Zane Safrit

William Seidman: What Are You Reading?

Dr. Seidman is also CEO & co-founder of Cerebyte, which gives organizations the ability and the confidence to dramatically improve their performance. Their pioneering technology, based on the latest science of how we think and learn, enables them to quickly capture top performers' "secret sauce" and raise the performance of everyone else to that same high level. Their solution has been adopted by companies such as Intel, Jack in the Box, American Family Insurance, Nike to name a few.

Aligning with the latest research in positive deviance, fair process, neuroscience and mass customization, their solution makes it possible to quickly capture your top performers' expert knowledge, approach and values, and then systematically help everyone else apply them in theit work.

And he is the co-author of Strategy to Action in 10 Days: Creating High Performance Organizations.

From his website:

Strategy to Action provides a groundbreaking approach that quickly infuses any organization with the skills, attitudes, behaviors and culture vital to extraordinary performance. This practical, step-by-step approach guides readers to create a highly predicable, scalable and engaging environment that will have everyone in the organization performing like a superstar.

After reading it, understanding his principles and his methodology and as important the science behind it...I would have to agree. 

He's a leader. So, I asked him:

You’re a leader. I use this quote every week. Jim Rohn says that Leaders are readers. What are you reading these days... in all your free time?

And, he answered:

Yeah, in all my free time.

So, I must confess that some of my friends, I have a doctorate from Stanford and they say:

“ How could a doctorate from Stanford read some of the junk I read?”

I always read two books. I read junk. I’m reading a Clive Clussler book right now.

I also read a lot on the neuroscience. I’m reading a book called You Are Not Your Brain by Jeff Schwartz. Part of what we’re talking about is the response to Obama. You Are Not Your Brain shows that certain portions of the brain, particularly the pre-frontal cortex enable you to feel empowered, to feel energized and to quite literally educate the nay-saying, the negative, the fear-driven portions of your brain and make them less important.

It’s a very powerful book for how to become, the technical term is self-directed neuro-plasticity. In the best sense a continuous self-learner for whatever your purpose is in life. And it can absolutely enhance the quality of your life.

Fantastic.

Want more from William Seidman?

• Follow him on Twitter.

• Read his blog.

• Buy his book.

• You can listen to our conversation here.

• You can read Part One of our conversation here.

• You can read Part Two of our conversation here.

• You can read Part Three of our conversation here.

Tom Rieger: What Are You Reading?

Tom Rieger, author of Breaking the Fear Barrier: How Destroys Companies from the Inside Out and What to Do About It, joined the show recently.

Tom's an excellent author and a leader. So, I asked him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn said that. I'm just smart enough to quote him. You're a leader. What are you reading?

And he answered:

If someone is interested in the concepts of the book then there’s a few things I’d certainly suggest to them from my list.

There’s a book out there called Advances in Behavioral Economics. If you are interested in what really drives people’s decision-making then I strongly encourage you to pick it up. It’s a collection of academic papers so it might not be for everybody. But I find it fascinating and I read it over and over again.

There’s a book called And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline and Fall of the American Steel Industry by John Hoerr ....which I think is an absolute great example of everything I talk about in the book as it related to the steel industry and Pittsburgh in the ’80’s.

You know, I was at Carnegie-Mellon, basically while all this was happening. The book is written very objectively and you can see how these entitlements and this fear of loss on both sides of the aisle; it’s not just a labor issue, it’s not just an industry or management issue, it was all three of those things. And how this all began, everyone trying to do the right thing. And this whole thing came crashing down and it’s a good example of just how much damage this kind of thing can do.

Now that the book is finally done and I can start reading again...there’re a few books on my reading list. I’ve heard there’s good book called Tribal Leadership by ....One person who reviewed the book said it’s a book I absolutely have to read.

Fantastic. I love the list of books and it helps me expand my reading list.

Want more from Tom Rieger?

• Follow him on Twitter.

• You can listen to our conversation here

• You can read the interview here:
  • Part One
  • Part Two
  • Part Three

Julie Steelman: What Are You Reading?

 Julie Steelman joined the show recently.

Julie is the author of The Effortless Yes! Demystify the selling process and discover:

• Your selling archetype
• Your natural asking style
• Your bankability

I wrote this in Parts One and Two:

After our conversation and reading her book, I am not sure that the copy on her website does her justice; it may be understated.

I stand behind that, still. Great book, great solution. Get it, read it, do it.  

Julie's a leader. So, I asked her.

Leaders are readers.  Jim Rohn says that. I just quote him. You're a leader. What are you reading in all your free time?

And she answered:

You know, I kind of go back and forth.

Right now, I gotta tell you I just read my first Stieg Larson book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So, I love really good rich fiction.

My favorite business book is The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. And that’s about mastering the inner game. And he teases me all the time.

“ It’s not a business book!”

But it should be. It’s a really good mastering the inner game book.

Want more from Julie Steelman?

• Follow her on Twitter.

• Read her blog.

• By her book.

• You can listen to our conversation here.

• You can read Part One of our conversation here.

• You can read Part Two of our conversation here.

• You can read Part Three of our conversation here.

 

Oren Klaff, What Are You Reading?

Oren Klaff shared an hour of his day with me recently as a guest on my radio show. You can listen to our conversation at this link.

Oren pitches deals for a living. And judging from his success, he pitches them very well. As Director of Capital Markets for investment bank Intersection Capital, he is responsible for managing their capital raising platform with both direct capital raising and deal syndication.  During the previous five years, Oren supervised and assisted in the placement of over $400 million of investor capital.

He also has written one of the better books on pitching, selling, presenting I have read. Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Pitching, Presenting and Winning the Deal is the work of one who loves his work, has achieved outstanding results with his work, and desires to share how he works, how he achieves his success, with others.

Look at our economy. We need to be able Pitch Anything or at least something.

Given all this, it made sense for me to ask him:

You're a leader. Jim Rohn says Leaders are readers. What are you reading with all free time?

And he gave a great answer:

It may be cliche’ but I have 2 books that kinda never leave my desk. One is my own book...I’m just kidding.

Jeffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm. I read and I re-read.

Michael Porter’s book on Competitive Advantage. I read and re-read.

And in some ways that question is

“Hey. What’s all the new stuff coming out.”

The new stuff to me...you know there hasn’t been any investment since 2008 - 2010 by the publishers in really good writing. I know the publishers. They’re going with known names who have existing platforms. It’s kinda like saying X-man 2-3-4-5. There hasn’t been an investment in great new writer. So, you’re not seeing a ton of great new stuff coming out.

There’s one third book I would add to that. And it’s not new either. Joseph M. Williams wrote a book called Style: Towards Clarity and Grace. If you write or need to communicate, that’s just a great book.

Those are the things I’m reading now.

Fantastic. I thought you might say you weren’t one of those people who read a lot. But I can tell you’re a discerning reader.

Want more from Oren Klaff?

• Read his blog

• Follow him on Twitter

• Buy his book: Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Pitching, Presenting and Winning the Deal

Rajeev Peshawaria, What Are You Reading?

Rajeev Peshawaria was a guest on my radio show recently. You can listen here.

Rajeev Peshawaria is currently CEO of the ICLIF Leadership & Governance Centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which provides executive education and advisory services to organizations in Asia, Middle East and Africa.

 Prior to joining ICLIF in April 2010, Rajeev worked at AMEX, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, and Morgan Stanley. He was Chief Learning Officer and Head of Talent Management at Morgan Stanley, where he founded Morgan Stanley University, a global earning and Chief Learning Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, where he created and headed Coca-Cola University.

We talked about his new book: Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders: The Three Essential Principles You Need to Become an Extraordinary Leader.

My reading list today includes fewer and fewer books from leadership experts. But, I made an exception for Mr. Peshawaria based on his journey of discovery with some of the world's leading organizations. And how well and with such clarity he shares the steps of this journey in his book. And by doing so, he points his readers in that same direction of discovery that will lead them towards being an exceptional leader.

It made sense to ask him, a leader, what he reads. So, I asked him:

Readers are leaders. That's a quote from Jim Rohn which I quote with every quest. You're a leader. What are you reading these days?

And, as you would expect, he answered with clarity and precision. I loved the range of his reading, too.

I just finished reading a great book called New York, The Novel by Edward Rutherford. I call it ‘unputdownable’. This work of narrative fiction takes the reader through a captivating journey of New York City. I simply loved it. Somebody, like me, who didn’t grow up in the United States this was very informative in a very very captivating way.

I recommend it for anyone who likes narrative fiction and is interested in New York history.

And, I just started reading V.S. Naipul’s A Bend in the River. It’s set in Africa. I don’t have an opinion on it as I just began reading it.

If you were asking about leadership books, I’m a big fan of Bill George’s writing on leadership and Steve Kerr’s work on rewards.

So, those would be some of the one’s I would highlight.

I so appreciated his book, his interview, that answer...I couldn't help but follow with:

One of my biggest challenges I faced was finding each page of your book had enough for us to talk about for this hour. Thank you for that challenge and headache trying to condense your book into a one-hour conversation.

I’m an avid reader anyway. I read a lot of books for this show. I tend to not read very many leadership books; I find few as exemplary as yours.

Thank you for writing this book and hopefully inspiring many.

Want more from Rajeev Peshawaria?

• Read his blog

• Follow him on Twitter

• Buy his book: Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders: The Three Essential Principles You Need to Become an Extraordinary Leader.

Jodi Glickman, What Are You Reading?

Jodi Glickman was a guest on my radio show recently. Jodie is a former Peace Corps volunteer (Southern Chile) turned investment banker (Goldman Sachs) turned communication expert. She received her MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, where she was a Park Leadership Fellow and received a full-ride scholarship to business school. Before turning to the world of finance, Jodi was a policy analyst at the U.S. EPA and did brief stints at the White House and Governor’s Office of Illinois. She has a B.S. in Social Policy, Magna Cum Laude, from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.

Jodi has trained some of the best and brightest young minds in business—her clients include Harvard Business School, Wharton, NYU Stern School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, BofA/Merrill, Citigroup, Baird & Co., among others.

Now she offers her expertise in her latest book: Great On the Job: What to Say, How to Say it. The Secrets of Getting Ahead.

Wow. Clearly-written, very-focused, usable and doable advice and tips, and it addresses the biggest challenge and opportunity for us all: Communication.

You can listen to our conversation here.

As you can tell from her book, her career and from listening to our conversation...Jodi is a leader.

So, I asked her:

You're a leader. Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that. I just quote him. What are you reading?

And for her answer, well, she knew what to say and how to say it....

For the first time, reading for real, it’s been so nice.

I’m reading a great book by Mika Brzezinski called Knowing Your Value. It's about women in the workplace, we are undervalued and underpaid. She’s the co-host of Morning Joe in MSNBC.

On a fun note, I ‘m reading a great book called The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit. It’s about Egypt in the 1950’s.

I just finished another book called The Commoner, it’s about 1940’s Japan.

I don’t know why I’m in this WW2 phase. But both of those are excellent books.

Want More from Jodi Glickman?

• Read her blog

• Follow her on Twitter

• Buy her book!

Richard Troxell, What Are You Reading?

Richard R. Troxell is President of House the Homeless, an educational and advocacy group that was founded in Austin, TX in 1989. Their mission is education and advocacy surrounding all issues of homelessness.

Richard has been striving to end homelessness since he first saw it come into existence as a mortgage foreclosure preventionist in Philadelphia in the 1980s. His work has been recognized by HUD, Texas Governor Ann Richards, the Pennsylvania Senate and the United Nations. He has also received the Five Who Care Award and the JC Penny Golden Rule Award, among countless others. Having designed a paradigm change for homeless service delivery, he secured $100,000 from former Texas Governor George Bush for the jobs component.

He’s the author of Looking up at the Bottomline: The Struggle for the Living Wage, an intense personal, political, and educational guide through the last 30 years of homelessness in America.

Richard's an obvious leader. Obviously, I had to ask him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that. I just quote him. You're an inspiring leader. What are you reading, serious or for fun?

And he generously answered:

I just put down John Grisham's Ford County: Stories. This was interesting to me. It was about Ford County in Mississippi where he immerses us in the workings of a small town. This was a series of short stories. That was fun.

I’m looking at Short Story Masterpieces with Faulkner and James Joyce, the classics. I’m having fun getting through there.

I’ve been looking at Doris Kearns Goodwin. She wrote the Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It's a fascinating read. He had some really stiff competition as he headed towards his election. So, he made him his cabinet. He’d rather have them working for him rather than against him. They were the smartest people he knew. That’s call The Team of Rivals.

I’m working on American Lion which is about Andrew Jackson in the White House.

You mix these things with the daily newspaper and you see it going on.

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That reading list, that behavior, is common among leaders. They jump around a lot. The books on their reading list reflect a diverse set of interests and curious minds, minds always seeking to learn and learn from other experts in other areas outside their area of expertise.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring.

That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

Matthew May! What Are You Reading?

Matthew May joined the show recently to talk about his excellent new book: The Shibumi Strategy: A Powerful Way to Create Meaningful Change.

You can listen to our conversation here. You can read full transcripts here.

Matt's a leader. It made sense to ask him:

You’re a leader. Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn said that. What are you reading for work or play?

And he generously answered:

I just finished reading a great book by Steven Shapiro, an innovation consultant. It’s called Personality Poker and it comes with a deck of cards.

Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson...by the way I review books on a weekly basis for Open Forum.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, by Nancy Duarte. It’s about how you craft a story for presentation. Just a great book that everyone should read because all of us have to pitch an idea sometime.

I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works, by Nick Bilton, NY Times blogger.

Those are some of the books I’ve been reading that I get inspiration from.

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Leaders are readers.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring. That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

Gail Z. Martin! What Are You Reading?

Gail Z. Martin is the creator of The Solopreneur Survival Guide, the host of the Shared Dreams podcast and the author of 30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn and Facebook. Gail is an international speaker on marketing and social media, and in her spare time, she writes a bestselling fantasy adventure series of books. She founded Dream Spinner Communications in 2002 and now works with clients through the US and Canada.

She joined the show recently to talk about her great new book: 30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn and Facebook.

You can listen to our conversation here. You can read highlights from our conversation here.

Gail's a leader. I asked her:

You’re a leader. You’re an avid writer, also. Jim Rohn says that Leaders are readers. What are you reading in business or for fun?

And she answered:

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on speaking. I’ve been reading a lot of books on how to be a better professional speaker.

I re-read Michael Port’s book Book Yourself Solid now for about the 6th time. I’m constantly reinventing my business so that book and his sequel to that are very valuable.

I’m also always reading books about social media and the internet...because it’s always changing.

**********

Leaders are readers.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring. That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

 

Peter Sheahan, What Are You Reading?

Peter Sheahan is founder and CEO of ChangeLabs™, a global consultancy delivering large-scale behavioral change projects for clients such as Apple and IBM, Peter Sheahan has worked with some of the world’s leading brands in the area of innovation and change.

He joined us to talk about his latest, maybe greatest, book: Making It Happen: Turning Good Ideas into Great Results.

You can listen at this link. You can read highlights from our conversation here.

Peter's a leader. It made sense, then, to ask him:

Readers are leaders. Jim Rohn says that, I just quote him. You're a leader. What are you reading these days?

And he answered:

I’ve given up kinda reading the really general books. I’m much more into reading the very deep, very narrow, highly-researched pieces of work.

The best book I‘ve read lately is a book called Where Good Ideas Come From. It deals with a fascinating exploration of how idea generation, like rally breakthrough innovations, really mimics evolution in nature.

Even though my world is about once you’ve got a good idea, a crucial part of my work is helping people come up with ideas as well.

I’m reading a lot of stuff about innovation and execution.

I really do believe it’s not about talking a big game; it’s about execution and getting things done. I’m reading anything that helps companies develop cultures, processes, systems that create a culture of execution.

For me now it’s really about tactics and how to get things done.

**********

Leaders are readers.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring.

That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

Dan Hill! What Are You Reading?

Dan Hill, founder and President of Sensory Logic and author of About Face: The Secrets of Emotionally Effective Advertising joined our show recently. You can listen to our conversation here.

About Face shows how 21st century advertising can realize success by being 'on-emotion' first and foremost. Using data from eye tracking and facial coding to analyse consumer responses, About Face demonstrates exactly which advertising strategies are successful and why.

We talked about the research, examples and solutions his book included. And we touched on some of the trends and issues in the advertising industry.

Dan's a leader of his company and a leader in the advertising industry. So, it made sense to ask him what was on his reading list.

I asked him.

You're a leader. Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that. I just quote him. What are you reading these days?

And he answered:

I am reading a book on evolutionary psychology, mating and romance.

I’m reading constantly a book on the brain.

I’m reading native american novelists.

I jump around a lot.

A book just arrived about sports and statistics. That’s a project we’re working on. Matheletics just showed up for me.

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That reading list, that behavior, is common among leaders. They jump around a lot. The books on their reading list reflect a diverse set of interests and curious minds, minds always seeking to learn and learn from other experts in other areas outside their area of expertise.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring.

That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

Doug Mitchell! What Are You Reading?

Doug Mitchell, author, successful entrepreneur, geo-arbitrageur and author of the just-published The Multi Thread Marketer: How to Hire One or Better Yet Be One was guest on my radio show recently. You can listen here.

In 2007 Doug founded a Virtual Multimedia Marketing Agency called createWOWmedia which he sold in 2010.

Doug currently is VP of Marketing at BirdDogJobs, an innovative 14 year old company who recently received venture funding to rebrand, relaunch, and dominate.

Doug holds a PhD in BizWizardry and is a full-time faculty member at the Secret School of Business.

Doug's a leader. So, I asked him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn said that. I just love to quote him. You're a leader and an avid reader. What are you reading for fun and work these days? In your free time?

And Doug answered:

I’ll tell you what, reading is a discipline I'm trying to instill fully. Audible books is a great savior in that area. I listen religiously to a podcast called Skeptoid. I’m sure Brian Dunning wouldn’t mind the promotion. It happens every Tuesday and lasts for about 12 minutes.

I’m reading Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy, trying to get out of reading business books. Trying to get a little more pleasurable reading in there.

Got the John Adams abridged biography which is 30 hours on tape. 

The Mesh by Lisa Gansky. It’s relatively good. It talks about mesh businesses that rely on interconnected businesses.

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Reading is common among leaders. They jump around a lot. The books on their reading list reflect a diverse set of interests and curious minds, minds always seeking to learn and learn from other experts in other areas outside their area of expertise.

That is how you create a culture of learning as Gary Harpst talked about in an earlier show. That culture of learning is critical if you want to continually learn new tools and resources and skills and master more talents. That is how you discover new solutions for the new challenges that your growth will bring.

That is also how you develop a culture of leaders. Learners are leaders. Reading is one way you learn. Reading what leaders read is one way you accelerate that learning, accelerate that leading for yourself and your company.

Josh Linkner, What Are You Reading?

I spoke with Josh Linkner recently. You can listen to our conversation here.

Josh Linkner is on a mission. His mission is to make the world more creative.

He's written a fabulous manual to do just that: Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity.

Josh is the Founder, Chairman and former CEO of the largest interactive promotion agency in the world, ePrize. Josh led the firm from inception to being ranked the #1 fastest growing and #3 overall promotion agency by PROMO Magazine.

Recently, Josh launched the venture capital firm Detroit Venture Partners,actively investing in early-stage techn companies looking to rebuild the Detroit region through entrepreneurship.

Josh is clearly a leader. So, I asked him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that. I just like it and use it here on this show. You're a leader, have been for over 20 years. What are you reading for fun or work?

And here's what he answered:

I am a voracious reader.

Some of the favorite books I’ve read recently are:

Seth Godin’ book, Linchpin, is phenomenal; I’d highly recommend it.

There’s a book for startups called Do More Faster by my friends David Cohen and Brad Feld. It’s a collection of very short chapters, 2-3 pages, for entrepreneurs on building companies.

There’s a book called Rework written by the founders of 37 Signals.

There’s a great book called The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander. He talks all about exporing what can be instead of just focusing on what is.

By the way on my website, which is Josh Linker, I have a pretty long list of reading.

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A few threads, themes, stand out:

• Voracious reader.
• Curious and creative leader.
• Cash-flow positive businesses.

These qualities all seem to go together.

Leaders today need to have all of these qualities.

Brett Trout, What Are You Reading?

Brett Trout joined our show recently to talk about all things IP, intellectual property, and IT, information technology and their issues for online business. You can listen here to our conversation.

Brett’s a practicing attorney and head of an AV-Rated law firm AV-rated Midwest law firm, that offers their clients the global perspective on Intellectual Property and Information Technology issues. AV-Rated means Brett and his law firm have been rated by their peers to be considered preeminent in their field.

He’s also the author of Cyber Law, a Legal Arsenal for Online Business as well as a long-time leader in the use of social media from back in the day. He’s authored a spirited, outspoken, candid blog at BlawGit.

Brett is a leader in so many areas in so many ways. I asked him:

You’re a leader. Leaders are readers, as Jim Rohn said. What are you reading these days?

And he answered:

I’m reading A Struggle for Power: The American Revolution, by Theodore Draper. I hate history. But this is such a riveting book. I can’t put it down. It’s a very long book and a real eye-opener for what led up to the American Revolution and it’s not what I was taught at school.

The other book is I’m a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s a book on the origins of consciousness.

They are kind of difficult reads but they pay off quite handsomely.

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Leaders are readers. Read what they are reading. Learn what they are learning. And then you can catch up with them. Then you can start to lead from that starting point.

Chris Zane, What Are You Reading?

Chris Zane is founder and CEO of Zane's Cycles which has achieved an average annual growth rate of 23% annual since 1980 when it opened.

How?

"Zane credits his success to giving 'extraordinary customer service with the help of an empowered team of employees...The whole thing is about having a good time. Being positive. People have to be happy at work.' "

His book, Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers, shares his story, his journey, to reinventing the wheel for his business and along the way creating lifetime customers over 3 or 4 recessions, three wars, 7 presidential elections....and achieved that stunning growth rate selling bicycles.

We talked about that and more during our recent conversation. You can listen here. You can read more transcripts here.

Chris is a leader in so many ways on so many levels. I asked him:

You're a leader. Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that; I just quote him. On your website, you have a page where you have a recommended reading list. One of them caught my eye. The Offshore Nation. How do you offshore or outsource your customer experiences? Where do you draw the line in that dynamic?

And he answered:

I certainly believe that readers are leaders. One of the reasons I promote this book on my website is because we all need to know what is out there and what’s changing.

There are a lot of books out there that are talking about looking at the global economy. When you look at the US economy as whole, we’re not in the manufacturing business, we’re in the service business. IBM is spending time promoting that you’re going to get an academic degree in service management or service science like you can get a degree in service science.

People need to read books on potentially what’s happening out in the marketplace, or the world, that will challenge our existence to be successful.

And The Offshore Nation is a great book to know what is potentially coming down the line.

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Leaders are readers. Read what they are reading. Learn what they are learning. And then you can catch up with them. Then you can start to lead from that starting point.

Jennifer Sertl! What Are You Reading?

Jennifer Sertl, founder and president of Agility3R, joined our radio show not too long ago. You can listen here. (You should, too. Very inspiring! )

From the website of Agility3R:

Over the past 12 years Jennifer's expertise and keen insights have dominated paradigm shifts in executive leadership, employee engagement and shareholder responsibility in both privately held and publicly traded corporations in the transportation, telecommunications and health care industries...

She recently co-authored with Koby Huberman an excellent book titled: Leadership, Strategy and the Soul: Resilience, Responsiveness and Reflection for a Global Economy. The book is the result of a 5 year journey that began when Jennifer and Koby co-author met at a conference in France in 2005.

All of this, makes her a leader.

So, I asked her:

You’re a leader. Jim Rohn wrote that Leaders are readers. In all your free time with this book, your consulting, your 3 children, occasional sleep...what are you reading?

And she answered:

I’m reading two books.

The 4 Loves, by CS Lewis’s. It’s about the 4 ways we live love.

Complex Adaptive Leadership by Nick Obolensky. He has some really rich case studies.

See? Love and leadership. Leaders live love in their work, their purpose and followers gather around leaders who live their love.

Jennifer, with her book and her work and her family, lives her love.

Bill Davidow! What Are You Reading?

Each guest on my radio show is asked what are they reading, for fun or work or both. I ask them that because they are readers. One habit consistent across leaders of all ages, industries, skills, markets...is they are avid learners. And that means they are avid readers. They are able to lead because they are able to read and learn from others.

If you want to be a leader, follow in the footsteps of leaders. Read what leaders read.

Bill Davidow was a recent guest who offered wonderful insights and observations on the internet. Bill has served the high-technology industry as executive and venture investor for over 30 years. He remains active as an advisor to Mohr Davidow Ventures, a venture capital firm.

And, he's written a fascinating book titled: OVERConnected: The Promise and Threat of the Internet

I asked him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that; I just quote him. You're a leader, have been a leader for decades. You’ve mentioned a few books here already. What are you reading, for fun or work?

And here's what he answered:

Well, I just got through all the Dragon Tattoo books. I enjoyed reading those.

I just got through reading the Master Switch: TheRise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu which is an excellent book.

I’m reading a book titled Virtually You, right now.

I enjoy plowing through all these things and do my best to stay informed. I guess I’m going to just keep reading.

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You can read the full transcript of my conversation with Bill Davidow here.

Paul R. Williams, What Are You Reading?

Paul R. Williams is founder of the American Institute for Innovation Excellence and author of The Innovation Manager's Playbook and The Innovation Manager's Desk Reference.

We talked about his leadership role in the field of innovation and how businesses of all sizes and persuasions can use the resources he's provided in his two books, his blog, Think for a Change and his recently founded organization American Institute for Innovation Excellence to create a sustainable culture of innovation that brings progress, growth and success for all of their stakeholders.

You can listen to his comments here.

Paul's clearly a leader. I asked him:

You’re a leader. Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn said that. I just quote him. And you’re avid reader, too. What are you reading in all your free time? Fiction or non.

I use some of the Christmas catching up on all that reading. And I have a vacation coming up and my Kindle’s loaded up.

The book I just finished reading that’s phenomenal is The Week that Changed Wall Street. It’s by Maria Bartiromo who’s the money honey on CNBC and it’s about all that went on and behind the scenes that weekend when Lehman fell and brought the world economy to its knees.

It’s amazing how just a few people can make bad decisions that effect billions of people.

I’m just starting another book called Company Town by Hardy Green. It’s a book that looks at the old company towns and utopian towns of industrialists like Hershey and Disney and Ford. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of building a town from scratch. It’s really a neat book.

The last one is called the Vault of Walt by Jim Korkis. There’s a lot of stories in here that have not been told. We talked about this the last time. Walt Disney is sorta my hero with innovation. Talk about a guy who dreamed big and made it happen. Any time I have chance to learn more about his life, I take.

See? There's that diversity of interests as reflected by a curious mind, a mind constantly reaching out and learning.

That makes sense for a leader in innovation. Innovation is about learning. It's about discovering. It's about seeing the world and its different possibilities.

You can read the notes from our conversation here.

Elizabeth Doty, What Are You Reading?

Elizabeth Doty joined the show recently. I hope you listen as we talked about her work with WorkLore and her inspiring and useable book: The Compromise Trap: How to Thrive at Work Without Selling Your Soul.

Elizabeth co-founded WorkLore which works with corporate clients in helping their leaders and teams make their missions real, increasing the engagement, integrity and alignment that make their work bigger than a game.

All this makes Elizabeth a great guest and leader. So, I asked her:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn said that. I just quote him. You’re a leader. What are you reading these days...in all your free time. I say that with a big smile on my face ‘cause I know you’re so busy. Fun or work, fiction or non.

And she answered:  

A couple of things that have been really interesting to me.

The Devils are Here. Anything with a faustian bent is what I’m interested in. This is a detailed description of the mortgage-backed securities and how it evolved. And it really reinforces that we can’t point our fingers at any bad apples. This is systemic stuff. It's very interesting to watch.

The Mars Trilogy. It’s this very detailed account of how we might create a culture on another planet. And all the working out of technology and democracy to put that in place.

The Art of Convening. It’s about how to have these deep conversations to solve these problems together. That’s an inspiring one.

You can read the notes from our conversation here.

 

Derek Irvine, What Are You Reading?

Each guest on my radio show is asked what are they reading, for fun or work or both. I ask them that because they are readers. One habit consistent across leaders of all ages, industries, skills, markets...is they are avid learners. And that means they are avid readers. They are able to lead because they are able to read and learn from others.

If you want to be a leader, follow in the footsteps of leaders. Read what leaders read.

Derek Irvine is such a leader. He is co-author with Eric Mosely, of WINNING WITH A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION: Recognition Strategies at the World's Most Admired Companies and head of client strategy and consulting for Globoforce is our joined the show recently.

He recently joined the show. You can listen here.

I asked him:

Leaders are readers. Jim Rohn says that. I just quote him. You’re a leader. What are you reading these days, for work or not.

I’m re-reading a book I read 6 months ago. Many of your listeners will know it. It’s Dan Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. The reason I’m re-reading is I put Dan’s book in a slide presentation for a client. I wanted to make sure I got all the details.

I put it up there with a number of other scholarly academics from over the years. Names like Maslow or Frederick Hirshberg. I put Dan up there with these two legendary figures because I think he’s doing a great job bursting some myths himself around the whole topic of what really motivates us.

In that book and we shared a speaking platform with him, he talks about sharing a great culture and managing that culture to support those things that truly motivate us.

Dan is creating a few ways to describe our industry, the incentive industry. He talks a lot about incentives as such, old-school incentives, just aren’t working in today’s workplace. Where we’re so much more dependent on knowledge workers and people need to act in an autonomous way.

Incentives came out of the industrial era when they were putting widgets together. Some people don’t like it. They have vested interests in the old-school sales incentive model. But we’re in total alignment, supporting good winning cultures, cultures designed to get a good working place where you’re inspired to give your best every day.

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You can read the full transcript of my conversation with Derek Irvine here.

You can see the recent webinar, organized by Derek and his fine crew at Globoforce, titled 10 Myths of Employee Recognition. Besides Derek, David Zinger, founder of the 3500 member Employee Engagement community, and I participated.