7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

John D. Morris - I read this book in January of every year to keep me on track, I view this as valuable tool for my personal life as well as business.

Stephen R. Covey demonstrates that effectiveness is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he believes to be universal and timeless.

Covey coined the term abundance mentality or abundance mindset, meaning a business concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and success to share with others, when looking at optimistic people. It is commonly contrasted with the scarcity mindset, which is founded on the idea that, given a finite amount of resources, a person must hoard their belongings and protect them from others. Individuals with an abundance mentality are supposed to be able to celebrate the success of others rather than be threatened by it.

If you want to achieve your highest aspirations and overcome your greatest challenges, identify and apply the principle or natural law that governs the results you seek. How we apply a principle will vary greatly and will be determined by our unique strengths, talents, and creativity, but ultimately, success in any endeavor is always derived from acting in harmony with the principles to which the success is tied.

Effective Succession Planning, by William J. Rothwell

Today more than ever, companies are analyzing their talent and succession, this book is offers a very practical approach to this challenge.

Succession Planning and Management (SP&M) is the process that helps ensure the stability of the tenure of personnel. It is perhaps best understood as any effort designed to ensure the continued effective performance of an organization, division, department, or work group by making provision for the development, replacement, and strategic application of key people over time.

Succession Planning may be defined as: a means of identifying critical management positions, starting at levels of project management and supervisor and extending up to the highest position in the organization. Succession planning also describes management positions to provide maximum flexibility in lateral management moves and to ensure that individuals achieve greater seniority, their management skills will broaden and become more generalized in relation to total organizational objectives rather than to purely departmental objectives.

An SP&M program is thus a deliberate and systematic effort by an organization to insure leadership continuity in key positions, retain and develop intellectual and knowledge capital for the future, and encourage individual advancement.

Succession planning and management need not be limited solely to management positions or management employees. Indeed, an effective succession planning and management effort should also address the needs for critical backups and individual development in any job category - including key people in the professional, technical, sales, clerical, and production ranks.

Good to Great, by Jim Collins

Jim Collins, already established as one of the most influential management consultants, further established his credibility with the wildly popular Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t, originally published in 2001. The book went on to be one of the bestsellers in the genre, and it is now widely regarded as a modern classic of management theory.

Jim Collins states in his book Good to Great that “almost any organization can substantially improve its stature and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of ideas found and used by Good to Great companies.” The book touches on the following themes, which were found throughout companies that have gone from good to great.

Jim Collins, already established as one of the most influential management consultants, further established his credibility with the wildly popular Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t, originally published in 2001. The book went on to be one of the bestsellers in the genre, and it is now widely regarded as a modern classic of management theory.

Jim Collins states in his book Good to Great that “almost any organization can substantially improve its stature and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of ideas found and used by Good to Great companies.” The book touches on the following themes, which were found throughout companies that have gone from good to great.

Jack: Straight from the Gut, by Jack Welch

"Jack: Straight from the Gut" is written by one of the most well known American business leaders of recent times. Jack Welch played a leading role in one of America's largest companies (General Electric - GE) for twenty years, growing it from around $26 billion when he started through to $130 billion when he left in 2001.

Straight from the Gut is written in a casual, flowing style that is part autobiographical and part leadership advice. Welch goes from discussing his family origins, through to his beginnings at GE when he started as an engineer in the 1960s, and to the implementation of his various leadership philosophies like Six Sigma. Along the way Jack Welch discusses numerous business stories from his time at the top of GE, mentioning both his successes (like his e-business strategy) and his failures (like his purchase of the Kidder Peabody company).

Jack Welch's Straight from the Gut is a book that both business leaders and those interested in the General Electric story will get something from. Welch keeps the reader entertained with interesting business stories, while also sharing many of his business philosophies that have worked for him over the years.

The EQ Difference, by Adele B. Lynn

Emotional intelligence is a prized quality and valuable asset in any organization. Here’s how to make it work for you.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a strong indicator of individual, team, and organizational success. But stocking up on emotionally intelligent employees isn’t enough: you need a concrete plan for putting this valuable resource to work.

The EQ Difference offers an array of self-assessment tools and team-focused exercises that will help increase and leverage emotional intelligence both in individuals and in groups. It’s filled with practical tips and suggestions for developing your own "emotional quotient," as well as that of your peers, employees, and even senior executives. Featuring real workplace examples, Letters to Leaders, and excerpts from actual performance reviews that show the positive impact of EI in a variety of environments.

The EQ Difference will help your organization achieve greater productivity, higher morale, and better employee retention - all keys to stronger bottom line results.

Hire With Your Head, by Lou Adler

A must read for hiring managers as well as consultants within the Executive Search industry!

Any organization is only as strong as it's weakest link, and just a few poor performers can adversely effect your entire company. Though there's no foolproof method for hiring the right people, there is a system for minimizing mistakes and consistently recruiting better, more successful candidates.

Though most managers understand the importance of hiring wisely, many don't know how to do it. In the end they often choose prospective employees based on "gut" reactions. While this strategy sometimes works, more often it leaves managers with ineffectual or unmotivated employees who drag the organization down. Decisions based on emotions, biases, personalities, or stereotypes often reveal themselves as bad decisions in hindsight. The key to dodging this pitfall is to train yourself to base all your hiring decisions on reason, not emotion.

Hire with Your Head introduces you to a performance-based hiring system, a methodology designed in response to the needs of top recruits, and based on how they actually look for, and accept offers. This unique step-based system starts with:

Writing compelling job descriptions that emphasize the opportunities and challenges, not just the skills and qualifications required.

Strategic Consulting Japan utilizes this system with all it's searches.

end faq