Ten Thousand Horses: How Leaders Harness Raw Potential for Extraordinary Results

A character in this short business novel says, "We stress the importance of purpose-aligned goals, purpose-aligned plans, and purpose-aligned decisions. When I say this out loud, it sounds obvious. But vision statements are famous for living in drawers. Our great purpose lies in daily discipline." How do you implement vision--how do you get it out of the drawer? You engage people by asking them, among other things, "What are you good at?" That's just one of many insights in this easy-to-read story of a Peter Principle sales guy turned national sales manager, now at wit's end. Co-authors John Stahl-Wert and Ken Jennings have the credentials and the creativity. You'll love the book--and its unique niche in the "strengths" and "engagement" literature. Imagine what would happen in our organizations if every single person were highly, highly engaged--and leveraging their strengths every single day!

I so enjoyed this little book that I'm giving a copy to my boss and coworkers. It's business acumen aside, it's a profound parable nearing the tradition of Paulo Coelho. It's characters are well-developed, fallible, and the reader follows their very human development like that of a dear friend. It's prose and sense of place invoke, surprisingly, Garcia Marquez in the milieu of Gretel Ehrlich. It is a revelation as it tracks one man's awakening into what IS and what is not important. As a result, he is a stronger, more effective leader in terms of interpersonal relationships; honest, transparent communication; and powerful and sustained impact on the bottom-line. His team is fully engaged and brings all of their strengths and experience and self to work. Well-done, Stahl-Wert and Jennings!

This book is clear, easy to read, and engaging. It's a great story and offers profound insights on a critical issue in the workplace.

Stahl-Wert and Jennings have hit a bulls-eye with their equation. Engagement will not happen unless trust is first built. Many organizations confuse compliance with engagement. You can have compliance wiht low engagement and trust is THE differentiating factor. As you look at the Engagement Equation, notice that when trust is zero, the equation is nullified. Leaders cannot make the mistake any longer of thinking that their teams and workers will engage without personal and organizational trust firmly established. Bravo!

I have been a Human Performance practitioner for over 20 years and rarely have I picked up a book that so plainly and eloquently cuts to the heart of what makes for corporate and individual success. The authors hit the nail squarely on the head with their focus on employee engagement as the enabler to real competitive advantage. I have witnessed that employee engagement has been the long ignored "missing link"- somewhat like working and re-working every angle of designing a high performance car- but ignoring the engine. Not only a good read and important add to your collection- but something to put into practice right away. Well done!