suggests you invest 15 minutes every Monday morning—for 52 weeks—to read 52 mini-chapters of a culture-changing book. And this reminder:
to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and
The One Single Lever to Create Change—It’s the Manager
“Setting aside just 15 minutes a day will enable you to read up to two dozen books in a year. Keep it up and you will have read
1,000 books in your lifetime.
That’s the equivalent of going through college five times.” (
Books Are Tremendous)
Here’s a crazy idea (whether you’re back at the office or still in your bunker): every Monday morning, before you look at your email—invest 15 minutes in reading.
Option #1: I’m not asking you to do this
every day—just every Monday. So here is a “Thank God It’s Monday” book with 52 mini-chapters.
Option #2: Or, delegate your reading and ask team members (on a rotation basis) to give a five-minute chapter summary of this book at your weekly staff meeting.
52 MINI-CHAPTERS FOR MONDAY MORNINGS
OR YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING
Don’t allow the mini-chapters (four pages or less each) to delude you into thinking this is light-weight content. The 52 short chapters are readable, to-the-point, and packed with promise for thoughtful implementers.
Starting next Monday, what if…you invested 15 minutes to read and think about Chapter 1, “What Exactly Should CEOs and CHROs Change?” Even if you’re not the CEO or the Chief HR Officer, you will learn (and remember) the six changes recommended by Gallup, including #3, “Millennials and Generation Z don’t want bosses—they want coaches.” Sneak peek: it’s time to retire the old-style boss who leads by command and control.
With your 15-minutes-every-Monday discipline, look at what awaits you for the next 52 weeks: 2) Why Organizational Change Is So Hard
3) Two Non-Negotiable Traits for Leaders
10) Hiring Star Employees
21) The Five Coaching Conversations
25) Make “My Development” the Reason Employees Stay
30) The Five Traits of Great Managers
47) Gig Work: The New Employer-Employee Relationship
Based on roundtable interviews with CHROs from 300 of the world’s largest organizations, the content covers Strategy, Culture, Employment Brand, Boss to Coach, and the Future of Work.
The robust appendix (pages 189-378) includes major sections on: “Leading With Your Strengths: A Guide to the
34 Clifton Strengths Themes,” (including one unique code to take the online assessment), “Q12: The 12 Elements of Great Management,” and “The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes,” plus more.
“The Future of Work” section, Chapters 32 to 41, addresses diversity and inclusion topics—and the critical “lever” of the manager, a discussion of the gender gap, women in the workplace (work-life flexibility, etc.) and for us old guys, “Are Boomers a Burden?”
Breaking News: “74% of Americans plan to work past age 65.”You have my permission to start with Chapter 26, “Moneyball for Workplaces: 12 Elements of Team Success.” Here are three:
• I know what is expected of me at work.
• In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
• There is someone at work who encourages my development.
Why this book? Gallup’s extensive research (extensive!) has concluded this:
“Of all the codes Gallup has been asked to crack dating back 80 years to our founder, George Gallup, the single most profound, distinct and clarifying finding—ever—is probably this one: 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager.”They add, “Usually, there isn’t a single lever to create change. In this case, there is: It’s the manager.”
To order from Amazon, click on the title for
It's the Manager: Gallup Finds the Quality of Managers and Team Leaders Is the Single Biggest Factor in Your Organization's Long-Term Success, by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:1) Positive responses to the statement, “At work, my opinions seem to count,” is one of the 12 elements of team success in
It’s the Manager.
How would each of your direct reports answer that question on a scale of one to five (5 = strongly agree)?2) According to Gallup, “about one in four full-time and one in two part-time workers have a gig job.”
If that were true of our employees—is that a good thing or not? And, is this “Uber economy” going to grow or decline—and how will that affect our team?
NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to this webpage.
The core competency in the Book Bucket affirms: “We mentor team members with thoughtfully selected titles and chapters to help them leverage their strengths, grow in their faith, and serve others with passion. We don’t just talk about books—we actually read them!”
During this COVID-19 marathon, I curated a list of “30 Books to Delegate During This Crisis...And the Next Crisis.” You’ll find them on LinkedIn and Twitter and this week I compiled them into one master list. Click here to download from the Book Bucket.
The nominees include some obvious gems, including The Checklist Manifesto and How the Mighty Fall, plus a few unexpected picks, such as The Boys in the Boat and Leadership Prayers.
According to Murphy’s Law Book Three: Wrong Reasons Why Things Go More!, by Arthur Bloch, here are the things that can be counted on in a crisis:
• Marketing says yes.
• Finance says no.
• Legal has to review it.
• [HR] is concerned.
• Planning is frantic.
• Engineering is above it all.
• Manufacturing wants more floor space.
• Top management wants someone responsible.
During this—and your next—crisis, are you relying on the limited experience of your in-house team, or are you going deep in your reading? Read and learn how others have weathered the complexities of the convoluted crises in past years and generations.
For more resources, the 30 books, and other lists, visit the Book Bucket.
JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Should your communication and marketing teams rely on more or less gig workers? Are there policies in place governing outside work performed by your full-time team members? Talk with someone who has seen it all (the good, the bad, and the ugly!). Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod Media (branding, digital, print, and video).
