Self Leadership by Andrew Bryant & Ana Kazan - Book review

Self-Leadership

How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out

By: Andrew Bryant, Ana Kazan, Ph.D.

Published: August 21, 2012
Format: Paperback, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 0071799095
ISBN-13: 978-0071799096
Publisher: McGraw-Hill












"In life and in business, before we lead others we must be able to lead ourselves", write international thought leader on self leadership, Andrew Bryant; and Visiting Scholar at North Carolina State University, Ana Kazan, Ph.D., in their empowering and research based book Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out. The authors describe how self leadership, and intentionally influencing oneself, will create the empowering conditions for leaders to achieve their goals.

Nadrew Bryant and Ana Kazan recognize the value of self leadership for those who believe they can live a positive and productive life, and influence those around them to travel the same course. The authors share how a leader must think effectively, behave congruently, and relate in empathetic manner. Through their research and experience, the authors point out that self leadership is needed to achieve all three goals. They also offer the wisdom the the three qualities are also part of what comprises a great human being. The authors provide evidence that in the modern world of flattened hierarchies, global teams, and empowered and and engaged people, a fresh approach to leadership is required. The authors present the concept and practice of self leadership as fulfilling that new style leadership role.

Andrew Bryant (photo left) and Ana Kazan understand that leadership of oneself provides the basic foundation for leading others. For the authors, leadership begins on the inside and is then projected outward to achieve any organizational goals or programs. The practice of self leadership builds the leader's own self confidence level for empowering others to achieve their goals. A self leadership focused individual is also more self aware and is more calm in times of stress, and much more resilient following times of stress or crisis.

The authors point out the positive benefits for the individual from self leadership:

* Self awareness
* Self confidence
* Finding meaning and purpose
* Decreased stress
* Increased happiness
* Better relationships

The authors also share the benefits that self leadership provides for the overall organization:

* Engaged and empowered workforce
* Improved goal setting and results
* Faster and better decision making
* More creativity and innovation
* Reduced conflicts
* Collaborative team efforts

For me, the power of the book is how Andrew Bryan and Ana Kazan combine the theory of self self leadership with the practices and techniques to develop self leadership within oneself. The authors build a solid case for self leadership as the foundation for overall organizational leadership. The principles of self leadership can be taught readily to everyone within the organization. The book contains the necessary practices and exercises to develop self leadership, as well as providing the reasons for developing the skills.

What the leader must do to become a successful leader is to practice the principles outlined in the book. The authors also present the science behind the concept of self leadership. The research findings demonstrate how people learn and benefit from the principles of self leadership. Those principles then expand outward to strengthen and enhance the entire organization.

I highly recommend the personal development breakthrough book Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out by Andrew Bryant and Ana Kazan, Ph.D., to any leaders at any level of an organization who are seeking a practical and results oriented guide to establishing a solid character based foundation for leadership. This book will not only transform you into a more effective and successful leader, but will empower your entire organization as well.

Ethics of Big Data by Kord Davis - Book review

Ethics of Big Data

Balancing Risk and Innovation

By: Kord Davis

Published: September 28, 2012
Format: Paperback, 82 pages
ISBN-10: 1449311792
ISBN-13: 978-1449311797
Publisher: O'Reilly Media














"The swelling ranks of organizations that increasing depend on big-data technologies include dozens of familiar names and a growing number you've never heard of", writes former business strategist and technical consultant Kord Davis in his clear and concise book Ethics of Big Data: Balancing Risk and Innovation. The author describes how large companies, in possession of vast amounts of personal information and data, face many ethical challenges regarding their policies on privacy and identity.

Kord Davis recognizes that companies face real ethical dilemmas and potential for abuse due to their collection of massive quantities of data through an array of big-data technology. The author points out that big data also has an impact on brand quality, customer relationships, and revenue. Due to the enormous volume of information collected by big-data technology, the data can have far reaching consequences, serious repercussions, and move ever faster in its effect on those same brands.

Kord Davis provides insights into how this increasing pressure from big data forces companies to reexamine their organizational values and ethical behavior. With more ways for brands and customers to engage, communicate, and interact, these ever more pressing ethical questions must be considered and become part of the company behavior.

Kord Davis (photo left) understands that while the ethical questions are usually framed in terms of individuals, that the real impact of how the organization acts on its values have far deeper ramifications. The author addresses the implications of big data for both individuals and for companies. As a result, Kord Davis offers analysis of how both individuals and organizations of any size or type mus understand the handling and applications of data. The author considers the benefits, risks, and unintended consequences of this immense volume of data on very large numbers of people.

Kord Davis finds four common principles in the framework for the ethics of big data. Those four components are as follows:

* Identity: The relationship between online and offline identity
* Privacy: Who and how is access to data controlled
* Ownership of data: Who owns it and what are the responsibilities of holders
* Reputation: Is the data trustworthy

For me, the power of the book is how Kord Davis combines an analysis of the ethical and values based challenges of big data, with a practical strategy for ensuring the organization behaves ethically with that data. The author provides evidence that the very overwhelming volume of data collected is changing the very way people value privacy, identity, ownership, and reputation. Big data is reshaping the ethical values surrounding those key elements, and the behavior that results from that value change.

With that values shift, it's critical for organizations to develop strategic and tactical plans to overcome the rift between ethics and behavior. The author demonstrate how to create alignment between values and practices. Kord Davis also recognizes that with the immense volume of data, that any policy will have unintended consequence, and recommends anticipation of unexpected outcomes from innovative treatment of big data.

I highly recommend the balanced values and ethics based book Ethics of Big Data: Balancing Risk and Innovation by Kord Davis, to any organizational leaders, executives, managers, entrepreneurs, watchdog groups, public policy makers, and individuals who are concerned with ensuring that big data is treated and handled in an ethical manner. This book raises important questions, and offers practical and readily applicable strategies for maintaining values that benefit the customers, employees, brands and the organization as a whole.

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The 3 Power Values by David Gebler - Book review

The 3 Power Values

How Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency Clear the Roadblocks to Performance

By David Gebler

Published: May 1, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1118101324
ISBN-13: 978-1118101322
Publisher: Jossey-Bass












"The road to high performance begins with understanding how your company's culture affects your people's behavior and performance", writes speaker, attorney,and thought leader on ethics and corporate culture, David Gebler, in his insightful and ethical culture creating book The 3 Power Values: How Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency Clear the Roadblocks to Performance. The author describes how to remove the corporate cultural roadblocks, that prevent employees from living the right values within their organizations, and for serving their customers.

David Gebler understands the importance of company culture to the overall performance of the organization. The author also understands that employees already possess the values and ethics, but those values and ethics are all too often obstructed by decisions and practices of the organization. David Gebler proposes removing those impediments to acting on the right values. He demonstrates that strong ethical behavior is also good for business profitability. The author provides the three cultural pillars that remove those systemic barriers that deter values based actions. David Gebler shows leaders how to encourage and reward ethical behavior that transforms the overall organizational culture to an ethics based one.

David Gebler (photo left) recognizes how a toxic corporate culture has a negative impact on the decisions made within the organization. The deep chasm that exists between the stated company values, and those practiced in the daily routine is all too often out of alignment. The author shares the principles for realigning company values with the innate ethical values of the employees.

The author points out the destructive cultural practices that lead to toxicity within the culture through the derailment of ethics and values. Those three roadblocks to ethics and values based behavior are:

* Self-deception where the employee overlooks the risks and questionable action
* Rationalization where an unethical decision may achieve a short term goal
* Disengagement where problems linger due to apathy
*
David Gebler bases the cultural transformation, to countering the hijacking behaviors, through the internalizing and practicing of three power values. Those three values are:

* Commitment that connects values with goals to engage employees
* Integrity to build trust that the values behavior will continue
* Transparency where an open culture encourages expression of values

For me, the power of the book is how David Gebler combines a comprehensive analysis of the root causes of a toxic company culture with the three power values that transform the organization to one based on values. The author shines a strong light on the misalignment within organizations, where the policy may be one of values and ethics, but the real behavior may be unethical and even illegal in nature. David Gebler correctly points out that employees want to act in an ethical manner. The problem for them is the barriers placed in the path of taking the proper values based actions.

Organizational goals may require stepping outside of the ethical bounds to achieve the results demanded by the strategy. The systemic practice of bad ethical behavior may lead to short term gain, but as the author demonstrates, that profit is not sustainable. Instead, David Gebler makes a strong bottom line business case for ethical decisions and actions. Good ethics are shown to also be good business.

I highly recommend the essential and values based company culture building book The 3 Power Values: How Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency Clear the Roadblocks to Performance by David Gebler, to any organizational leaders, executives, and managers seeking a clear and concise blueprint for creating an ethical company culture. This book will realign values with actions, reengage employees to reignite their passion, establish an ethics based organizational culture, and boost the overall company bottom line

Devora Zack: Managing For People Who Hate Managing - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

CEO of Only Connect Consulting, Inc. and author of the entertaining and very results oriented book Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success By Being Yourself, Devora Zack describes why the manager's personality may not fit what they thought they knew about managing. Devora Zack shares her techniques for personal self assessment so managers can determine whether they are feelers or thinkers. With this understanding in place, a manager can create a flexible managerial style that fits those traits and those of the individual staff members. Devora Zack guides managers through the process of flexible communication with employees, and how to avoid the pitfalls that await unwary managers now in charge of former colleagues. Devora shares how to treat employees how they want to be treated, and how that may differ from the manager's usual approach. Learn how to be effective, successful, and happy as a manager by being yourself.

Devora Zack is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, November 22, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

CEO of Only Connect Consulting, Inc. and author of the entertaining and very results oriented book Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success By Being Yourself, Devora Zack describes why the manager's personality may not fit what they thought they knew about managing. You will learn:

* What causes managers to dislike their job

* How understanding your own personality as feeler or thinker creates flex

* How communicate better with employees through flexibility

* How to develop charisma to be successful, effective, and happy

Devora Zack (phhoto left) CEO of OCC, Inc., is an expert speaker, strategy consultant, and executive coach. She is the author of Networking for People Who Hate Networking (Berrett-Koehler/ASTD Press 2010) and Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success By Being Yourself (Berrett-Koehler/ASTD Press 2012).

Ms. Zack has served as a visiting faculty member of Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management’s Leadership Skills Program for 15 years, teaching MBA students from across the world.

Ms. Zack holds an MBA from Cornell University where she was a full-tuition merit scholar. Her BA, magna cum laude, is from University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. She is honored with memberships in Phi Beta Kappa and Mensa.

She is a certified practitioner in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

Ms. Zack has also worked as an investigative reporter, emergency counselor, actress, and disc jockey in the U.S. and Italy.

My book review of Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success By Being Yourself by Devora Zack.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with CEO of Only Connect Consulting, Inc. and author of the entertaining and very results oriented book Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success By Being Yourself, Devora Zack,as she describes why the manager's personality may not fit what they thought they knew about managing. Devora Zack shares her techniques for personal self assessment so managers can determine whether they are feelers or thinkers. With this understanding in place, a manager can create a flexible managerial style that fits those traits and those of the individual staff members. Devora Zack guides managers through the process of flexible communication with employees, and how to avoid the pitfalls that await unwary managers now in charge of former colleagues. Devora shares how to treat employees how they want to be treated, and how that may differ from the manager's usual approach. Learn how to be effective, successful, and happy as a manager by being yourself

on Blog Business Success Radio.

Stillpower: Excellence with Ease in Sports and Life by Garret Kramer - Book review

Stillpower

Excellence with Ease in Sports and Life

By: Garret Kramer

Published: June 5, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 1582703884
ISBN-13: 978-1582703886
Publisher: Atria Books/Beyond Words











"Stillpower is pain free,yet so dynamic it has the potential to change your life - both on and off the playing field", writes high performance coach, and founder and managing partner of Inner Sports, LLC, Garret Kramer, in his success building and transformational book Stillpower: Excellence with Ease in Sports and Life. The author describes how external strategies for achieving top performance in sports, business, and life are not only ineffective, but also counterproductive. The author offers an alternative approach that focuses on the person's state of mind.

Garret Kramer understands that true source of developing excellence is through one's own internal mental processes. High performance individuals, ranging from leading executives to professional athletes have long searched for that elusive formula that leads to peak achievement levels. The author provides evidence that the search for answers and techniques outside oneself is insufficient to gain the desired results. Indeed, Garret Kramer considers these external components are usually ineffective or even result in frustration and worse results. The key insight presented by Garret Kramer is that willpower, long thought to be the rod to success, is precisely the wrong approach. Instead, the author shares the internal concept of stillpower to replace the failed concept of willpower.

Garret Kramer (photo left) recognizes that the personal experiences of athletes and executives is very often not in alignment with the demands, strategies, and coaching of business and sports leadership. The result is a lowered performance level as the individual finds themselves fighting against their own innate skills and personality. The external applications of goal setting, willpower, and more work and practice fail when they fail to work with the person's inner state. To replace these external remedies, the Garret Kramer guides the individual inward with the concept of stillpower.

The author provides the keys and insights found within, through the principles of stillpower. Those principles as discussed in the book are as follows:

* The misconception: Athletics teach life lessons
* Unbounded effort, willpower, and insight
* Coaching, wisdom, and success
* Clear thinking, resilience, and life beyond the scoreboard
* The ultimate coaching dilemma: An athlete's state of mind versus behavior
* The neutrality of the outside world
* Sports, judgment, and life outside from the inside out
* Mind, body, and performance
* Every athlete's birthright
* The freedom to win

For me, the power of the book is how Garret Kramer makes the powerful connection between the athlete's or executive's state of mind with their overall performance. The author takes a holistic approach to coaching and leadership that considers the mind and body as one complete whole. The traditional approach worked against this mind and body unity by emphasizing external forces and approaches that neglected the person's internal state of mind.

Garret Kramer considers that misaligned approach to one of attempting to achieve success through the pain and suffering of sheer willpower. In its place, the author guides the individual toward the internal journey of stillpower, where the person calms their mind and enters into a zone of calm success. Garret Kramer also provides stories and examples of the stillpower principles in action to illustrate their effectiveness in the real world of high level sports.

I highly recommend the mind and body aligning and internally calming book Stillpower: Excellence with Ease in Sports and Life by Garret Kramer, to anyone seeking a proven and effective guide to establishing a very high level of performance without the pain of externally applied misalignment nostrums. This book will change the way you think about achieving peak performance and success.

BlogBloke: Social Media For Helping Others - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Long time blogger BlogBloke describes how social media has many different uses, and one of the most powerful acts of social media users is to help others. At this time of the year, BlogBloke shares the story of a business person who faces serious financial difficulties, and suggests that social media is one tool for spreading the word to help. While not everyone may be able to give money or merchandise, the ability to share the message of hope everywhere is where the vehicle of social media can make a difference. BlogBloke discusses the many different ways that people can help this person and others through tweets, Facebook posts, Google+ posts, blog posts, Instagram photos,and more. Learn how to employ social media to change the world through helping one person at a time.

BlogBloke is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, November 20, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Long time blogger BlogBloke describes how social media has many different uses, and one of the most powerful acts of social media users is to help others. You will learn:

* How the internet and social media are powerful tools for helping others

* How to use social media effectively to do good in the world

* How to use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Insagram, and more to help

* How blog posts and blogathons can achieve success in fundraising



BlogBloke (avatar left) has worked in journalism and as a programmer in the computer industry before most had heard of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. A crusader at heart, he switched to law and soon made a name for himself as a successful litigation expert and mediator, helping folks who under normal circumstances can't afford justice.

A geek in every sense of the term, he carried his passion for helping others and computers into blogging that he helped pioneer. In those days there was no such thing as Wordpress or RSS newsfeeds for blogs. Having created the "Blog Tips" niche, his blog is an outstanding resource for helpful blogging tips and how-to tutorials. He has a reputation for being a straight shooter, his sharp wit and an outspoken champion for online ethics. He is bullishly pro blogging, social media, an outspoken advocate for online rights, security and technology issues.

Tech Editor and Author, BLOGBloke has been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times and CBS News. Here are just a few of the comments that his readers have made:

"A Blogger’s Natural Resource" … “A knowledgeable, witty and fun conversationalist with both feet in the honesty camp” … “You write with passion, condor, and authenticity — that’s why I enjoy your posts” ... “Like the sense of humor in the articles” … “This site is a literary masterpiece” … “High quality sites like yours are an inspiration” … “This site is capital, constantly providing fairness in reviews and information” … “We would like to thank you for maintaining such a reputable blog. We know that it takes time, effort and commitment to keep such a blog and as such, we have added your blog as one of the top Blogging Blogs” … “You are indeed not just any average bloke!”.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.





To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with long time blogger BlogBloke as he describes how social media has many different uses, and one of the most powerful acts of social media users is to help others. At this time of the year, BlogBloke shares the story of a business person who faces serious financial difficulties, and suggests that social media is one tool for spreading the word to help. While not everyone may be able to give money or merchandise, the ability to share the message of hope everywhere is where the vehicle of social media can make a difference. BlogBloke discusses the many different ways that people can help this person and others through tweets, Facebook posts, Google+ posts, blog posts, Instagram photos,and more. Learn how to employ social media to change the world through helping one person at a time on Blog Business Success Radio.