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The Disciplined Leader: Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters
What do the best leaders have in common? As president of MAP, John Manning should know. MAP has helped tens of thousands of top executives accelerate their leadership and management performance. Manning says the answer is one word: discipline. But for Manning, discipline has a very specific meaning.
All leaders have scores of things they could do. But a disciplined leader is one who identifies and focuses on the Vital Few: the 20 percent of activities that will drive 80 percent of the results. And the results that are most important are those tied to the organization's most precious asset: its people.
The Disciplined Leader offers fifty-two succinct lessons to help you home in on your own Vital Few in three critical areas: leading yourself, leading your team, and leading your organization. Each lesson comes with recommended tactics and practical “Take Action!” tips for implementing it, so there are literally hundreds of pieces of must-know, time-tested advice here. The chapters are self-contained, so you can read them in any order and come back to the ones that resonate with you—your own Vital Few! This is a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts guide to leadership practice that's built to inspire action, drive change, and achieve results.
All leaders have scores of things they could do. But a disciplined leader is one who identifies and focuses on the Vital Few: the 20 percent of activities that will drive 80 percent of the results. And the results that are most important are those tied to the organization's most precious asset: its people.
The Disciplined Leader offers fifty-two succinct lessons to help you home in on your own Vital Few in three critical areas: leading yourself, leading your team, and leading your organization. Each lesson comes with recommended tactics and practical “Take Action!” tips for implementing it, so there are literally hundreds of pieces of must-know, time-tested advice here. The chapters are self-contained, so you can read them in any order and come back to the ones that resonate with you—your own Vital Few! This is a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts guide to leadership practice that's built to inspire action, drive change, and achieve results.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2015
24 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
About the author
John Manning
3 books6 followersJohn Manning is the President of Management Action Programs, Inc. (MAP), a general management consulting firm based in Southern California. Since 1960, MAP has tapped its talent and expertise to help 170,000 leaders in over 15,000 organizations nationwide create breakthrough results.
John has diverse experience in business leadership, having held executive positions in Fortune 500 companies in operations, marketing, and sales. Formerly the Director of Operations for McKesson Water Products, Inc., he was also part of a leadership team that took the company national. This move made McKesson one of the third largest bottled-water company in the United States before it was later bought by Danone in 2000.
A resident of Southern California, John enjoys mentoring young professionals and entrepreneurs. An avid cyclist, John is passionate about spending time in the great outdoors. He is devoted to his wife Robin and his entire family.
John has diverse experience in business leadership, having held executive positions in Fortune 500 companies in operations, marketing, and sales. Formerly the Director of Operations for McKesson Water Products, Inc., he was also part of a leadership team that took the company national. This move made McKesson one of the third largest bottled-water company in the United States before it was later bought by Danone in 2000.
A resident of Southern California, John enjoys mentoring young professionals and entrepreneurs. An avid cyclist, John is passionate about spending time in the great outdoors. He is devoted to his wife Robin and his entire family.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 19, 2015
At this point, I have read hundreds of leadership and management books, so I have some refined requirements for those I consider above average.
I want these three things:
1) Focus - the message has to precise, rather than general
2) Clarity - I have to be able to understand the message relatively easily.
3) Readability - I need to enjoy reading the content.
If these are all present, I will usually reflect on and use the knowledge, assuming it fits with my overall perception of effective leadership practices and beliefs.
John Manning has earned a trifecta ... this book is easy to read, full of thoughtful and solid leadership advice, and organized in chunks of very short sections. Manning considers leadership of self, of groups, and finally of organizations.
One of the best things about this book is that you can read it from start to finish in logical order, or you can dip into whichever specific leadership point strikes your interest or requires your attention. Very flexible ... each small chapter stands on its own, yet the complete work is stronger for all the small sections.
This is a perfect gift for anyone who wants to lead, is already leading and wants to up their game, or those who have led for decades ... something for everyone to learn here.
John
I want these three things:
1) Focus - the message has to precise, rather than general
2) Clarity - I have to be able to understand the message relatively easily.
3) Readability - I need to enjoy reading the content.
If these are all present, I will usually reflect on and use the knowledge, assuming it fits with my overall perception of effective leadership practices and beliefs.
John Manning has earned a trifecta ... this book is easy to read, full of thoughtful and solid leadership advice, and organized in chunks of very short sections. Manning considers leadership of self, of groups, and finally of organizations.
One of the best things about this book is that you can read it from start to finish in logical order, or you can dip into whichever specific leadership point strikes your interest or requires your attention. Very flexible ... each small chapter stands on its own, yet the complete work is stronger for all the small sections.
This is a perfect gift for anyone who wants to lead, is already leading and wants to up their game, or those who have led for decades ... something for everyone to learn here.
John
July 2, 2021
Pros:
- Short, straight to the point lessons on leadership
- Most of the lessons are relevant to any people in leadership or management position
- Provides a game plan for how to implement the book
Cons
- Some repetition/overlap in lessons
- Reading from a pastoral point of view, some of the lessons weren't relevant to me/ministry
4.0
- Short, straight to the point lessons on leadership
- Most of the lessons are relevant to any people in leadership or management position
- Provides a game plan for how to implement the book
Cons
- Some repetition/overlap in lessons
- Reading from a pastoral point of view, some of the lessons weren't relevant to me/ministry
4.0
July 4, 2015
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about goals and just plain getting things done, is that you need to break them down to work on them in pieces. It holds you accountable and makes life a whole lot less complicated and overwhelming. In tackling any project I take it one step at a time and pace myself so that I can succeed and, in the case of learning, absorb information.
I am continually trying to refine my leadership style and discover how I can be a more effective transparent and effective leader in everything that I do. I was fortunate to be given one of the best tools around to help guide my leadership in baby steps. I recently read the book “The Disciplined Leader: 52 Concise, Powerful Lessons Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters” by John Manning. This little gem is the kind of book that I keep on my nightstand to wake up to and digest quick leadership lessons before starting my day.
Manning is very passionate about the fact that the best leaders are disciplined. They focus on what is important –PEOPLE – in order to get results. To this end, he offers 52 great concise yet powerful lessons to read at leisure and digest. They focus on 3 key areas:
Leading yourself
Leading your team
Leading your organization
Each lesson is followed up with tactics, practical advice and 2 action or reflective ideas which is why I loved the format and lessons. I can read just one at a time or skip around and still find relevancy and application to my day. The lessons are very hands on and user friendly. It’s like having a leadership bible at your fingertips. I enjoyed the easy reading that really helped me to set a leadership plan for life. The meaningful aspect about Manning’s lessons is that they are applicable to both your professional and person life.
Manning focuses on the concept that we are all too familiar with, the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule. 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. The same applies to your customer profitability and the productivity of your key employees. By focusing your efforts on what really matters – your people – you will bring out the best in everyone and this is really where the gold is. Learning and using the lessons in this gem of a book will really help you to apply the 80/20 rule and guide you to plan what to do, when, and how. Both you and your team will win.
The best way to use this book is to read the lessons and then sit back to reflect. Pick the top 3 lessons that resonate with you in terms of developing your leadership, your team’s leadership, and bring out the best in your organization. In short, you should have chosen 9 lessons, 3 from each area. Prioritize the top 5 lessons out of all of the lessons. Really focus on them and use them as action steps for your leadership development. Manning offers a helpful template to use with your key action steps for each that you have chosen to grow as a guide. Ta Da! Your leadership lessons are handed to you on a silver platter to begin your growth and development.
I love the engaging leadership action steps at the end of each lesson. There are very relevant and engaging examples to guide you. You will feel more equipped to set goals and not overwhelmed. Pick up this great book today and begin learning in chunks but applying to your life in mass! A great read!
I am continually trying to refine my leadership style and discover how I can be a more effective transparent and effective leader in everything that I do. I was fortunate to be given one of the best tools around to help guide my leadership in baby steps. I recently read the book “The Disciplined Leader: 52 Concise, Powerful Lessons Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters” by John Manning. This little gem is the kind of book that I keep on my nightstand to wake up to and digest quick leadership lessons before starting my day.
Manning is very passionate about the fact that the best leaders are disciplined. They focus on what is important –PEOPLE – in order to get results. To this end, he offers 52 great concise yet powerful lessons to read at leisure and digest. They focus on 3 key areas:
Leading yourself
Leading your team
Leading your organization
Each lesson is followed up with tactics, practical advice and 2 action or reflective ideas which is why I loved the format and lessons. I can read just one at a time or skip around and still find relevancy and application to my day. The lessons are very hands on and user friendly. It’s like having a leadership bible at your fingertips. I enjoyed the easy reading that really helped me to set a leadership plan for life. The meaningful aspect about Manning’s lessons is that they are applicable to both your professional and person life.
Manning focuses on the concept that we are all too familiar with, the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule. 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. The same applies to your customer profitability and the productivity of your key employees. By focusing your efforts on what really matters – your people – you will bring out the best in everyone and this is really where the gold is. Learning and using the lessons in this gem of a book will really help you to apply the 80/20 rule and guide you to plan what to do, when, and how. Both you and your team will win.
The best way to use this book is to read the lessons and then sit back to reflect. Pick the top 3 lessons that resonate with you in terms of developing your leadership, your team’s leadership, and bring out the best in your organization. In short, you should have chosen 9 lessons, 3 from each area. Prioritize the top 5 lessons out of all of the lessons. Really focus on them and use them as action steps for your leadership development. Manning offers a helpful template to use with your key action steps for each that you have chosen to grow as a guide. Ta Da! Your leadership lessons are handed to you on a silver platter to begin your growth and development.
I love the engaging leadership action steps at the end of each lesson. There are very relevant and engaging examples to guide you. You will feel more equipped to set goals and not overwhelmed. Pick up this great book today and begin learning in chunks but applying to your life in mass! A great read!
June 15, 2015
What I liked the most about the book is the simplicity of the language and the short chapters.
John breaks it into three parts: self, team, organization.
Each chapter is a tip or concept to master for the respective section. It's structured in a way that you can look at the table of contents and quickly decide which topic you need help with, read it, and have ideas to put in action to get better.
Each chapter works by defining the concept with an actual business example (from a client) and then offers 3 action or reflection items to consider in order to improve your skills set. The best part is that each chapter is 3-5 pages long and it reads pretty fast. Sometimes you just have to skim the bold titles/subjects inside the chapters and you get enough to take action.
WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT
This is not all encompassing and won't have a lot of descriptions and statistics to prove something to the reader. Don't expect to solve world hunger by reading this book.
WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT
...Is to get a simple to read reference guide that helps you reflect on your current situation and then take action. Your way, your pace. After all, telling is not teaching and listening is not learning.
WHO IS BEST SERVE BY THIS BOOK
I think this is very good for the entry level leader that's looking for some type of roadmap to delve into the leadership environment. Someone that needs a structured framework to follow and slowly work through.
I also think this book can serve a as reference guide for the more experienced leader. It's good to have quick references in order to refresh our memory on the very broad topic of leadership.
John breaks it into three parts: self, team, organization.
Each chapter is a tip or concept to master for the respective section. It's structured in a way that you can look at the table of contents and quickly decide which topic you need help with, read it, and have ideas to put in action to get better.
Each chapter works by defining the concept with an actual business example (from a client) and then offers 3 action or reflection items to consider in order to improve your skills set. The best part is that each chapter is 3-5 pages long and it reads pretty fast. Sometimes you just have to skim the bold titles/subjects inside the chapters and you get enough to take action.
WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT
This is not all encompassing and won't have a lot of descriptions and statistics to prove something to the reader. Don't expect to solve world hunger by reading this book.
WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT
...Is to get a simple to read reference guide that helps you reflect on your current situation and then take action. Your way, your pace. After all, telling is not teaching and listening is not learning.
WHO IS BEST SERVE BY THIS BOOK
I think this is very good for the entry level leader that's looking for some type of roadmap to delve into the leadership environment. Someone that needs a structured framework to follow and slowly work through.
I also think this book can serve a as reference guide for the more experienced leader. It's good to have quick references in order to refresh our memory on the very broad topic of leadership.
July 15, 2015
John Manning has done a great job creating a journal type document that can be used by new leaders to learn and experienced leaders to review some of the foundational aspects of leadership. I love the common sense approach that he uses to make his points.If you are looking for a radical new approach to leadership then this is not the book for you however I am not aware of many books that will give you that.
Each tip is an average of 4 pages long so it makes for easy reading however each section ends with a Take Action box which will have 3-4 exercises you can try that will help the reader embrace the concept. Many of the suggestions will have interactions with those you lead so tat is critical to the growth of everyone not just the reader.
Personally, I would have this book on the shelf as a reference book. If your team is having an issue with arriving at solutions for issues you are facing you, look at tip #35, "Demand More Solutions" for refreshing or stimulation of a new approach. You can read this whole book in the space of 8 hours but you won't take much away from it other than some brief concepts. By digesting at a slower pace you can appreciate the common sense of the thoughts and suggestion so please take your time.
Enjoy and reflect
Each tip is an average of 4 pages long so it makes for easy reading however each section ends with a Take Action box which will have 3-4 exercises you can try that will help the reader embrace the concept. Many of the suggestions will have interactions with those you lead so tat is critical to the growth of everyone not just the reader.
Personally, I would have this book on the shelf as a reference book. If your team is having an issue with arriving at solutions for issues you are facing you, look at tip #35, "Demand More Solutions" for refreshing or stimulation of a new approach. You can read this whole book in the space of 8 hours but you won't take much away from it other than some brief concepts. By digesting at a slower pace you can appreciate the common sense of the thoughts and suggestion so please take your time.
Enjoy and reflect
June 28, 2015
Living near a town that lives and breaths baseball (St. Louis of course), I’d say that John has “hit it out of the park” with his book, The Disciplined Leader: Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters.
This book reminds me of Peter Drucker’s The Daily Drucker, but instead of 365 daily readings, you get 52 meaty lessons that you can leverage to become a better leader. Each lesson contains one to three pages of text that provide for a pretty detailed discussion of the topic, followed by a summary. The key is the Take Action” section that follows the summary, as it serves as a call to action for us to do something with what John has challenged us with.
As someone that loves to develop the leadership capabilities of others, I appreciate that John even shares some great tools with his readers. For example, the Professional Development Plan that he shares in Lesson 18 is worth far more than the cost of the book, and one that I’ll draw on in the future.
My suggestion to every reader of this book would be to carve some time out on Sunday evening or Monday morning to read one lesson per week, and then spend 15 minutes each day working on that lesson. While it might seem like just a small investment, I can assure you that the time will prove invaluable!
This book reminds me of Peter Drucker’s The Daily Drucker, but instead of 365 daily readings, you get 52 meaty lessons that you can leverage to become a better leader. Each lesson contains one to three pages of text that provide for a pretty detailed discussion of the topic, followed by a summary. The key is the Take Action” section that follows the summary, as it serves as a call to action for us to do something with what John has challenged us with.
As someone that loves to develop the leadership capabilities of others, I appreciate that John even shares some great tools with his readers. For example, the Professional Development Plan that he shares in Lesson 18 is worth far more than the cost of the book, and one that I’ll draw on in the future.
My suggestion to every reader of this book would be to carve some time out on Sunday evening or Monday morning to read one lesson per week, and then spend 15 minutes each day working on that lesson. While it might seem like just a small investment, I can assure you that the time will prove invaluable!
June 17, 2015
I found The Disciplined Leader by John Manning to be a great book. full of wisdom about the different aspects of being a leader in a form that's easy to read and convert into action. Manning has divided the book into three sections, on leading yourself, leading your team, and leading your organization. In total, there are 52 lessons on how someone can assume the mantle of leadership and take actions to grow their influence. This format makes it easy to convert the principles he espouses into actionable steps. And it's convenient to read just one lesson or one section, based on the areas the leader needs to develop. I also recommend this for someone just beginning their leadership journey, as the language is very comfortable, with real life stories and practical guidance, rather than just management theory. Well worth reading.
October 19, 2015
This is an excellent book for anybody who wants to get ahead in their career. The first section begins with Leading Yourself, which is why it applies to anybody, even if you are not currently in a managerial or leadership role. It then goes on to Leading Your Team and Leading Your Organization. Each chapter presents a a skill or lesson in the a short, focused, readable manner and includes specific action steps. The format of the book helps you to identify which skills you want to prioritize for yourself. They are very realistic and everyday kinds of things that can really make the difference in how we present ourselves and how we function in the work environment. It is a book to consult frequently, as it has good solid suggestions for so many different scenarios that we all face. Thank you to Goodreads Firstreads for this review copy.
May 22, 2016
This book was a game changer for our network of schools. Our Focused Leader Academy participants and myself read and blogged about each lesson. John Manning's lessons are practical and instantly transferable to many contexts. If you are looking to transform yourself into a disciplined and great leader, you need to spend some quality time with this book. If you want to check out my blogs about the book, here is the site: www.byronernest.wordpress.com Thanks for the great read, John!
Dr. Byron Ernest
Dr. Byron Ernest
July 15, 2015
Discipline is a trait I resisted. It felt like handcuffs but the 52 lessons (yes, if you instituted one a week for a year, you would become a remarkable leader) helped me understand that discipline is liberating. "Adopting new leadership habits is a process,not an event" and discipline makes the relentless incremental changes pleasurable. My favorite chapter, of many favorites, is #52 "Giving Back". John Manning explains the power of giving on the giver and receiver and a culture if it is expressed from a place of gratitude. This one should be on every bookshelf.
March 25, 2018
I won this book in the first reads giveaway.
I'm glad I entered and won the giveaway for this book. I recommend this for any emerging leader or anyone looking to improve and gain leadership skills. The chapters are short and to the point, and include action steps for us to do to enforce what we've read.
I'm glad I entered and won the giveaway for this book. I recommend this for any emerging leader or anyone looking to improve and gain leadership skills. The chapters are short and to the point, and include action steps for us to do to enforce what we've read.
May 29, 2015
I am really happy I won this book! I thought with 52 lessons I could read and apply one a week for a year. Great in theory...not in practice! Could not put it down. This will be one that I read and reread several times.
July 6, 2015
My review will appear in the November-December issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence.
November 18, 2015
The book is a playbook for all leaders with 52 lessons to keep you focus on the whole picture. John Manning is excellent at communicating ideas for today's business environment.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews