Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Based on 2,000 interviews with leaders around the globe during the height of the pandemic, Competing In The New World Of Work , by Keith Ferrazzi , provides a blueprint for how to now capitalize on all we’ve learned during the pandemic so your organization can stay competitive in the future.  With co-authors Kian Gohar and Noel Weyrich , Ferrazzi says the mindset most needed now by leaders is “ radical adaptability .” And, that means having an essential set of skills that includes collaboration, agility and foresight.  The book teaches that the old world of work , when facing uncertainty: Authority Hierarchy Personal resilience Reacts to change Prioritizes core business Talent management Mission focused  … should now be replaced by the new world of work when facing uncertainty: Co-elevation Agility Team resilience Foresees change Seeks constant reinvention Lego block workforce Purpose driven  The authors also recommend leaders: Learn to see arou

  Amp It Up , by Frank Slootman , shows you how to transform an organization for maximum growth and scale.  Slootman, Snowflake CEO, declares that most leaders have significant room to improve their organization's performance without making expensive changes to their talent, structure, or fundamental business model—and they don’t need to bring in an army of consultants to do it.  “ What they do need is to align people around what matters and execute with urgency and intensity every day ,” explains Slootman.  More specifically, Slootman says that to achieve unprecedented growth, leaders should:  declare war on mediocrity break the status quo make conflicted choices daily have a relentless focus on the mission  “ Make your organization mission driven ,” says Slootman. “When your organization has a well-defined purpose, you feel it down in your bones. You feel energized when you start the workday, and you feel good about whatever progress you’ve made toward the mission when

Part call to action, part strategic roadmap, RESET , the book by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. , challenges leaders’ underlying assumptions about workers and the workplace.  Taylor, the CEO and President of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), shares his personal experiences and candid, compassionate and practical thoughts on how to transform the way to select, retain and train employees in today’s, post-COVID and radically changed business environment.  “With the growth of remote work and an increased focus on diversity and inclusion, companies are increasingly finding themselves in ‘wars for talent’ as they source and recruit candidates from all over the world,” explains Taylor. “They need to find new ways to contact people and new sources of talent. They need to create an enduring and tangible culture that helps everyone feel empowered to do their best work. And they need to develop inclusive organizations that leverage differences for growth and innovation.”  Informed by

“Leadership is about tough choices, and making tough choices shows leadership,” explains  Eric Pliner , author of the new book,  Difficult Decisions .  As you read the book, you’ll discover how morals and ethics interact with the day-to-day responsibilities of real leadership and triangulate to point the way towards consistency and confidence that others can trust.  Furthermore, Pilner shows, when leaders achieve a profound understanding of themselves, their organizations, and the world they live in now, the road ahead is illuminated.  Difficult Decisions is ideal for executives, managers, and business leaders to examine their own intuition and navigate the most conflicted choices they make. It’s a challenging read and an indispensable resource to help readers develop self-reflection, clarify their values, and ultimately make the choice that is most “right” to them.     Some of the key takeaways from the book for me include:  Making everyone happy is impossible; shaping a net

Do you have a chance to play to your strengths every day? Were you excited to go to work every day last week?   How you answer these two questions will determine if you are more likely to be successful, resilient, and engaged at work – and likely to do something great in your life by taking seriously what you love and expressing it in some sort of productive way.  This is what bestselling author, Marcus Buckingham , explains in his new book, Love + Work .  “You've long been told to ‘Do what you love,’ shares Buckingham. “Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you. Most of us actually don't know the real truth of what we love—what engages us and makes us thrive—and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform. Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the crucial intersection between what you love to do and how you contribute it to others,” declares Buckingham.  The

To learn how to stay motivated, read  High-Profit Prospecting , by  Mark Hunter . It's a powerful read that includes counter intuitive advice and cutting-edge best practices for sales prospecting in today's business world. Today, I share one of my favorite sections of the book where Hunter describes his  seven things motivated people do to stay motivated : Motivated people  ignore voices in their lives . These might be people in the office and friends who have bad attitudes. They're out there, and if you're not careful, they'll control you, too. Motivated people  associate with highly motivated people . Just as there are negative people in the world, there are also positive people. Your job is to make sure you spend as much time with the positive people as possible.  Motivated people simply  look for the positive in things . Positive people count it an honor to live each day, learn from others, and impact positively those they meet. Positive people take great satisf

To help you bring out the best in your team, you need to get close and understand their skills, abilities, and motivations. So, the authors of the book,  Your First Leadership Job , recommend you hold  getting-to-know-you conversations  with each of your direct reports. Ask these six   open-ended questions . Let each team member know the purpose of the meeting in advance. And, don't cheat by adding in work-specific questions. What do you enjoy doing most as part of your work? Why? What do you  miss most about the jobs you've had in the past? Why? What things about your current job do you enjoy the least? Why? How do you cope with or relieve stress? To help you do your job, what could I change about: Your work environment? The content of your work? How you get your work done? What form of recognition do you prefer or not prefer?

Within the workplace there are Contributors and Impact Players – each representing a distinct way of working – the first leads to a job well done while the other carves a path to true leadership and generates immense value.  More specifically,  Liz Wiseman , author of the book,  Impact Players , explains that:  While others do their job, Impact Players figure out the real job to be done . While others wait for direction, Impact Players step up and lead . While others escalate problems, Impact Players move things across the finish line . While others attempt to minimize change, Impact Players are learning and adapting to change. While others add to the load, Impact Players make heavy demands feel lighter .  “ Impact Players  is written for aspiring leaders, striving professionals who want to be more successful at work, increase their influence, and multiply their impact,” explains Wiseman. “It is also a book for today’s leaders, those managers who want to cultivate more of this mindset

  “You are one more intentional thought and action away from discovering your best life,” explains author of the new book, The Power Of One More , by Ed Mylett – released earlier this summer.  “You can find your best life by doing ‘one more’ than the world expects from you,” he adds.  In his book, he further explains that your individual thoughts and actions you take don’t need to be profound. However, when you compound these small thoughts and actions and stack them up on top of each other, the resulting changes over time are profound.  Mylett reveals strategies chapter by chapter and covers goal setting, habits, emotions, relationships, are more.  Strategies include those on how to: Slow down time and spot new opportunities Use time to your fullest advantage Find deeper purpose in life  Be sure to check out Chapters 15 and 16, which focus on leadership . Within those, Mylett shares his thoughts about leadership:  You are a leader if you help people do things they woul

  If you struggle with these paradoxes: How can I express my individuality and be a team player? How do I balance work and life? How can I take care of myself while supporting others? How can I manage the core business while innovating for the future? then the new book, Both/And Thinking , by authors Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis , is for you. It will teach you how to navigate these types of paradoxes more effectively.   “When making a decision, we often find ourselves stuck between choosing one option over another, creating a vicious cycle that limits our capabilities and creates consistent tension,” explain the authors. “But there is a better way.”   As the book explains, that better way is both/and thinking versus traditional either/or thinking . This new way of thinking means that instead of choosing between alternative poles of paradox, you figure out how to engage both poles simultaneously. In other words, how to accommodate competing demands over time for a m

  From the must-read book, Compassionate Leadership , is this recommendation about decision making from authors Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter :  Every time you are faced with a difficult decision you can share the nature and tone of your leadership by asking:  Will this have a positive impact on my colleagues’ genuine happiness and well-being? Will this action inspire others in a positive way? Will I be proud of this in 10 years?  Let compassionate leadership principles guide you.

Forbes recently named, A New Way To Think , as one of the 10 must-read books for 2022.  In the book, authored by Roger L. Martin , he urges business leaders to toss out the old ways of thinking, and instead try new models in every domain of management – from competition and customers to strategy, data, culture, talent, mergers and acquisitions, and everything in-between.  More specifically, within 14 chapters, Martin explores his recommended new ways of thinking about: Competition Stakeholders Customers Strategy Data Knowledge Work Corporate Functions Planning Execution Talent Innovation Capital Investment Mergers and Acquisitions Roger L. Martin  Today, Martin answers these questions for us:   Question: As The Great Resignation rages on, what is the most important thing leaders must know about recruiting and retaining top talent?   Martin : Leaders need to keep two things in mind in dealing with The Great Resignation.  First , a key driver is a

Earlier this summer brought the release of the new book, HBR At 100 , a commemorative volume featuring the most influential ideas since the inception of the Harvard Business Review .   As a celebration of the magazine’s 100th anniversary, this new book covers a broad range of management topics, including:   Disruptive Innovation Design Thinking Emotional Intelligence Racial Equality At Work Persuasion Leading With Authenticity Leading Change Communication   When Harvard Business Review first rolled off the presses a century ago, it became a welcome showcase of fresh ideas for the relatively new field of business management.   Since then, the magazine has published some of the most influential ideas in the history of modern business, and HRB At 100 ’s collection of articles highlights many of them.   This is a goldmine of education for both experienced leaders and those new to their leadership role.   Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advan