Put the Moose on the Table: Lessons in Leadership from a Ceoas Journey Through Business and Life

After eight years of a President who doesn't like to read books, I was pleasantly surprised at finding out that Sarah Palin, who could one day become Commander in Chief, is an avid book reader. This is her favorite book.

Excellent business book! It doesn't bog down with traditional jargon or flashy catch phrases; rather, discusses leadership in the first person.

Mr. Randall Tobias teamed with his son, Todd, to create this vivid memoir which can be an indirect mentoring experience for anyone who wants to be a company leader.Mr. Tobias rose rapidly in the old AT & T before the break-up, and then helped struggle with the lack of direction after the break-up. From that experience, he learned many lessons about what leaders must do. When he unexpectedly became the CEO of Eli Lilly in 1993, Mr. Tobias moved quickly to put those principles into place.The story is filled with hope, sadness, loss, and ultimate gain. In many ways, it's a more realistic description of leadership than most that you will see. Mr. Tobias was extremely successful at Eli Lilly, and he shares what went right and what did not . . . and why. For those who are interested in the questions of company culture, values and vision, the material on AT & T and Eli Lilly are marvelous examples of what needs to be done. Eli Lilly had always been a company with a strong culture, good values and fine vision, but the interpretation of the values had gone wrong. The focus on people had come to mean a desire to have entitlements, which needed to be redefined. Mr. Tobias explains how he went about making that redefinition and convincing others to believe in it. The Tobias family suffered a tragedy during the Eli Lilly years. You'll read all about that in the book as well.So what's the moose all about? In many organizations, big issues are ignored because they are so big and daunting. It's as though a moose was sitting on the table, and you were trying to run a meeting. Do you stop and deal with the moose, or just get on with the meeting? Mr. Tobias says it's clear that you have to encourage everyone to mention and deal with the moose. I agree with that point. Many of my clients over the years lacked the will and skill to address their major issues. Often my greatest contribution has amounted to little more than helping them get the moose off the table so they could get on with the other issues that the moose was overwhelming.The only thing I didn't like about this book was the lists of epigrams beginning on page 246. They just repeat epigrams from in the book. I suggest that you skip that part.Where in your company are you ignoring a moose on the table? Why? How can you get rid of that moose?

Put The Moose On The Table, by Randall Tobias, is Who Moved My Cheese and more! It occurred to me, while I was reading Tobias' book, that finally here's the advice I need when my cheese is moved! Why not learn from the best? Fortunately for the reader, Tobias shares invaluable lessons in leadership by putting his own life on the table.

As the mother of 2 young adults who hope to be successful and make a significant contribution to corporate America, I appreciated this book and bought copies for both of them. Randy Tobias doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but he does translate his 30+ years of corporate experience into easily understood leadership lessons. A "must read" for any aspiring leader.