Steven Leonard ( of Strategy Strikes Back)

Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat by James R. McDonough	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I bought my first copy of James McDonough's classic memoir of the Vietnam War, Platoon Leader, as a college student. It seemed like every week you could find a new memoir from a Vietnam veteran, but McDonough's stood out at the time, and stood the te ...more
Sep 02, 2026 04:28AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Platoon Leader by James R. McDonough. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Platoon Leader by James R. McDonough <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Rajiv Chandrasekaran's 2006 book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City, is one of the most damning organizational autopsies — a brutal, if accurate term — of a governance effort in crisis. Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post's former Baghdad bureau chie ...more
Aug 26, 2026 04:27AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As a high school student, I still remember my English teacher, Mrs. Thompson, pulling me aside and encouraging me to read books that challenged me. She introduced me to Thoreau, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. One day, she gave me a paperback copy of The ...more
Aug 18, 2026 02:24PM · like · see review
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing The Widow by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 16, 2026 04:45PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Widow by John Grisham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Widow by John Grisham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣." With just a handful of words, David Hackett Fischer set the tone for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ...more
Aug 12, 2026 07:38AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard entered a giveaway Sustaining the Mission: Building a Billion-Dollar Nonprofit Network by Rewriting the Rules of Partnership by Ryan Dewey Smith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 03, 2026 09:54AM · like · see giveaway
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing How To Lead Smart People by Arun Singh	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What happens when the people you are leading are as smart as you are — or smarter? For some people, that's a big problem, fragile egos and all. But that's a discussion for another day, another thread. It can be hard to lead smart people. Not only do t ...more
Jul 29, 2026 02:27PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How To Lead Smart People by Arun Singh. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How To Lead Smart People by Arun Singh <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq by Linda Robinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The other day, I found myself quoting Linda Robinson, or at least citing the title of her 2008 book, 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘴. After a series of questionable decisions left the Iraq war spinning out of control, General David Petraeus was nominated to le ...more
Jul 22, 2026 01:38PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tell Me How This Ends by Linda Robinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tell Me How This Ends by Linda Robinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking \| Overcome Toxic Thought Patterns and Take Control of Your Mindset by Jon Acuff (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Every meet someone who just overthinks everything? Jon Acuff has, and he wrote a book about it. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 is a deceptively practical book built on a a painful human tendency. Overthinking isn't a personality quirk. It's a way of giving into your in ...more
Jul 15, 2026 01:44PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Soundtracks by Jon Acuff. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Soundtracks by Jon Acuff <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative by Jim Collins	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on ...more
Jul 08, 2026 12:40PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing

Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat
by James R. McDonough

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I bought my first copy of James McDonough's classic memoir of the Vietnam War, Platoon Leader, as a college student. It seemed like every week you could find a new memoir from a Vietnam veteran, but McDonough's stood out at the time, and stood the te I bought my first copy of James McDonough's classic memoir of the Vietnam War, Platoon Leader, as a college student. It seemed like every week you could find a new memoir from a Vietnam veteran, but McDonough's stood out at the time, and stood the test of time.

McDonough, a United States Military Academy at West Point graduate who served as a platoon leader in Vietnam's Binh Dinh province in 1970–71, wrote the book years later while serving as a battalion commander, explicitly as an professional development tool. That origin gives the book its distinctive character: it is less interested in the politics of Vietnam than in the irreducible human demands of leading soldiers in mortal conditions.

McDonough arrives in Vietnam desperately trying to learn what he was already supposed to know — a focus on self-assessment that immediately establishes the book's brutally honest tone. He's assigned as a platoon leader engaged in the strategic hamlet program. He doesn't romanticize his men or himself. He assesses other leaders with the unsentimental precision of a young man who has learned to note the raw truth and adjust accordingly: "Moray was timid, Smalley was weak, Evans was eager. I did not condemn them for that. I noted it and adjusted. We were in a war, not a community social."

Key themes run through every chapter with the economy of a leader who has learned to say only what matters. First, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 — McDonough establishes early that a platoon leader earns authority not through rank but through demonstrated willingness to share every danger his soldiers face. Second, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁. Third, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘁 — the book's deepest argument is that war's absence of order creates a gravitational pull toward the absence of morality, and that leadership is the only counterforce available. Fourth, 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 — the company commander is almost entirely absent both in the book and in the fight, leaving McDonough to lead with almost no support from above.

The most important takeaway is one that has timeless relevance: the quality of small-unit leadership is decisive at the point of attack. That truth has not aged a day. One especially meaningful quote from the book is also its most transcendent leadership lesson: "The challenge lies not in denying fear, but in being able to function in the face of it." It is a line written about combat and applicable to every high-stakes leadership environment where the honest leader has no choice but to acknowledge what the pretending leader will not. ...more

Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing

Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

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Rajiv Chandrasekaran's 2006 book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City, is one of the most damning organizational autopsies — a brutal, if accurate term — of a governance effort in crisis. Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post's former Baghdad bureau chie Rajiv Chandrasekaran's 2006 book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City, is one of the most damning organizational autopsies — a brutal, if accurate term — of a governance effort in crisis. Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post's former Baghdad bureau chief, spent months inside the Coalition Provisional Authority, the civilian administration charged with rebuilding Iraq after the 2003 invasion. What he found there was an institution organized, almost perfectly, for failure.

The central image is the Green Zone itself: a heavily fortified four-square-mile enclave in the heart of Baghdad. The physical isolation was merely a symptom of the deeper one. Many of the people inside the Green Zone were not just separated from Iraq by concrete barriers. They were separated by ideology, inexperience, and a governing philosophy that had almost no connection to the realities unfolding outside the Green Zone.

Three key themes run through the book, foreshadowing institutional self-destruction. First, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 — much of the effort was put into the hands of inexperienced twentysomethings chosen for their party affiliation rather than for their knowledge of Arabic, Islamic culture, post-conflict reconstruction, or Iraq itself. Second, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 — ignoring what Iraqis said they wanted or needed, elements of the team pursued irrelevant solutions and unrealistic policies instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity, producing initiatives that angered the locals and fueled the insurgency. Third, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — leaders who can't see the consequences of their decisions can't correct them, and the Green Zone's physical and psychological walls ensured that the CPA's most consequential failures registered inside the bubble as bureaucratic inconveniences rather than strategic catastrophes.

The first theme should have been a cautionary reminder for any administration. There's no substitute for competence. Full stop. ...more

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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan (Goodreads Author)

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As a high school student, I still remember my English teacher, Mrs. Thompson, pulling me aside and encouraging me to read books that challenged me. She introduced me to Thoreau, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. One day, she gave me a paperback copy of The As a high school student, I still remember my English teacher, Mrs. Thompson, pulling me aside and encouraging me to read books that challenged me. She introduced me to Thoreau, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. One day, she gave me a paperback copy of The Grapes of Wrath. Few books engaged me in the same way. Until I read Timothy Egan's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦.

Just as Steinbeck told us the story of the Oakies, Egan weaves the narrative history of one of the most consequential and least examined disasters in America. The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing seen before or since — a catastrophe that was simultaneously ecological, economic, and deeply human. And Egan tells the story through the lives and memories of those who stayed when a generation of their neighbors fled.

The Dust Bowl was the consequence of shortsightedness delivered at scale — the Great Plains were plowed into agricultural production by a generation of settlers and speculators who saw the land as a resource to extract rather than a system to steward. Most of what Americans know about the Dust Bowl comes from the story of those who left, the westward migration that became its own mythology. Egan takes a different perspective: who stayed, and why, and what does survival under those conditions actually mean?

When I read, I look for #leadership lessons. And though Egan doesn't frame it as such, his story of Hugh Bennett — the soil scientist who spent years trying to persuade Congress that the plains were being destroyed by human mismanagement — is a powerful lesson in leadership. Bennett timed his congressional testimony to coincide with a dust storm blowing in from the plains, letting the evidence voice his argument when his words had failed. It is a MasterClass in the patient, strategic deployment of truth against institutional resistance.

The most important takeaway from the book is one that remains relevant today: the Dust Bowl was not a natural disaster. It was a man-made catastrophe produced by choices made over decades, the types of shortsighted choices we make every day. In the words of Hugh Bennett: "Of all the countries in the world, we Americans have been the greatest destroyers of land of any race of people barbaric or civilized." ...more

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The Widow
by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

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Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer

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"𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣."

With just a handful of words, David Hackett Fischer set the tone for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 "𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣."

With just a handful of words, David Hackett Fischer set the tone for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. Drawing on one of the most iconic visuals in American history — George Washington standing in a boat crossing the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776 — and revisits the full weight of its human stakes. Fischer, one of America's most distinguished historians, sets the mythology of the moment aside and focuses in on the mechanics: how a ragged, demoralized, outnumbered army, on the edge of dissolution, made a series of decisions in the dead of winter that changed the course of a revolution.

This is a brilliant work of contingency history, the idea that #decisions matter and those decisions drive the course of events. On one side, the Continental Army — underfed, unpaid, and hemorrhaging enlistments. On the other, the British Regulars and their Hessian auxiliaries — professional, disciplined, and fresh from a campaign that had driven Washington's forces from New York in a series of humiliating defeats. Washington could have retreated further. His officers could have refused. His soldiers could have gone home. But at every turn, human choice determined the inevitable outcome.

The narrative traces four key #leadership themes with the clarity of a well-executed campaign. First, 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 — Washington absorbed the lessons of the New York defeats and fundamentally changed how he fought, refusing to meet the British in the set-piece engagements that had nearly destroyed his army. Second, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 — Washington's experience and character encouraged him to adapt his leadership style to the realities of his soldiers' backgrounds, and that the Continental Army's organization embodied the nascent democratic principles of the new republic. Third, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 — the victories at Trenton and Princeton were not won by overwhelming force but by the aggressive, adaptive behavior of officers and men who understood the mission well enough to act without orders. Fourth, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 — a small group of people, acting out of commitment to a cause, can accomplish what no purely professional calculation would predict. ...more

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Sustaining the Mission by Ryan Dewey Smith

Sustaining the Mission: Building a Billion-Dollar Nonprofit Network by Rewriting the Rules of Partnership
by Ryan Dewey Smith

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How To Lead Smart People
by Arun Singh

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What happens when the people you are leading are as smart as you are — or smarter? For some people, that's a big problem, fragile egos and all. But that's a discussion for another day, another thread.

It can be hard to lead smart people. Not only do t What happens when the people you are leading are as smart as you are — or smarter? For some people, that's a big problem, fragile egos and all. But that's a discussion for another day, another thread.

It can be hard to lead smart people. Not only do they tend to know a lot, but some of them think they know it all — that puts us in in the tough position of guiding people who don't think they need guiding. And that's where Arun Singh Ph D(CS) ITIL Master (Version 5) UBS CE Gold and Mike Mister come in. Their 2019 book, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, offers 50 simple lessons about leading a team of intellectual equals with balance and diplomacy. Each of those lessons is expressed with practical wisdom, the kind you get rolling up your sleeves and getting into the trenches with the cubicle baboons.

The book is organized into three parts: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲, which focuses on the leader's own performance; 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺, which addresses how to work with different people to build a high-performing team; and 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, which teaches leaders how to build their profile and influence beyond their immediate team. Key themes run through all three sections with consistency. First, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 — the the most important trait of a leader is not intelligence or experience but mindset: the way they think about themselves, their team, and their role, with self-awareness and emotional intelligence as the foundations on which everything else is built. Second, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀: in professional environments, positional power is fragile and frequently resented, which means leaders must earn influence through credibility, consistency, and genuine interest in the development of their people rather than asserting it through hierarchy. Third, t𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: smart people need to have a say in the destination and the proposed mode of travel, which means the leader's job is less about directing and more about creating the conditions for collective excellence. Fourth, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: the book stresses not just core skills such as decision making and delegating, but soft skills such as delivering good and bad news to team members and building trust across a team of high performers.

The spirit of honest, practical, hard-won counsel runs through every page, and that's what makes 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 such a, well... smart read. ...more

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Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq
by Linda Robinson

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The other day, I found myself quoting Linda Robinson, or at least citing the title of her 2008 book, 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘴. After a series of questionable decisions left the Iraq war spinning out of control, General David Petraeus was nominated to le ...more

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Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking | Overcome Toxic Thought Patterns and Take Control of Your Mindset
by Jon Acuff (Goodreads Author)

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Every meet someone who just overthinks everything? Jon Acuff has, and he wrote a book about it. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 is a deceptively practical book built on a a painful human tendency. Overthinking isn't a personality quirk. It's a way of giving into your in ...more

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What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative
by Jim Collins

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Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on my #reading list.

The book is organized around a single central question: How do we find our way in the world?

How do we make it past the cliffs — significant events that can radically change a life? How do we keep the inner fire burning bright, long and late? How do we keep pushing where others give up? We all face our cliffs in life — it's what we choose to do at those cliffs that change lives.

Three key themes run through the book. First, what he calls encodings — durable, intrinsic capacities built into your construction, waiting to be discovered through life's experiences — the individual equivalent of the Hedgehog Concept, applied to people rather than organizations. Second, the necessity of navigating fog without leaping — what he calls simplex stepping... taking the best step that's visible right in front of you. You don't need to know where you're ultimately going, just continue choosing the next best steps. Third — perhaps the most counterintuitive for high-achievers — the fire does not have to fade. You decide when your last chapter is written, no one else.

The most important #leadership lesson from the book is one that challenges the premise most high-performers bring to the question of success: the best #leaders don't ask what they are obligated to do or what will build their reputation. Instead they focus on what they're responsible for. That shift — from obligation to chosen responsibility — is the difference between a career and a calling, and between #leadership that exhausts and #leadership that sustains.

This is conveyed in the book as Collins channels Toni Morrison: "Freedom doesn't mean the absence of responsibilities. Freedom means you get to choose your responsibilities." That's the point where greatness starts. ...more

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	Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict by Max Brooks (Goodreads Author) (Editor), John Amble (Editor), M.L. Cavanaugh (Editor) 3.93 avg rating — 355 ratings — published 2018 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To Boldly Go: Leadership, Strategy, and Conflict in the 21st Century and Beyond by Jonathan Klug (Editor), Major General Mick Ryan (Foreword), Steven Leonard (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.85 avg rating — 119 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Winning Westeros: How Game of Thrones Explains Modern Military Conflict by Max Brooks (Goodreads Author) (Editor), James G. Stavridis (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), John Amble (Editor) 3.88 avg rating — 57 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War by Randy Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Steven Leonard (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Eric Chandler (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.49 avg rating — 41 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Power Up: Leadership, Character, and Conflict Beyond the Superhero Multiverse by Steven Leonard (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jonathan Klug (Editor), Kelsey Cipolla (Editor) 4.45 avg rating — 11 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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