High-Performance Ethics: 10 Timeless Principles for Next-Generation Leadership

This book is a difference maker and is the one book that I would recommend to any professional, young or old. Everyone will face ethical dilemmas in his or her professional career. High-Performance Ethics is a roadmap through those difficult times, as well as a reassurance to leaders that it does pay to do the right thing - always. This book made such a difference in my life that, as Predident-elect of the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America, an organization that lives by a strict code of ethics, I immediately invited Mr. Cantrell to come speak to our members. A must read.

On a day of June 2007, I flipped through as many business management books as possible -- on 8 fully loaded 6-foot Barnes & Noble bookshelves - because I was desperately in need of professional books to help me with my job. 60 minutes passed by, I couldn't find a book that I felt worth my money and my time commitment to study at home. I murmured to myself, "God, tell me which book I should buy.... my eyes are getting blurred and my legs are tired." a newly published High Performance Ethics suddenly stood out right in front of me. I slothfully opened to the middle of the book because I was too tired to start from the beginning. I was immediately engaged with Cantrell's perspectives on how to deal with various types of leaders, wise and especially unwise, when we have to submit to their authorities due to the hierarchy. I paid for the book at the cashier literally seconds after I first saw it on the shelves. The layout of the book presents an interesting juxtaposition of coherent and convincing theories with Cantrell's real life experiences during his time as a CEO of an international business organization. Cantrell and Lucas are not only great writers but fantastic teachers. I enjoy so much gaining solid knowledge through reader-friendly writing style. I am well related to Cantrell's insisting on the importance of having both competence and characters as a High Performance Ethics (HPE) Leader. I couldn't agree with him enough because I have witnessed at many workplaces the negative impacts by people having either competence or characters but not both. Through reading, by surprise, I realized that Cantrell is actually a Christian and a son of a local minister. I myself am a 3rd-generation Christian and a lay music minister for many years. However, the older I am, the more dissatisfied I become towards the church culture. In my observation, many Christians have been drawing an extremely bright-color line between Faith and Profession. On one side of the spectrum, many Christians are with little or no professional trainings (or intentionally avoiding high-level professional trainings). They quoted that it is harder for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God than a camel going through the eye of a needle. On the other side, many houses of worship are polluted by skilled Christians with undesirable characters. Cantrell's life experience shows me that long term success is birthed by in-depth understanding of true prosperity and it is attainable and can be expected. He said "Prosperity, for those who haven't been given everything from the beginning, is a by-product of passion, commitment, and good thinking - and a willingness to limit desires. "The leader who basically focuses on himself or herself is going to mislead, "warns Peter Drucker. (p.208)" I personally was very encouraged by the book and therefore strongly recommend it to any potential readers.

There's a lot of books out there talking about ethics, and most of it is surrealistic. You couldn't apply it in real organizations - you couldn't even apply it in the ivory towers where they're writing this stuff. There's also a lot out there on performance. Some of it even gives a nod to "being ethical." But this book is totally different. It's a book about ethics that will actually help you perform at higher levels. It has insights for individuals and for leaders of organizations. I really like the approach the authors take in going back and forth, one laying out the concepts and the other illustrating it with stories from his career. An enjoyable and profitable read.