Book Review: Getting Naked

Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Patrick Lencioni

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great consultants are leaders.  They develop a particular area of expertise and use it to influence their clients to make decisions that are in their organizational best interests.  Much time, effort, and money can be wasted whenever a consultant fails to persuade, which happens whenever s/he is not liked or trusted by the people in the client group.  Patrick Lencioni is a well-regarded organizational development consultant whose previous books (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, for example) address specific issues faced by consultants and client groups.  In Getting Naked, Lencioni turns his attention to the business of consulting itself and offers clear and cogent advice about how to build and maintain strong relationships with clients. 

Among the golden nuggets:
           *Always consult instead of sell. (Answer their questions and don't worry about whether you have a contract.)
           *Give away the business. (Don't worry about the so-called problem of free advice.  Just help people and eventually you'll have all the business you need.)
           *Enter the danger. (Dive into the conflict between group members. They need an outsider to help, and you are it!)
           *Take a bullet for the client. (The consultant is expendable. Let them throw you under the bus.)
           *Do the dirty work. (Type up the meeting notes, wash the whiteboard, spare the others.)

The "getting naked" idea has to do with being vulnerable, admitting when you don't know something, or acknowledging an error.  Most consultants struggle with a perceived need to be the expert all the time (after all, they are paying you money for your guidance.)  But we are people too, with weaknesses like everyone else.  It's OK - even preferable - to let others see that.  Clients are more likely to reward that than to punish it. 

Like all of Lencioni's fable-style books, this is a good read, fun and practical.  As a consultant, I'm sure glad he turned his attention to our unique situation and needs.  Very helpful. For those who are interested to learn more, you can download a free two-page summary, written by me, by clicking here.


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Book Review: The Carolina Way by Dean Smith

The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching by Dean Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always dreaded basketball days in gym class.  It terrified me that someone might pass the ball to me and I would have to do something with it.  Running track was OK, until they introduced relays. The idea of letting down teammates was what I just couldn't stand.  Still can't, really.  So I truly admire athletes who want the ball - the ones with the confidence to know they can contribute when the hopes and dreams of others are riding on it.

Apparently, though, the skills and style that get one noticed by college basketball scouts - outstanding individual accomplishment and big numbers - have to be overcome to be successful at the college and pro levels.  According to the great coaches, including Dean Smith, basketball is a team game and success only comes to those who share.  In the chapter called "Breaking Bad Habits" he says "Many good high school players are taught to be selfish. They're used to being 'the Man.'  They're the best players on their teams, so sometimes the coaches encourage them to take the most shots and not too worry too much about playing defense."   They had a rigorous re-orientation program for North Carolina freshman. Play hard. Play together. Play smart. 

John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, and Phil Jackson also wrote of this phenomenon in their books on leadership, but Smith stands out because he worked in conjunction with a business professor who put Smith's coaching principles into a business context. On breaking bad habits, Dr. Gerald Bell had this to say: "...the fact is that when recruits come to work, their knowledge is often very limited. They often have great intellectual ability and academic knowledge but little wisdom. They lack the people skills and the judgment to work with others to implement solutions to business problems. There's a large gap between where they are and where they need to be, but they can't see it." He then describes some on-boarding exercises to help young professionals grow into their roles.  This was a brilliant idea for a book executed with wisdom and care.

Dean Smith died last weekend and will be well remembered by many grateful people, including some of the world's most successful basketball superstars (Michael Jordan) and also by at least one random Ohio woman who grew up afraid of the ball.

My two-page summary is posted and ready for downloading.

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Book Review: The Winners Manual

The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life by Jim Tressel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So the Ohio State football season opened yesterday and I was not in front of the TV for the game.  This is the third Buckeye season without Jim Tressel and I find myself struggling to care whether the team wins or loses.  My whole life I have "bled scarlet and gray" as we say around here... but when they pressured Coach Tressel into resigning they really tarnished the OSU brand as far as I am concerned. 

Tressel's book is about leadership... something at which he excels.  I loved this book, and felt like I learned a great deal even though I have never played a down of football.  The life lessons Tressel extrapolates from the game are universal in their application. His ability to shape young men into champions and professionals is unmatched.  His coolness on the sidelines was a wonder to behold.  The clarity of his vision, strength of character, depth of commitment to those he led, and willingness to set a positive example all added immensely to Ohio State's stature as a world-class institution capable of attracting the best of the best.  Wouldn't it have been brilliant if instead of punishing Tressel for not being perfect, the university had highlighted his example of how a great leader handles himself following a mistake?  He acknowledges the wrong, apologizes for harm done, accepts responsibility for the consequences, and pledges to avoid that mistake going forward. What else can any of us ask of anyone? 

Jim Tressel is a winner... and his book is an excellent addition to any collection on leadership.  Thanks Coach!  No matter where you go in life... I will be rooting for you!

Click here for a download of a two-page summary written by me.

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Book Review: Wooden on Leadership

Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Trite but true... sometimes the smartest people in the world, the ones with the most to give, come from the most unlikely of places.  Like an Indiana farm in the run up to the Great Depression.  But the way John Wooden (winner of 10 NCAA college basketball championships) talks about his father and his family life, it is clear that he credited all he became as a person to what he learned at home.  From his father he inherited and learned a strength of character, and perhaps a bit of natural ability, that would carry him through college and early career.  It's the way he handled himself as an adult that got him the "big job" in the "big city" and all the success that followed.

The idea that leadership is a set of skills that can be developed throughout one's life is liberating.  Sure, some people have more in-born ability than others, but Coach Wooden believed that it was what he learned along his journey that brought so much success into his life.  It follows, therefore, that leadership skills can be taught... and the lessons Wooden provides in this entertaining and well-crafted book are valuable indeed.  There are lots of books on leadership, but one coming from a coach with as many fun stories to tell as Wooden does provides the spoon full of sugar it takes to make the learning a pleasure. 

I am glad I read this one, and I hope others will too!  I've posted a two-page summary written by me for those who want to know more.



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Book Review: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One day last summer I was approached by the senior leader of a client group about whether I could work with one of the members of the management team who was a valued employee but often rubbed people the wrong way.  I disclosed right away that I don't have any training in human resources or in executive coaching, but my client felt sure I could help, adding that the manager in question trusted me and would likely work with me. I took the contract with a degree of uncertainty... and after some time offered the manager a two-page synopsis of this book to read.  Three weeks ago she asked if she could borrow my copy of the book.  I bought her one of her own.  Honest to goodness... it is working!  I didn't have to do much in the way of helping her see how her manner of speaking to others was causing troubles... Marshall Goldsmith did it all.  This books is wonderful and I have used it before.  (Better consulting through reading!) 

The book also helped me directly.  I was shocked to discover that my habit of jumping in to expand on other people's ideas could be seen as dismissive or taking over! I really do try to "add value" less often now, or at least to offer a quick apology when I catch myself doing it.  I have a few trusted friends who understand that I am working on my manners and I will often ask them for honest feedback after meetings.  Sometimes they give it and sometimes they lie... but I am learning to tell the difference.  Thanks Dr. Goldsmith!  I reserve five star ratings for books that change my life... and this one qualifies!

Anyone who has ever been told by a co-worker or supervisor that they put others out with their behavior should jump on Abebooks today and order a copy of this book.  It helped me and my clients and it will help you too!

Click here to read a two-page summary written by me.

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