Lead or Get Off the Pot!: The Seven Secrets of a Self-Made Leader

Pat Croce's I FEEL GREAT AND YOU WILL TOO! is one of my all-time favorite motivational books . . . he followed it up with 110%, another winner . . . and his latest, LEAD OR GET OFF THE POT!--written with Bill Lyon--is every bit as good. Croce, the onetime president of the Philadelphia 76ers and current NBC commentator, presents his ideas on leadership in this lively book . . . but don't feel you have to be a leader to get value from it . . . what he says applies to every walk of life, including sales, teaching and even parenting. I particularly liked the many examples that Croce uses . . . they were taken from his ventures as an entrepreneur, basketball executive, TV commentator and volunteer chairperson for the 2000 Republican National Convention that was held in Philadelphia. And unlike the feeling that you get with some authors who like to impress you by throwing names around, you really get the impression that Croce knows and is actual friends with everybody he mentions . . . in fact, he is a big believer on being on a first-name basis with folks and suggests that you use their existing nickname or christen them with a new one . . . as he notes, "This puts people in your inner circle and raises the bar of affection and respect--even when the nickname is seemingly sarcastic. Some of my best memories are stimulated when I heard the nicknames Fast Eddie, Rayman, Scramble Head, Hole, Hollywood, . . . Shaggy, Snowman, and Bubba Chuck." Perhaps my only problem with LEAD OR GET OFF THE POT! is that it contained so many useful tidbits of information that I found it hard to find just a few to include in this review . . . however, that said, I did find these especially memorable: * In team sports, the ultimate measurement of your value as a leader comes down to two questions: Do you make all those around you better? And are you able to combine their diverse and disparate talents and personalities into a cohesive unit? * Of course, I like to take the Golden Rule and crank it up. Don't just do unto others as you'd have them do unto you; do unto others as you'd have them do unto you in your wildest dreams! Don't just provide service; slay them with super service! Go overboard. Turn over every stone. Do more than is expected, or even conceived. And apply these killer tactics to everyone from customers to employees to family to friends. The little extra you may have to put in will always earn out. * Hello. And good-bye. These are the basics in customer service, in human relations, no matter what your business. You greet the person with a hearty hello, and you bid her good-bye with equal vigor. Even if you don't really mean it.

There are a lot of books on leadership. Enough so that you'd almost think that there are no universal rules that apply in any and all situations. Perhaps the real answer is that we are all made up of people. People are different, both the leaders and the led. Some can work well together and some simply cannot. Pat Croce's management style is one that he has developed over many years. It works wonders for him. He has also been able to convey his management style to others through writing and seminars. More than talking about management, Mr. Croce has actively seen business opportunities and exploited them by forming companies he then successfully operated and often sold for very good profits. The book has an open and casual writing style that is both entertaining and informative. If you can pick up just one tip that will work for you it is well worth the cost and the time.

This book by former Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce doesn't break any new theoretical ground about leadership, but Croce makes the heavy lifting required of exceptional leaders look and sound attainable. Good leaders, Croce says, should be servants, not dictators. His fast-paced, motivational primer is an entertaining, anecdote-filled, step-by-step guide for starting and leading change, complete with no-nonsense tips and salty, locker-room exhortations ("If you rest, you rust," "Don't let your thinkin' become stinkin'" and several that are less printable). Particularly compelling are Croce's homespun tales about the boyhood lessons he picked up on the mean streets of north Philadelphia. His local heroes include a Catholic nun who turned a dream into a homeless shelter and his father, "the original Pat Croce," who taught his son how to out-negotiate a hustler for a great deal on a leather coat - but to do it with integrity. Croce dispenses advice in a series of to-do lists peppered throughout the book, including "Twelve Ways to Build a Passionate Team," "Croce's Three Rules for Praise;" the "Six C's of Communication;" the "Ten Commandments of Service" and more. We recommend this book as a lively and colorful read, and a worthwhile reminder that good leaders are made - not born. They are reflected by the teams they create and the values they live by day to day.

As always Pat Croce has great insight in to the human mind. I love listening to him and reading his books. I've written the seven secrets down on an index card at work and at home and will read them daily (along with my Bible) to remind myself of how I can truly lead my team at work and my family at home. He is one of our nation's great leaders and motivators. I only wish that I could meet him to get some insight on how to get my planned start-up company off of the ground. Everything this guy touches turns to gold! Who knows, maybe he'll read this and contact me (if you do... [email protected])! ... man this guy is good!