Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders

by Steve Shallenberger

Running a business or department in today’s high-pressure business landscape gets more difficult every year. Given the level of competition, as well as market ups and downs, it seems that you either sacrifice your personal life for your job or you lose everything. Steve Shallenberger has an important message for you: It doesn’t have to be this way. You can succeed in business and live a happy life at the same time. In fact, if you follow his advice, a satisfying personal life will necessarily follow your leadership success. That’s because it’s all based on timeless truths that apply to every aspect of life, in any business and in any culture. Becoming Your Best reveals the lessons you need to follow in order to reach your highest potential and drive the kind of innovation that turns good companies into industry leaders―all while living a well-balanced personal life. Learn the 12 principles for developing a culture of excellence, including:

Genres: Self Help, Business, Nonfiction, Management

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2014

About the author

Steve has more than 40 years of experience as a successful business owner, trusted senior executive, professional corporate trainer, and respected community leader.

After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1976, Steve launched Eagle Systems International, a global leadership and management consulting firm. He has successfully led companies in three different industries and has a keen understanding of how to thrive in business. During those formative years, he continued his education at the Harvard Business School. Steve also worked many years with Stephen R. Covey. As a key leader, among others, he helped build the world-renowned Covey Leadership Center. He's taken his lifetime of experience and founded Becoming Your Best Global Leadership LLC, a company devoted to helping individuals and organizations achieve their maximum potential!

Steve served as president of the Brigham Young University Alumni Association. He was a former president and is the upcoming president of America's Freedom Foundation and he currently sits on their board of trustees. He was a charter member and chair of the Utah chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and is actively involved in the World Presidents' Organization (WPO).
Steve has consolidated 40 years of success and leadership research into the highly acclaimed book Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders. Leaders from around the world have raved about the chemistry of excellence created by these 12 principles.

Steve is passionate about his family, having fun, and helping others achieve their potential in life.

Reviews

[Adrienne Servis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for all. Steve encourages everyone to think positive and do you best no matter what. He gives you detailed ways to be goal oriented and to push yourself beyond what your "norm" is. His examples of those who overcame hindrances are excellent. With being a mother of three teen boys, I appreciated his example of his son who chose honesty no matter what the cost. Thank you, Steve for such an inspiring book.

[David Ferreira Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy guide to focus on essentials and values.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Great leadership book.

[David Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took the challenge and tried to read 1 chapter a week (with occasional reviews during the week). It took me some time to read it (and yes, there were weeks that I missed out totally), but I still finished it and WOW -- this is one of the best leadership books I have read.

I like the quote from Mr. Joseph Grenny, "This is not a book to read. It is a book to live."

This is a book to live and put into action, not just read and then put on a shelf. I color tabbed each chapter (try finding 12 different color sticky notes!) to help me as I reviewed my reading and it was super helpful. The 12 principles that Steven Shallenberger shares are priceless and timeless.

Leadership is a skill that can be learned, refined, and expanded upon. This book just helps you do all that (and more). I highly recommend this book as a study guide for life. You won't regret it.

[Heather O'Connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was shocked by the many positive reviews of this book. I agree that the 12 principles are great and important, but this book is outdated and does not fit in the modern workplace. I was surprised it was written this decade. There are strong privileged undertones the whole way through. It feels that it is meant solely for Christian white men in corporate America with old ideals of work and self-worth. There are much better leadership books out there.

[Shane Cotier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read this for work. While it does have some good common sense advice, it’s mostly the type of book that lionizes people like Elon Musk, Thomas Edison, J.K. Rowling and companies like Exxon. It purports that CEOs and multinational corporations make the world a better place through excellence. If that sounds useful to you, dig in.

[Buddhika Abeygooneratne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Becoming Your Best” is a fun and inspiring book to read. It provides simple yet compelling strategies for dramatically improving your effectiveness, level of accomplishment, and personal satisfaction in the way you go about doing it. I highly recommend this book for all leaders....

[Rene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of a work group and so did my best to get out of if what I could. I'm sure there are better books of this type out there that are better written and do not rely on cliche quite so much.
I don't recommend it.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good insights

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my team at work. Great principles for everyone, for work and home.

[Dail Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book filled with 12 steps to guide improvement.

[C. Spencer Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really deserves a much higher rating than a 3 start that it is getting here, the reason we are giving it that rating is because we have read so many great books over the past 14 years that this was an honest re-hash of everything we've heard again and again. The material for a new reader getting into the self-help and personal development field, this book would be golden to them. To us it was good but there was nothing particularly inspiring or a new twist to anything we have all read in the past. Certainly not discouraging anyone from reading this, as there are great points of learning within, just do not expect to be blown over by new or super powerfully crafted points.

I met Steven Shallenberger at a local networking event in Salt Lake City, UT and wanted to pick up his book and read it with the group to explore what he and his organization is all about. He used to be with Franklin Covey back in the day and this was the same things you would hear from one of their books with his words slightly modified to become "his material".

[Annikan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a difficult time staying focused when I read business books, but Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders had such an easy to follow format and was engaging enough that it kept my attention from cover to cover. I loved this book and plan on getting it as a Christmas gift for several friends this year.

The principles it discusses are already having a big impact in my life after only reading the book once. I plan to read this one often and reference it regularly!

[Prasanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Becoming Your Best shares the unique attributes of successful leaders, synthesized by critically analyzing hundreds of leaders around the world. The author claims that the principles in Becoming Your Best are the common thread that binds these successful personalities and will help you become the best at what your do.

[Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed my life in such a short time. I feel like I am a pretty driven person that gets things done but after reading this book I realized how much I can improve on. It was a good reminder for me to focus on the things that matter most and not the things that are just the most appealing or fun. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. This isn't just for leaders, it can be for anyone who wants to reach their fullest potential!

[James Thorup · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Game Changer! Powerful! The opportunity to leverage 40 years of research to unleash the 12 principles that inspire leaders and teams to peak performance today and tomorrow! I would recommend this book to anyone that desires to bring out the BEST in themselves, their teams, and their employees.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book because it offers 12 principles to be a successful leader - whether in business or in the home and in trying to be a better person. I really enjoyed the examples, stories and tools to get started.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a game changer! Huge impact on my personal life and business. If you're going to read a book this year, get this one!!

[Bobby Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review of this book: https://businessbookreviewer.com/2015...

[Mike Baird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book in the vein of Stephen Covey's successful habits books. Really enjoyed and very work centric.

[Alit Atmaja]

Inspiring book. A must-read book, not only for business related purpose but as well as personal-related purpose. Intuitive and easy to comprehend. Inspiring real-life example. Thanks Steve

[Ariadna73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because I found it applicable to my own experience in business. I even created a little summary of it. It is pasted at the end of this review.
Here are pictures of  the jacket and the editorial information of the book:

Table of contents (more elaboration in the summary below)

Here is an excerpt of the foreword. It is an excellent example of a sales pitch for a great idea of a self-help book. I simply loved it:

Here are the 12 principles mentioned in the book at a glance:

Summary


Read the summary in my blog: https://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2019/01/becoming-your-best-steve-shallenberger.html