2 Books And 14 Lessons Every Leader Should Read

Leaders are readers.  Reading shows a level of humility because you do not know everything.  Reading shows you want to learn from others and get better.  Reading shows you realize you are not where you want to be.

Recently, I have been doing a lot of traveling so it has allowed me to catch up on some of my own reading.  I finished three books in the last week.  Let me tell you about two of them shown above.

• The Cubs Way: The Zen Of Building The Best Team In Baseball And Breaking The Curse by Tom Verducci.  One of the Top 10 leadership books I have read in the last year.  Highlights include Theo Epstein’s career arc and approach to team building and talent acquisition, Chapter 12 which discusses manager Joe Maddon’s 13-point leadership philosophy, and the team’s prioritization of selecting players with high character.  Chapter 19 on the rain delay during Game 7 of the World Series is my personal favorite and is as fine a leadership chapter as you will ever read.  Click HERE to purchase this amazing book.
• Astroball: A New Way To Win It All by Ben Reiter.  While the first book profiles the 2016 World Series champions, this profiles last year’s.  Highlights include the evolution of data analysis in pro baseball and the patience of team owner Jim Crane.  I really liked how Reiter tells the team’s entire story, including the mistakes (ex. J.D. Martinez) made by general manager Jeff Luhnow and top assistant Sig Mejdal.  Chapter 7 entitled In Search Of Carlos Beltran is a fascinating look at how analytics can potentially measure abstract concepts like team chemistry and being a good teammate.  Click HERE or on the image above to purchase this incredible book.

You may discount both books as sports books.  This would be a mistake.  These books are about innovation, change management, talent acquisition, great ownership, financial management, entitlement, humility, and how to properly handle pressure and failure.  Trust me.  You will not be disappointed.

The following are 14 Leadership Lessons Every Leader Should Read as well.  The quotes were captured from USA Today articles.

January 22, 2018

• Leading A Family Is Far More Complex Than Leading Anywhere Else – “I’ve conquered a lot of things… blood clots in my lungs – twice… knee and foot surgeries… winning gram slams being down match point… to name just a FEW but I found out by far the hardest if figuring out a stroller!” – Serena Williams on parenting.

• Hard Work Is A Skill – “The skill he’s most talented at is working hard.  When something’s not working out well in a game, you go to what you do best, and if your best strength is working hard, you’re generally going to be in good shape and get through things that are challenging.” – Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Sean Sweeney on star player Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Learn To Leverage The Fear Of Failure – “The fear of failure also drives me.  Since I got to the league and ever since I understood I can be a good player, I don’t want to mess up.” – Giannis
• Make Giving Your Absolute Best More Important Than Getting Results – “Every single day is a new day and my only job here is to put out my best effort.  But going into this Olympics, I thought, yeah , I could come away with multiple medals.  I could also walk away with nothing.” – USA Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin
• Smart Leader Never Take Their Foot Off The Gas – “I’ve had so many giant slalom races where I’m in first or second in the first run and then I ski slower because I’m to protect something.  I don’t know.  The Olympics is not about protecting the lead.  It’s about putting your best on the line, and, yeah, we see what happens.” – Shiffren

• The Greatest Leaders Care Deeply About Their Legacies – “I think that I want to be remembered as some who was able to … forget about baseball but be able to help mankind.  So I want to be remembered as not someone who hit 700 home runs or someone who had a .300 batting average, but someone who did a little bit more than just … did some other things to help mankind.” – Henry Aaron to the Appleton Post-Crescent
• You Are A More Successful Leader When You Have Talent Than When You Don’t – “For right now, I don’t think he can.  We’ll see what happens this year.  I don’t think it helps that he doesn’t have a lot of talent at Tennessee.” – Aaron Murray on Jeremy Pruitt’s chances in for success in 2018
• Pressure Is A Privilege – “The pressure is really a privilege. … Those are things we embrace at the University of Georgia.  We can’t run from those things.” – Kirby Smart

• Great Leaders Make Personal Sacrifices And Put Their Team’s Needs Ahead Of Their Own – “I saw from the first day that Ek (coach Ekapol Chantawong, 25) waited for the boys to satisfy their hunger first.  He gave his meal to the young.” – Thai army doctor Lt. Col. Oak Loharachun on the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave
• Influence Is Earned, Not Given – “I love both guys.  Both are really good competitors and good leaders.  They’ve made really good contributions to the team, both are well-liked.  Somebody’s got to win the team.” – Alabama’s Nick Saban on Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts quarterback competition

• Humility Is A Brand – “Mike Trout is an exceptional ambassador for the game.  He continually chooses to participate in the community, visiting hospitals, schools and countless other charities.  One of Mike’s traits that people admire most is his humility.  His brand is built upon generously spending his time engaging the fans, both at home and on the road, while remaining a remarkable baseball player and teammate.” – Angels team statement
• Great Teams Have Great Depth – “It’s always a good thing to have a lot of good players.  I don’t think that’s ever a bad thing, that’s for sure.” – Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney
• Leaders Should Have Higher Expectations For Themselves Than Others Should Have For Them – “I put such high expectations on myself anyway that those kind of outweigh everything.  I realize the older I get and the more I achieve, the more people are going to to expect things of me.” – USA soccer star Christian Pulisic
• Apex Leaders Prioritize Continual Improvement – “I want more out of myself each year.  I have done some good things, but that has come because I have worked at it.  I want to keep improving and seeing how far I can lift my game.  I want to be successful, and the only way to do that is to get better.” – Pulisic

What is one thing you read from the list above you need to improve in?

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