Lion Taming: Working Successfully with Leaders, Bosses and Other Tough Customers

While reading this book, I was faced with a situation involving the president of our professional society and several other officers. Our "lions" were quickly "tamed" by using the insights in this wonderful book, and now everyone (including the lions) is happier (and more effective).The book is lively and easy to read. As an educator, I appreciate the instant summaries in each chapter and the pithy quotes from "real lion tamers" scattered generously throughout each chapter.The "lion taming" metaphor is an apt one for dealing with all kinds of situations with bosses, leaders, colleagues, mentors, . . . just about anyone we deal with professionally. And Katz applies the metaphor masterfully, weaving in his own considerable experience "in the arena" with some interesting and occasionally intractable "lions" in business and government.LION TAMING is certainly going to be the next "big thing" in management circles!

I highly recommend this book as it has already positively impacted my career. The Aha! moments are too numerous to pass along here but of immediate help was the section on quickly differentiating the good lions from the bad....as well as the entire chapter entitled Lion Taming is Really Lion Teaming. A particularly empowering line form that chapter: "You can live and operate in the lion's world, but they cannot operate in yours".

My boss is a self made, powerful person. He roars, he eats people and their ideas alive and he intimidates everyone just by walking into a room. Around him. I used to feel ill at ease. I was always in a hurry to get away from him and I felt helpless to get him to sign off on any of my ideas. Then I got lucky. I read a copy of Lion Taming: Working Successfully with Leaders, Bosses, and Other Tough Customers by Steve Katz and learned how to tame the beast that is my boss. I know where to sit when I am with him, how to keep him focused on what I am saying and how to get him to respond in a timely fashion. It's amazing, the techniques that real liontamers know and their value in the work place. If you want to know how to get your boss to treat you with respect - this book has what you need.

¯This book was fun to read and it was a fast read!I was never taught the kinds of things this book talks about when I was in business school; I've never before read any books or articles about these things (and I've read a lot on management); none of my mentors talked to me about these things; and I didn't learn these things on the job on my own. But at least once in every chapter, the following thought went through my mind: "Wow! I never noticed that before, but it seems rather obvious now that it's been pointed out."The metaphor of lion taming has made it really easy for me to organize my thoughts about my relationships with bosses and other people who have authority relationships with me, and I think the lion taming metaphor will make it easier for me to actually use what I've learned, and to use it fast and powerfully on my feet (or should I say in the arena?).Where was this book 15 years ago when I had more bosses than I could count!?!?

Katz has written a really insightful and helpful book. He compares bosses to lions and the metaphor works. He also gives some specific ideas about how to deal with bosses who are lion like in their behavior. In fact, I really wish I'd had this book a couple of bosses ago. Recently I heard President Clinton speak, and I couldn't help but think he would have been benefitted greatly from having better lion tamers around him.