How Leaders Learn

 

Issue No. 610 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (June 6, 2024) delivers bite-sized lifelong learning snippets from 105 leaders. The author quotes Peter Drucker, “The most pressing task is teaching people how to learn.” Plus, click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies). David Novak, author of How Leaders Learn, says that every time he gives a speech, he asks his wife for a letter grade! (Spoiler alert! She doesn’t always give A’s.)   How 105 Leaders Learn! So…as is my habit (sometimes annoying, apparently) to share book insights with my wife, Joanne, who patiently listens (sometimes)—this week I read her a brief paragraph from the new Harvard Business Review Press book: How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People  by David Novak with Lari Bishop (June 4, 2024)   The author writes that a colleague (kindly) asked Patrick Lencioni, “Why are you like this?” This coworker noticed that Lencioni “showed up in the morning excited for the day but would suddenly turn into a grump in the middle of a meeting. Then, in the next meeting, he would be upbeat again. He recognized it himself, and it bothered him, but he could never figure out why he was hot and cold.”  Novak leveraged that story—and the Lencioni book that resulted—to discuss what leaders often don’t learn about themselves. Joanne’s response, “Do you think this is common for most leaders—that they have gaps that need to be filled in?” I couldn’t believe her question! “Are you kidding me?” I asked. “That’s the title of Novak’s third chapter, ‘Fill Your Gaps.’ How did you know that?” (LOL! She may also have mentioned something about my reading fewer books and just learning from her!) BITE-SIZED LEARNING. There’s no need to read any more of this review—if you’ll just read this book (or schedule a session with my wife). How Leaders Learn is very, very practical. The format is brilliant: 27 short chapters (in bite-sized, 15-minute insights)—with each chapter featuring the learning habits of three to five leaders. You’ll be familiar with many of the 105 people spotlighted: PATRICK LENCIONI discovered that of his six “working geniuses,” he was strong in just two of them: invention and discernment. (Read more and take the assessment mentioned in his book, The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team.) CONDOLEEZZA RICE, former U.S. Secretary of State, tells the author that as a young professor, she received a one-year fellowship to work for the strategic nuclear planning division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “I was three things they had never seen. Female, black, and civilian…” And yes, on her first day, they told her, “The rookie makes the coffee.” Read how she responded. HENRY KISSINGER is quoted in the chapter on what you can learn from a crisis: “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” LOL! Novak spotlights five leaders facing crises, including Oscar Munoz, who had to face the media as CEO of United Airlines when a 2017 PR disaster went viral. (Read more in Turnaround Time.) Munoz told Novak, “My barometer is the business schools around the country that initially wrote it as a case of exactly what not to do. Those business cases shifted to become lessons in ‘It’s never too late to do the right thing.’”   MICHAEL BUNGAY STANIER is interviewed for the chapter on learning to ask better questions, “What If, How Could, and Why.” I was delighted to see that two books from “MBS” were included: The Advice Trap (my 2020 book-of-the-year) and The Coaching Habit. Novak affirms, “Active learners make the effort to stay curious first and dole out advice second so they don’t fall victim to what Michael calls the ‘Advice Monster,’ which grows from our need to tell it, save it, or control it.” And…speaking of good questions, several years ago I mentioned to a client that the next time he was in town, he should bring his wife—and I’d treat the four of us to the (now) $7.00 dinner at the San Clemente Pier. I suggested that his wife would appreciate meeting Joanne. “She often asks probing questions,” I added, “and people often respond, ‘I’ve never been asked that question before!’” (Oops! My client told me the next day, “I mentioned that to my wife last night—and she doesn’t want to meet Joanne!”) GINNI ROMETTY, former CEO of IBM, is interviewed for the chapter, “Ditch the Blinders”—an important wake-up call about how our biases and assumptions ignore reality and cause harm. In her book, Good Power, she describes how she challenged “two faulty assumptions” at IBM: “…people with at least a bachelor’s degree and with experience would be better hires.” Yet Novak writes that we must “learn to make—and check—your own judgments.” So IBM started looking for talent at high schools and community colleges and “…they started testing for the traits that made people successful through transformation: curiosity, grit, and drive.” DAVID NOVAK actually didn’t need 105 people to learn how to learn (my opinion), because you’ll learn a lot just from his own life lessons. He’s the co-author of the self-coaching book, Take Charge of You, and he’s the cofounder and former Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands (over 1.5 million team members in 135 countries!). Check out his top-ranked podcast, How Leaders Lead. Here are just three of the dozens of insights from Novak that I underlined in my book:    • “The biggest truth-teller in my life is my wife, Wendy.” Every time he gives a speech, he asks her for a letter grade! You read that right—and she doesn’t give all A’s! When she does give the rare A, “I know without a doubt I’m doing my best work.” (And yes—not thinking clearly, I read that to my wife, Joanne!)    • When leaving Yum! Brands as CEO, he was invited to serve on numerous boards—but he said “yes” to Comcast because “I’d constantly learn about the most current ideas in media and tech.” (Attn: Board Chairs! Are you recruiting new board members by aligning board service with the gaps in their lifelong learning aspirations?)    • In the first chapter, “Trailer Park University,” Novak confesses to accepting a big promotion by moving from Pizza Hut over to PepsiCo—without asking his current boss for counsel. “He had given me the biggest break in my career, and I owed him a lot more sensitivity than I had given him.” (This prompted me to reflect on my own transitions.) URI LEVINE, founder of Waze and author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, is featured in the chapter, “From Pain to Possibility: Learn by tackling problems.” Novak writes, “Most of my career moves reflect a theme: I took jobs with organizations that were experiencing trouble. Those might seem like jobs to avoid, but I have never felt that way.” He adds, “Solving problems and active learning go hand in hand.” He notes that Levine embraces problems because they deliver at least two values. Must-read! When you ask for input, “you kind of sign up for a mission” and Novak adds, “…sometimes, you discover new and bigger problems to tackle next.” (That’s a good thing!) THERE’S MORE! I’ve barely scratched the surface of the deep learning (practical!) in this treasure chest for lifelong learners. Novak uncovers more “how leaders learn” wisdom from Coach John Wooden, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Jason Goldsmith, Stephen M.R. Covey (The Speed of Trust), and more than 90 other leaders.  You’ll love this: INDRA NOOYI, former CEO of PepsiCo, told Novak that when she was young, her mother inspired her and her siblings “to be both aspirational and competitive.” For a task at dinner, her mother would ask, “Give me a speech about what you would do if you were the prime minister of the country.” After the speeches, “her mother chose the best speech and handed out the prize—a tiny piece of chocolate.” Her mother didn’t play favorites: the best speech always earned the chocolate. (Another must-read chapter!) This is a perfect book for your “10 minutes for lifelong learning” segment at your next 27 weekly staff meetings! And by the way, when you’re writing your next book, ask Novak to write your chapter titles. They’re brilliant bumper stickers! To order from Amazon, click on the title for How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World's Most Successful People, by David Novak with Lari Bishop. (Note: the seven-hour audio book is coming.) And thanks to Harvard Business Review Press for sending me a review copy.    YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) In Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, Dan Busby and I asked, "Would you trust a surgeon who was not a lifelong learner? Would you trust an airline pilot who relied on outdated training?" The first chapter, “Wanted: Lifelong Learners,” ends with a prayer: “Lord, Romans 12:8 says that I am to lead diligently. Give me a heart to be a lifelong learner in my leadership journey. Amen.” Do you know how leaders learn? 2) Abraham Lincoln said, “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.” What friend needs a book from you this week?        Mastering 100 Must-Read Books Part 14: Leadership & Management at War Book #80 of 100: Make Your Bed For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #80 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.  Make Your Bed:  Little Things That Can Change Your Life …and Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired)   Books #77 through #81 spotlight five fascinating books with military viewpoints on leadership and management. “If you want to change the world…” writes Admiral McRaven, “…start off by making your bed.” The first chapter, from the author’s Navy SEAL training days, is “Start Your Day With a Task Completed.” Sage advice!     • Order from Amazon: Make Your Bed     • Listen on Libro (1 hours, 53 minutes).     • Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson). Looking for a graduation gift? This book packs a punch at the fast clip of one big punch every 10 short pages. Adm. McRaven’s 10 principles were delivered first as a university commencement address. His 19-minute speech on May 21, 2014, to the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin went viral—with over 10 million views! View it here. Note: Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. As we thank God for the men and women who served and are serving, listen to this poignant song, "Till They Came Home."   CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN          Do you serve on a regional or national association staff or board? John Pearson was invited by Christian Camping International to discuss “5 Ways to Organize Your CCI Association (1 Size Doesn’t Fit All)” on the “Campfire Conversations” webinar on May 14, 2024. CCI Worldwide inspires 27 associations in 80 countries whose members serve 10 million campers each year! View the webinar on YouTube.   MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  •WEBSITE:  Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month. Ceiling Power! David Novak (see above) is also the co-author of Take Charge of You: How Self-Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career. Read my review to learn why Novak filled his office walls (and home office walls) with pictures of people that mattered to him. He ran out of wall space—so more pictures adorn his ceilings! For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

When Kingdom Light Shines

 

Issue No. 629 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 3, 2024) recommends an inspirational book—with 60 true stories—for your Christmas gift-giving. Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, learn about my son, Jason, and his new documentary film, “Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos” (view it for free here).  Yikes! Yow! Oh, My! Amazing! Amen! Those were my out-loud exclamations when I read When Kingdom Light Shines—with 60 unbelievable true stories!   Christmas Gift Idea #1: 60 Inspiring Stories!  OH, MY! This new book—jam-packed with 60 inspiring stories—is so, so powerful that I’ve already gifted the book to seven people and it’s not even Christmas! Here’s my Christmas Gift Idea #1: When Kingdom Light Shines:  Stories That Inspire Faith by Mark Ellis (2024) YIKES! When Mark Ellis generously gave me this book on Nov. 3, 2024, I had a brilliant reading plan: 60 stories/60 days. But after reading the first inspiring story—I couldn’t stop! I averaged three chapters every day and completed this unbelievable book in 21 days! AMAZING! I started with Chapter 20, “How God Answered Francis Chan’s Ridiculous Prayer for a Son-in-Law.” (Did I mention, amazing?) You’ll read about this daring prayer (just three pages) by author and speaker Francis Chan, “who lifted up a bold, audacious matchmaking prayer, and God answered in a way that confounded Francis himself.” (Have you ever prayed a “ridiculous” prayer?) The 60 short stories feature the author’s favorite “God reports” from the last 25 years. Mark Ellis believes that “God’s stories are the best stories, and that He is doing even greater things in the world today than he did in the first century.” So Ellis launched the God Reports website “with a mission to support and encourage Christian missions, by sharing stories and testimonies from believers around the world.”  YOW! There are two powerful bookends in When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith. Chapter 1, “Dream Led to Hidden Tribe,” begins with this: “In 2013, Caleb Byerly woke up with a start and began to furiously write in his journal everything he saw in a rather unusual dream.” This missionary had sensed that “God had spoken to Caleb through dreams previously, so he meticulously recorded” the dream details.  “I feel like when God speaks to you, it’s an invitation to partner and walk with God,” Byerly said. (This reminded me of Henry Blackaby’s wisdom, “When God speaks, it is important to write it down.”) What follows will shock you (in a really good way!)—and you’ll retell the story to family and friends. Chapter 60, “Dying Farmer Left Civil War Bible Behind for New Age Homebuyer,” is another breathtaking story that concludes this marathon of miracles. Dale Walker reports that he “graduated from Wesleyan University without knowing who John Wesley was, or who Jesus Christ was. And I never really met a single person that knew God or could tell me about God.”  At age 31, he practiced Eastern meditation, but “his inner emptiness wouldn’t go away.” He notes, “At the same time, my personal life was tangled into a series of knots which I didn’t know how to untie.” (This reminded me of a recent "Hidden Streams" podcast and the original song, “Tied Down,” at the end of the podcast.) Read why after his first-ever prayer on his knees to “ANYBODY UP THERE,” Walker sprinted (no pun intended) across a farmer’s field to a farm house he had recently purchased—and found the previous owner’s 1865 family Bible in the attic. (Yes. It was dusty!) He read “The Lord is my shepherd” from the 23rd Psalm—and it changed his life! There’s more! Read how that same night Walker randomly views a TV program about Roy Campanella. The program depicted the famous Brooklyn Dodgers catcher in the emergency room after a paralyzing injury from a car accident. The program flashed back to a young Campanella who remembers a Scripture his mother had taught him. (Guess which one?) AMEN! I generally read silently—but dozens and dozens of times when reading this stunning book, I heard myself audibly respond: Amen! Wow! Yikes! Amazing! Praise the Lord! Examples: • Chapter 34, “Lost Forty-Seven Days at Sea,” spotlights Louis Zamperini, the USC track star, 1936 Olympics runner, and WW2 POW. Read about the event that rid him of his extreme PTSD. • Chapter 32, “Vincent Van Gogh’s Unappreciated Journey with Christ,” will prompt your own “Amen!” You’ll never look the same way again at “The Starry Night” or other Van Gogh masterpieces. • Chapter 58, “He Preached the Gospel as Hijacked Plane Hit the Water,” is an excellent God story to share with the seatmate on your next plane ride. Andy Meakins, “a gentle giant of the faith,” was airborne on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 from Addis Ababa to Abidjan—when “three hijackers stormed the cabin and demanded to be flown to Australia." (No way!) When the plane ran out of fuel, it hit the water, yet 50 people miraculously survived—but all 175 passengers and crew heard the Gospel story during those fateful final minutes. Must-read! •    Chapter 10, “Missionary Died Thinking He Was a Failure,” describes the 17-year ministry, beginning in 1912, of a doctor’s work among tribal people in a remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Failure? You decide. All of these God stories reminded me that writer David Sedaris called Tobias Wolff “America’s greatest short-story writer.” (See my review of My Ideal Bookshelf—also a Christmas gift option.) Sedaris notes: “Sometimes I meet ministers, and I always say to them, ’If I had a church, I’d read a Tobias Wolff story every week, and then I’d say to people, “Go home.”’ There’s nothing else you would need to say. Every story is a manual on how to be a good person, but without ever being preachy. They’re deeply moral stories; the best of them read like parables.” Ditto these 60 God stories. I envision a surge in storytelling at weekly staff meetings—and hopefully—in pulpits across the globe. Thank you, Mark Ellis! TO ORDER, click on the title for When Kingdom Light Shines: Stories That Inspire Faith, by Mark Ellis.   UP NEXT! Watch for my review of “Christmas Gift Idea #2”—a new book just released today, Dec. 3, 2024. Read Glad I Didn’t Know: Lessons Learned Through Life’s Challenges and Unexpected Blessings, by Vonna Laue.   YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Read Chapter 20, “How God Answered Francis Chan’s Ridiculous Prayer for a Son-in-Law,” and then ask this question: “Have you ever asked the Lord for something that others might consider a ridiculous prayer request?” What’s your “ridiculous” prayer request for 2025? 2) After you’ve read all 60 short stories (or featured four or five stories at future weekly staff meetings), then host a gathering and call it, “Chapter 61.” Invite staff members, board members, and key volunteers to nominate God stories from your organization that are so remarkable they could become Chapter 61 in When Kingdom Light Shines.        Mastering 100 Must-Read Books Part 18: The Final Four Book #99 of 100: Leadership Core For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #99 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.  Leadership Core:  Character, Competence, Capacity (Leadership Multipliers) by Dick Daniels   Books #97 through #100 spotlight “the final four” books in this recommended volume of 100 must-read books. Daniels writes: “Every leader will face at least one impossible situation during their leadership tenure. That time is described as having your back against the wall, with no way out, completely alone, and the feeling of gloom you have when it seems like the end is near.”     • Read my review.     • Order from Amazon.     • Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson). Did you know that “people lie more on Monday and Friday than Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday?” Daniels notes research indicating “people lie two to four times a day.” So the author discusses five times when your staff might lie: 1) Lying to land a job, 2) Lying to get ahead, 3) Lying to achieve work-life balance, 4) Lying with feedback, and 5) Lying during the exit interview.  BONUS! Read my review of the latest book from Dick Daniels, The 365 Day Leader: Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day. (Another Christmas gift book option for leaders and managers!)   CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN        MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  •WEBSITE:  Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month. A Berkeley Frat House & Josh McDowell’s Book! Mark Ellis, the author of When Kingdom Light Shines (see above), wrote a very personal narrative in 2021, The House at Channing and Moonsail (read my review). Read what prompted Ellis, who said "God was not on my radar," to read Josh McDowell’s book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

Top-10 Books of 2006

  

Issue No. 17 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 31, 2006) features the Top-10 books of 2006 (including several from 2007).  As you welcome in 2007, here's a recap of the books I've reviewed in 2006. To download a PDF of the chronological list of book reviews, visit the Book Bucket page at the Management Buckets website. 

Here are my Top-10 picks of the year for the books I reviewed. It's a tough assignment to narrow it down to 10, since all of us are at different levels of competency within the 20 buckets. But...maybe this will be helpful to you. 

2006 Book-of-the-Year

Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job, by Dennis Bakke. (Read my review.)

Have you ever announced this to your staff? Water Cooler Wisdom #8: “Everyone must get advice before making a decision. If you don’t seek advice, ‘you’re fired.’”

Bakke is no believer in workplace decisions by consensus or majority vote. Hire great people and let them have the fun (the joy) of decision-making. 

If that’s not revolutionary enough, shake-up your team with Water Cooler Wisdom #9: “A ‘good’ decision should make all the stakeholders unhappy because no individual or group got all they wanted.” 

Trust me. Your team members will love this book! I had the privilege of writing an endorsement for this book.

The Other 9 Books
Note: Back in 2006-2007, for the first 68 issues of the eNews, we did not select "Top-10" books for 2006 and 2007. So...now in 2026, I have cycled back and selected 20 for 2006-2007 that have stood the test of time. Enjoy!

2. A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness, by Gene Edwards. (Order from Amazon.)

In the Old Testament, David complained to the Lord that King Saul was hardly God-honoring—so why should David honor and respect this tyrant king? Sound familiar? 

“Why did I get fired?

My boss is the jerk, not me.

Lord, this isn’t fair!”

Gene Edwards is a master storyteller and this classic unwraps the relationships between David, Saul, and Absalom. His conclusions may astound you. It’s a powerful book to recommend and discuss at your weekly staff meeting.

3. Balancing Life's Demands: A New Perspective on Priorities, by J. Grant Howard. (Read my review.)

Setting priorities is not an exact science in the workplace. It’s even more difficult for the thoughtful Christian leader or manager—in spite of the trite conventional wisdom. Most books, and far too many authors and preachers, will give you this dribble about balancing priorities: God is first, family is second, church is third, and your career is fourth.

J. Grant Howard writes that a list of sequential priorities makes absolutely no sense. “It can’t be intelligently explained. It can’t be easily understood. It can’t be logically lived out.” He adds, “I am convinced that the existing sequential model is not only impractical it is unbiblical.”

4. Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business, by Patrick Lencioni (Read my review.)

This is easy to admit—I cannot improve on Patrick Lencioni's fast-reading, get-the-four-big-ideas-immediately book. So, I'll just quote him in this review.

But first...here's a Pop Quiz! Everyone stand up. OK...now remain standing if your job requires you to attend at least one meeting a week. OK...now remain standing if you are in a minimum of five meetings a week (staff meeting, one-on-one meetings, etc.). I know...everyone is still standing. But now...remain standing if you have ever read a book, attended a workshop, viewed a webinar, or been coached or mentored on effective meetings management. (Anyone still standing?)

My top book pick in my "Meetings Bucket" is this book, but I've never fully reviewed it here. Be sure to read what (and why) Lencioni preaches about "Sneaker Time" (pages 251-252):

5. Effectiveness by the Numbers: Counting What Counts in Church, by William R. Hoyt. (Read my review.)

Bill Hoyt quotes the cynic who said, "Churches are very willing to change. They will make any change necessary to keep things the same!" Hoyt muses that churches are reluctant to measure effectiveness because the cold hard facts might require them to change. Well...it's about time. Preach it!

This book packs a punch. You can't manage what you can't measure and finally, here's a clear and thoughtful voice for local church metrics. There's nothing like it on the market and when an author uses an illustration from The Blues Brothers movie, you know it will be a fun read.

6. Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. (Order from Amazon.)

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! A pastor’s warm letter to his son. Church challenges. And, perhaps, the most beautifully-written book you’ve ever read.

7. Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board, by Fredric L. Laughlin and Robert C. Andringa (Read my review.)

More than any other tool or template, I have recommended the Board Policies Manual (BPM) template to hundreds of nonprofit organizations and churches. Fred Laughlin and Bob Andringa teamed up to produce this brilliant tool, the BPM. The who, what, where, when, why, and how—are all explained in their concise, but thorough, color commentary, Good Governance for Nonprofits.

The book describes the efficacy of compiling the twists and turns of board policies (some that conflict with others) into one thoughtful 15- to 20-page document that is designed to be revised at any board meeting throughout the year.

As Dan Busby and I note in Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: “While many organizations have unwritten policies covering a wide range of topics, they’re often filed away incoherently in the archives and no one can find them when needed. ‘Here’s a fun job for a new board member,’ they say. ‘Please dig through 20 years of board minutes. Bring a flashlight and emergency provisions!’”

2026 update: Read more about the BPM in "Tool #17" in the book, ECFA Tools and Templates. 

8. Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins. (Read my review.)

"The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have begun" says Jim Collins in this easy-to-read 35-page book. Your team will appreciate his insights on how a nonprofit or church measures results.

"All data is flawed," writes Collins. "It doesn't really matter whether you can quantify your results. What matters is that you rigorously assemble evidence—quantitative or qualitative—to track your progress."

Leverage this book to help your team understand the difference between greatness and "business-like." After you read it, ask your nonprofit board and senior team to address these questions:
   1. Where are we on a scale of "mediocre" to "great?"
   2. How rigorously do we assemble evidence to document our results?
   3. What assignment should we make today as a result of this discussion?

9. Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, by Bob Buford. (Order from Amazon.)

Bob Buford suggests that people in “Halftime” ask the following questions: 
   • What am I really good at?
   • What do I want to do?
   • What is most important to me?
   • What do I want to be remembered for?
   • If my life were absolutely perfect, what would it look like?

How effective is your organization in helping people in the second half of their lives move “from success to significance?” (Note: See also Buford's book, Drucker and Me.)

10. How to Deal With Annoying People: What to Do When You Can’t Avoid Them, by Bob Phillips and Kimberly Alyn. (Read my review.)

For years, I've encouraged leaders and managers (actually, anyone who takes nourishment) to study the four social styles: Drivers, Analyticals, Amiables and Expressives (visit the People Bucket). The authors have creatively communicated what makes people annoying to us (and us to them) by overlaying the social style construct on all things annoying. It's brilliant.

The book delivers conflict prevention and resolution principles, including 10 myths about conflict.
   • Myth #7: "Harmony is normal and conflict is abnormal."
   • Myth #10: "Conflict is a sign that people do not care." 

The book also suggests how to sell to annoying people. Example: explain to Expressives how their buying decision will "add more adventure, fun and excitement to their lives." (Fundraisers: take note.)

The chapter, "Dispelling 10 Stereotypical Gender Myths," is worth the price of the book. If you've bought into the myth that women are relationship-oriented and men are task-oriented, you've misread God's unique design in people—male and female. It's a must-read chapter.

And finally, these reminders:
   1) Delegate your reading—assign books to other team members and ask for mini-reports at staff meetings;
   2) Read relevant chapters only—don’t feel guilty for not finishing a book;
   3) Hold high the value of sharpening the saw—model it yourself and reward others who read; and
   4) Budget for books—invest in your people by investing in books.

MORE RESOURCES:

• BLOG: Pails in Comparison
• SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews
• JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon 
• WEBSITE: Management Buckets
• BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations

Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month.

Top-10 Books of 2007

 

Issue No. 69 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 31, 2007) features the Top-10 books of 2007.  As you welcome in 2008, here's a recap of the books I've reviewed in 2007 (Issues No. 18 to 68). To download a PDF of the chronological list of book reviews, visit the Book Bucket page at the Management Buckets website. I reviewed 49 books and one DVD in 2007.

Here are my Top-10 picks of the year for the books I reviewed. It's a tough assignment to narrow it down to 10, since all of us are at different levels of competency within the 20 buckets. But...maybe this will be helpful to you. 

2007 Book-of-the-Year

The Best Question Ever: A Revolutionary Approach to Decision Making, by Andy Stanley (Read my review.)

I bought a full case of this book to give to clients in 2007. Must-read!

Good News! In 2021, Andy Stanley added four more questions and wrote Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets: 5 Questions to Help You Determine Your Next Move. At just 192 pages, it’s worth your time—and you’ll be sharing it with colleagues, friends, and family (and grandkids!). The five questions:

1. The Integrity Question: Am I being honest with myself? Really?
2. The Legacy Question: What story do I want to tell?
3. The Conscience Question: Is there a tension that deserves my attention?
4. The Maturity Question: What is the wise thing to do?
5. The Relationship Question: What does love require of me?

The Other 9 Books:

Note: Back in 2007, for the first 68 issues of the eNews, we did not select "Top-10" books for 2006 and 2007. So...now in 2026, I have cycled back and selected 10 for 2007 that have stood the test of time. Enjoy!

2. Stop Setting Goals If You Would Rather Solve Problems, by Bobb Biehl (Order from Amazon.)

Oops! Apparently not everyone is motivated by goals! (My bad!) You’ll love this contrarian book by a gifted management and leadership consultant who has mentored hundreds of leaders. Biehl's book also reminded me of the 2023 book. Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, by Uri Levine. (Read my review of Levine’s book.)

3. Strengths Finder 2.0: Discover Your Clifton Strengths, by Gallup and Tom Rath (Read my review of this book and other “assessment” books in my book, Mastering 100-Must Read Books.)

Order StrengthsFinder 2.0 from Amazon. (Note: my Top-5 Strengths are Focus, Responsibility, Significance, Belief, and Maximizer.) What are your Top-5?

4. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber (Order from Amazon.)

I have recommended this book to dozens and dozens of clients. The concept of building the organizational chart is brilliant. Example: Even if you have just three people in your new organization, create the chart for the number of people you’ll need in the next two to three years—then drop those three names (including yourself) into all of the boxes. Begin immediately to train people (volunteers, part-timers, etc.) for those boxes—so you can move on to the important stuff.

5. Managing Transitions (25th anniversary edition, 2017): Making the Most of Change, by William Bridges and Susan Bridges (Read my review.)

When this book was first published in 1991, it was recognized as the definitive guide to dealing with change. It still holds that position. If it’s not on your organization’s resource shelf, it needs to be.

William Bridges writes, “It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transitions. Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new site, the new boss, the new team roles, the new policy. Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal.”

6. Nonprofit Board Answer Book, by Bob Andringa & Ted Engstrom (Read my review.) See also the second and third editions of Nonprofit Board Answer Book: A Practical Guide for Board Members and Chief Executives.

"Behind every good answer lies a good question," says BoardSource in the introduction to this third edition. Now with 85 questions and answers, it's a must-have resource for both new and veteran board members as you inspire them to be life-long governance learners. Suggestion: bring it to every board meeting--and pass it around the room. It will be irresistible to your board members in their search for proof texts!

When you scan the table of contents, dozens of relevant questions will jump off the page--and tempt you to read the crisp, well-written two- to four-page answers.

7. The One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson (Order from Amazon.)

A classic! This must be on your organization’s resource shelf—and should be foundational to your performance reviews—with more emphasis on “One-Minute Praisings” and “One-Minute Reprimands” versus the annual performance review.

Bonus Book! This is also a must-read: The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, by Ken Blanchard & William Oncken, Jr. (Order from Amazon.) See the five Ken Blanchard books spotlighted in my book, Mastering 100 Must-Read Books in the four sections of "Mount Rushmore Leadership Legends." The other three: Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, and Patrick Lencioni.

8. The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and Their Employees), by Patrick Lencioni (Read my review.)

I titled my review, ” Memo to Everyone I've Worked With Over the Last 40 Years: I'm sorry!” Honest! Had Patrick Lencioni written this book 40 years ago, when I assumed my first summer management position, I would have been a better leader and more nurturing manager.

His book will get your management juices going again. It's a five-star, must-read, very, very important book. 

9. The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving, by Randy Alcorn (Order from Amazon.)

Two words: read it! And the next time you hear a person say, "Yeah. I felt it was now time to give back..." Guess what? He or she never owned it in the first place! Randy Alcorn explains: "God owns everything. I'm His money manager."

10. TrueFaced: Trust God and Others With Who You Really Are, by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch (Order from Amazon.)

Oh, my. If you’ve never read one of the many books and resources from the TrueFace team, drop everything now—and jump in. These guys are the real deal. Visit the TrueFace website for rich, authentic help in your walk with God. (See their latest book: The Path.)

BONUS BOOKS COMING!

In 2007, I wrote a short review of the excellent book, The Imperfect Board Member: Discovering the Seven Disciplines of Governance Excellence, by Jim Brown (Read my review.)

Breaking News! Watch for my reviews of two more books in 2026 from Jim Brown!

• The Imperfect Board Member (2026 edition), by Jim Brown

• The Imperfect CEO: Making the Climb to Organizational Health (May 19, 2026), by Jim Brown (Pre-order from Amazon.)

And finally, these reminders: 1) Delegate your reading—assign books to other team members and ask for mini-reports at staff meetings; 2) Read relevant chapters only—don’t feel guilty for not finishing a book; 3) Hold high the value of sharpening the saw—model it yourself and reward others who read; and 4) Budget for books—invest in your people by investing in books and audio books.

I have some fantastic books coming in 2008. Stay tuned—and Happy New Year!

P.S.  I’m pleased to announce that my new book, Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit, will be published by Regal Books in April 2008. (2026 update: Also check out the workbook!)

MORE RESOURCES:

• BLOG: Pails in Comparison
• SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews
• JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon 
• WEBSITE: Management Buckets
• BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations

Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month.

Top-10 Books of 2008

 

Issue No. 120 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 31, 2008) features the Top-10 books of 2008. As you welcome in 2009, here's a recap of the books I've reviewed in 2008 (Issues No. 70 to 119). To download a PDF of the chronological list of book reviews, visit the Book Bucket page at the Management Buckets website. I reviewed 46 books and two DVDs in 2008.

Here are my Top-10 picks of the year for the books I reviewed. It's a tough assignment to narrow it down to 10, since all of us are at different levels of competency within the 20 buckets. But...maybe this will be helpful to you. 

2008 Book-of-the-Year

The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, by Peter Drucker. (Read my review.) - Order from Amazon.

Note: The updated version (see book cover) is still thin enough (90 pages, plus resources and study questions) so both staff and board members will actually read the book. The book walks leaders through “The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization.” They are:
   1) What is our mission?
   2) Who is our customer?
   3) What does the customer value?
   4) What are our results?
   5) What is our plan? 

The Other 9 Books:

1) The Five Temptations of a CEO (Patrick Lencioni) - Order from Amazon.

Lencioni delivers deadly serious solutions to the five temptations of CEOs.  All leaders and managers must: 1) Choose results over status; 2) Choose accountability over popularity; 3) Choose clarity over certainty; 4) Choose conflict over harmony; and 5) Choose trust over invulnerability.

Discussing the second temptation, he writes, “Work for the long-term respect of your direct reports, not for their affection. Don’t view them as a support group, but as key employees who must deliver on their commitments if the company is to produce predictable results.  And remember, your people aren’t going to like you anyway if they ultimately fail.”

2) Revolution in Generosity: Transforming Stewards to Be Rich Toward God (Wesley K. Willmer, general editor) - Read my review. 

Three cheers for Wes Willmer, general editor, and his labor of love by inspiring 20 thinkers to contribute chapters to this important book. Willmer writes, "A basic premise of this book is that believers are on the wrong road when it comes to giving and are therefore not generous." He describes the biblical way, the transformational way, to biblical generosity. He's supported by 20 articulate experts, including R. Scott Rodin, Dick Towner, Howard Dayton, Brian Kluth, Lauren Libby, Todd Harper, Rebekah Basinger, John Frank, Ron Blue, Paul D. Nelson, Daryl Heald and others.

3) Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together (Ron Hall and Denver Moore) - Order from Amazon.

While we celebrate the incredible in-the-trenches spirit that permeates the people who serve the homeless, the addicted and those in need of emergency shelter—let’s face it—it’s difficult to put a face on the overwhelming statistics of poverty.

Here’s an idea. Take a break from your leadership and management books and read this week’s poignant true story.  The book jacket says it all: “A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.” (View the movie.)

4) The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington (Robert D. Novak) - Read my review.

Ten years ago, following a four-year investigative journey from his Jewish roots to the Christian faith, a college student challenged him, "Mr. Novak, life is short, but eternity is forever." He writes, "I became convinced that the Holy Spirit was speaking through this Syracuse student." He embraced Christ and was baptized and confirmed at St. Patrick's in Washington, D.C. in 1998.

Warning: it's 662 pages long. Guarantee: you'll wish it was 1,000 pages. And yes, I read every page. While the chapter titles make it easy to scan, don't--you'll miss the morsels. It gets my highest recommendation.

5) Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide (John Jantsch) - Order from Amazon.

Don’t Work With Jerks! “When I talk to groups of small business owners at workshops,” writes John Jantsch, “I will often make the statement that when you properly target your clients, you will discover that you no longer have to work with jerks.”  It’s all about identifying, defining and focusing on your ideal client.  Peter Drucker preached the big picture: focus on your primary customer.  Now Jantsch helps you zero in with detailed intentionality.

6) Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier (Gary Harpst) - Read my review."

The first premise of this book is that what most business leaders think is their greatest challenge really isn't," says Harpst, who implemented more than 60,000 business management systems. "In most of my 20-year tenure as CEO of Solomon Software, I was in react mode, moving from one crisis to the next." So he makes the analysis simple with four quadrants focused on strong or weak strategy, coupled with strong or weak execution. The four quadrants: 1) growth wave, 2) fire-fighting, 3) profit wave, and 4) balanced and predictable.

Note: See his 2023 book, Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others. (Read my review.)

7) You've Got to Be Believed to Be Heard: The Complete Book of Speaking in Business and in Life (Bert Decker) - Read my review.

The book is a page-turning joy to read--it grabbed my emotions and my brain. You'll appreciate Decker's insights on what makes a politician an effective communicator (Bush at Ground Zero versus Bush today). You'll never listen to your pastor or public speakers the same way again and you'll recognize bad habits instantly like the fig leaf flasher, the finger-pointer, and the sin of hiding behind lecterns (and pulpits).

Another no-no: reading your speech. You'll also understand why communicators must first build trust--and why university students encountered a bubble gum machine outside their president's "open door policy" office.

8) Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcolm Gladwell) - Read my review. 

What does the "Matthew Effect" (per the first book of the New Testament) have to do with hockey players born in January? Teachers, parents and grandparents will be amazed at his data on I.Q., education and school vacations--the U.S. school year is 180 days long. Japan's is 243 days.

9) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (David Allen) - Order on Amazon. Note: In 2025, I included this book in my special list of 12 time management books. See the list here.

“The real issue is how we manage action.”  Example: Will a task take less than two minutes? Do it. If more than two minutes: delegate it or defer it. (Allen has a helpful yes/no flowchart for handling “stuff.”)  He uses “buckets” terminology (I like this guy) and says you must master the five functions of collection, processing, organizing, reviewing and doing.

MORE RESOURCES:

• BLOG: Pails in Comparison
• SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews
• JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon 
• WEBSITE: Management Buckets
• BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations

Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month.