Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

One of my favorite lessons from the book, The DNA of Leadership , is the importance of being a developing leader. Developing leaders: Create the next generation of leaders Are great listeners Grow talent by challenging others to take on more than what they think they can do Are open, honest and direct Model the behavior they want to mentor for others If you haven't read Judith E. Glaser's book, The DNA of Leadership , give it a read. You won't be disappointed.

The fact is, if you are a budding entrepreneur, future business owner, or relatively “green” business owner, you need to read, The Facts of Business Life , by Bill McBean. Because, in his new book, McBean, a successful businessman with four decades of ownership experience, explains the essential Seven Facts of Business Life and the Five Levels of Business Success . Being a successful business owner means more than knowing one’s industry and understanding the basic concepts of leadership, management, or motivation, according to McBean. It means being able to master many areas of business, and knowing how each of these areas relates to and build on each other. It also means understanding how those areas change as a business goes through its inevitable life cycle , and how the owner must be prepared to change with them . Fortunately, The Facts of Business Life provides readers with the means of achieving the kind of long-term understanding that is the key to true and lasting...

Among the thousands of tweets and retweets on Twitter about leadership during 2012 are these 25 favorites. A mix of advice from some unknown individuals along with many from leadership book authors and famous leadership experts, and a few from past U.S. presidents and current-day athletes. Great leaders know the power of asking questions. Lead with your heart, not just your head. Learn to let go of fear and embrace the unknown. People are much more impressed by your potential than by your track record. Smart leaders use the power of stories whenever they have important messages to convey. To be effective, leaders have to close the conversational gap with their employees. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency -- Arnold Glasow Managers assert drive and control to get things done; leaders pause to discover new ways of being and achieving -- Kevin Cashman It doesn't matter where you're coming from. ...

If you haven't read, Good To Great by Jim Collins, do so. Near the top of virtually every list you'll see of the best leadership books, you'll find Good To Great . The book, five years in the making, and published in 2001, addresses the all-important question of: Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? Some of the lessons from the book are : "Leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted." "Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights." "Good-to-great companies use technology as an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it." "Engage in dialogue and debate." Good-to-great companies...

When you start reading Mark Thompson’s and Brian Tracy’s book, Now…Build a Great Business! , you may feel like you are reading 200 pages of Blog posts, but the bite-sized approach to providing tools, practical steps and ideas, rather than theory, is precisely the authors’ intended approach. The book thoroughly explains the seven keys for how to achieve business success : 1. Become a great leader 2. Develop a great business plan 3. Surround yourself with great people 4. Offer a great product or service 5. Design a great marketing plan 6. Perfect a great sales process 7. Create a great customer experience You’ll find a checklist at the end of each step (each chapter) where you can write down your action plan for applying what you’ve learned. Particularly interesting is the chapter on strategic planning , where the authors recommend you should ask yourself these important questions before you act to create or reinvent the direction of your organization : • Wher...

Here's a good definition of the difference between a mission and a vision by leadership book authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge Pedraza: Mission - A mission guides what people do every day. It informs what roles need to exist in the organization. Vision - A vision is the picture of future success. It helps define areas where the organization needs to be best in class and helps keep everyone aware of the essence of the company.

Eric Harvey and Al Lucia wrote a booklet called, 144 Ways To Walk The Talk . They provide the following great advice about giving feedback: 1. Make it timely -- give your feedback as soon as possible to the performance. 2. Make it individualized -- tailor your feedback to the feedback receiver. 3. Make it productive -- focus your feedback on the performance and not the performer . 4. Make is specific -- pinpoint for the receiver observable actions and behaviors.

Be sure to take a few minutes each week to view the HEMP Mentorship Minute videos, created by the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program and the Kansas City Business Journal. In the videos, Kansas City-area entrepreneurs offer their advice about a wide range of topics of interest to business owners, managers and leaders. Here's a sample -- What is the best advice you ever got ?:

Imagine navigating a tiny boat through a sudden, violent storm at sea -- with winds roaring at nearly 100 mph and waves soaring to 80 feet -- to not only survive, but triumph over formidable competitors in one of the world's toughest ocean races . It's a feat claimed by the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler , overall winner of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart -- the most treacherous and tragic race to date in the six-decade history of Australia's iconic competition. As Dennis Perkins , an expert on thriving under daunting conditions, shows in his new book, Into The Storm , it's also a feat rich in lessons for anyone tasked with maintaining smooth, effective teamwork -- and delivering winning results -- in the unpredictable, turbulent waters of today's business environment. Inspired by the Ramblers -- the Midnight Rambler 's team of one determined skipper and six dedicated amateur sailors -- here are five crucial strategies, with proven tactics , for Teamwork ...

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 21 , volunteer or make the decision to volunteer in your community. King routinely asked “What are you doing for others,” and January 21st is the ideal day to ask yourself that question. The federal holiday was first observed 26 years ago and in 1994 Congress designated it as a National Day of Service, inspired by King’s words, “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” You can turn to Volunteer Match to find volunteer opportunities right in your neighborhood or nearby surrounding area. Visit the web site, type in your zip code, and you will be presented with a variety of organizations seeking volunteers. And, if you are a leader in the workplace, encourage your team members to volunteer in the community as individuals. Or, organize team volunteer afternoons or evenings for your employees.