The Essence of Leadership

This is a beautiful, inspiring book. Our company gave one to my boss, who shared it with me. I liked it so well, I purchased one for my boyfriend, who is a successful business owner!

Author Mac Anderson is the founder of Successories, Inc., billed as "the leader in designing and marketing products for motivation and recognition." The author here combines the compelling photographs and quotations for which Successories is well known with wisdom from both his extensive business experience and his reading of other leadership gurus. A good leader, the author says, should "walk the talk; keep it simple and keep it real; celebrate successes; know that courage matters; keep hope alive; take responsibility; develop a 'service attitude'; aim for the heart; and make a difference when wherever" possible. "If you throw your heart over the fence, the rest will follow," the author says illustrating the virtue of Heartpower. "Don't be afraid to go out on a limb," the author says illustrating the virtue of Risk. "That's where the fruit is." "Integrity does not blow in the wind or change with the tide," the author says in promiting Integrity. "It is the inner image of our true selves." Other virtues the author promotes are LEADERSHIP ("By the work, one knows the workman," Jean de la Fontaine said), ATTITUDE ("Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference),DISCOVERY ("Leaders are like eagles," said Henry David Thoreau. "They don't flock, you find them one at a time"), GOALS ("Dream big dreams but never forget that realistic short-term goals are the keys to your success"), KINDNESS ("The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched," Helen Keller said. "They must be felt in the heart"), OPTIMISM ("Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement," Helen Keller said), VISION ("...The music makers...the dreamers of dreams...are the movers and shakers of the world forever it seems," said Arthur O'Shaughnessy), RECHARGE ("My attitude, my energy, my levels of motivation are directly tied to exercise"), PERSEVERANCE ("Go over, go under, go around, or go through, but never give up"), VALUES ("Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least," said Goethe),CULTIVATE ("Pull the weeds. Otherwise the team, just like the garden, cannot grow," said John Murphy), TRUST ("Trust, not technology, is the issue of the decade," said Tom Peters, EXCELLENCE ("Excellence is not an act...It's a habit," said Artistotle), SERVICE ("Service is the lifeblood of any organization. Everything flows from it, and is nourished by it. Customer service is not a department...it's an attitude"), LEADERSHIP ("A leader's job is to look into the future and see the organization, not as it is, but as it should be"), QUALITY ("In the race for quality, there is no finish line,"),FOCUS ("Focus on the critical few, not the insignificant many"), FEELINGS ("You may not remember what someone says or does, but you'll never forget about how they made you feel,"), SUCCESS ("Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value," Albert Einstein said), INTEGRITY ("Wisdom is knowing the right path

I love the book! It sits on my desk and everyone who walks in, picks up the book. The longer stories are only 2 pages... and someone can digest that in a 5 minute sitting. It is great! Hope you enjoy, Joe