is a huge part of what makes social media initiatives work. (Chapter 4)

Quality content is king. Always. But from now on, quality content must be followed up with quality engagement. You had better be ready and waiting to engage your consumer online when they start Googling and tweeting Facebooking to find out more about the awesome content they just experienced, because that’s how our consumer culture works now. (Chapter 6)

Gary understands that operational excellence is the foundation of customer engagement. Gary’s core message is that you have to care – about your customers, about your employees, about your brand – with everything you’ve got. People will only care about you to the extent that you care about them.

There’s only so low you can go on price. There’s only so excellent you can make your product or service. There’s only so far you can stretch your marketing budget. Your heart, though, that’s boundless. (Chapter 1)

Thank you for saying that so well, Gary – I strongly concur. Take the time to read Gary’s new book. You will be thankful that you did.

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I really enjoyed Guy Kawasaki’s new book “Enchantment: The art of changing hearts, minds, and actions.” I received my copy of the book free from Guy. For me, the last seven chapters were better than the first six, but I think the entire book is worth your time and effort.

Guy defines enchantment as “the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. The outcome of enchantment is voluntary and long-lasting support that is mutually beneficial.” (p. xix). I like that a lot. People that are delighted behave entirely differently than those that are simply satisfied.

If you want to earn the enchantment of others, you are going to have to change your own behavior. Anyone can create enchantment, but not by wishful thinking.

“Enchantment” is very well researched, which I really appreciated. At the end of the book, Guy lists the 20 books about influence and persuasion he consulted to write “Enchantment.” He cites Robert Cialdini’s classic book so much that he even includes a note right above the index that says “I hope Robert Cialdini checks this index.”

Chapter 10 is about how to enchant your employees, and it is my favorite. Guy really nailed this one. Here are some of my favorite quotes from that chapter:

• Bakatare means “stupid” or “foolish,” and it’s the perfect description of people who think disenchanted employees can enchant customers. (p. 151)
• If you don’t enable your employees to please your customers, you create disenchantment. It means they cannot feel good about themselves, and you are putting them in the position of getting hammered by irate customers (p. 153).
• Judge yourself by what you’ve accomplished and others by what they intended (p. 153).
• Maybe your shortcomings caused the shortcomings of those who work for you. There’s a saying that if a manager has to fire someone, maybe the company should fire him, too, because the situation should not have reached this point. (p. 154).
• An enchanting boss makes sure that her employees know they are valuable and they are appreciated. Remember the words “We want you.” (p. 160).

The next chapter on how to enchant your boss contained some interesting advice. When Guy advocates underpromising and overdelivering, he comes right out and admits he is advising you to sandbag your boss. Some of his best advice in this chapter is to deliver bad news early:

“Good bosses want bad news early so that there are more opportunities to fix the problem. Bad bosses only want good news, however, because they prefer to live in a bubble. The problem is, when the bubble pops, you’ll go down with the bad boss.” (p. 171).

I liked this book more than I expected to. I think you will too. Take Guy’s Realistic Enchantment Aptitude Test (GREAT); if you pass, then skip the book. If you don’t do so well, then you will be delighted with “Enchantment.”

BTW: Guy practices what he preaches in this book. He is a very busy dude with a lot of demands on his time, but both the request to review the book and the follow-up to make sure I got it came personally from him. Most business “gurus” don’t operate that way. When I asked for an interview to post at my blog, he responded personally and promptly while in flight, which after reading the book I’ll assume was either Virgin Air or United.

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When Jeffrey Pfeffer’s new book “Power, Why Some People Have It – And Others Don’t,” came out recently, it did not get a lot of positive buzz in the leadership blogsphere. But I liked the book so much I might make it required reading for my next MBA class in organizational behavior. I neither like nor agree with everything Pfeffer has to say in the book, but he backs up his points with solid research, which I love. It has a few too many stories for my taste, but this is one of the best evidence-based books on leadership and management you can put your hands on, which is why I am recommending it.

Pfeffer’s writing got in my face and grabbed my attention in the introduction, where he wrote:

..the teaching on leadership is filled with prescriptions about following an inner compass, being truthful, letting inner feelings show, being modest and self-effacing, not behaving in a bullying or abusive way – in short, prescriptions about how people wish the world and the powerful behaved. There is no doubt that the world would be a much better, more humane place if people were always authentic, modest, truthful, and consistently concerned for the welfare of others instead of pursuing their own aims. But that world doesn’t exist. (p. 11).

Dang, I serve that kool-aid, so this was a real challenge for me. I do not intend to stop encouraging people to exhibit remarkable leadership, but Pfeffer is unfortunately right – the world I’ve worked in for 33 years has not been heavily populated with the kind of leaders I encourage others to be.

Pfeffer sets up the advice he offers in the book about how to acquire, keep, lose, and use power in his first chapter where he makes a strong case that your career success requires more than good performance:

The people responsible for your success are those above you, with the power to either promote or to block your rise up the organization chart. And there are always people above you, regardless of your position. Therefore, your job is to ensure that those influential others have a strong desire to make you successful. That may entail doing a good job. But it may also entail ensuring that those in power notice the good work that you do, remember you, and think well of you because you make them feel good about themselves. It is performance, coupled with political skill, that will help you rise through the ranks. Performance by itself is seldom sufficient, and in some instances, may not even be necessary. (p.35).

An ugly truth, but you’d be wise to heed Pfeffer’s counsel. But he ends his excellent book on an encouraging note:

So don’t complain about how life isn’t fair, or that your organizational culture isn’t healthy, or that your boss is a jerk. You have both the responsibility and the potential to change your situation, either in your present job or in some new place. Stop waiting for things to get better or for other people to acquire power and use it in a benevolent fashion to improve the situation. It’s up to you to find – or create – a better place for yourself. (236).

I strongly concur. Learn to continuously find the power to give yourself permission to be excellent by doing things your peers are not willing to do. Power is the heart of leadership and excellence. This book will help you understand how to get and keep power. It’s up to you to develop the strength of character and courage to use it wisely once you have it.

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