February Read/2

Title: Taking People with You: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen

Author: Novak, David

Subjects: Leadership; Employee Motivation; Organizational Change; Success in Business

Call Number: 658.4092 N935T 2012

ISBN: 9781591844549

Number of Pages: 237

Book Description:

            David Novak learned long ago that you can’t lead a great organization of any size without getting your people aligned, enthusiastic, and focused relentlessly on the mission. Over his fifteen years at Yum! Brands, Novak had developed a trademarked program he calls taking people with you. He spends several weeks each year personally teaching it to thousands of managers around the world. He convinces them that they’ll never make big things happen until they learn how to get people on their side.

            This book has specific tools at the end of each chapter that will challenge you to reflect on how you’re really doing on key aspects of leadership. And if you apply it, you’ll immediately start to improve. You’ll learn how to…

1)      Get inside the heads of your people. You can’t convince them of anything until you see the world from their perspective.

2)      Think big. If your sales growth last year was 3.5 percent, don’t aim for 4 percent this year, aim for 15 percent. Even if you fail, you’ll probably do better than you would have with a smaller goal.

3)      Practice extraordinary authenticity. Show occasional vulnerability and admit when you don’t have the answers.

4)      Look for good ideas in unexpected places. Novak’s team came up with Cool Ranch Doritos for Frito-Lay during a field trip to a grocery store’s salad dressing aisle.

5)      Choose a can-do mind-set. There’s a huge difference between a boss who says “We can try this” and one who says “We can do this!”

6)      Cheer for first downs, not just touchdowns. Publicly recognizing and rewarding small wins keep everyone motivated for the long haul.

7)      Get rid of cynics. In many teams one person will reject your values and spread negative energy. Moving that person out will show everyone else you’re serious. (from the inside of the book cover)

My Read:

            The parts I like this book the most and appreciate what it delivers are the questions the author poses. For instance, right from the beginning of the book, Novak asks: 1) What’s the single biggest thing you can imagine that will grow your business or change your life? 2) Who do you need to affect, influence, or take with you to be successful? 3) What perceptions, habits, or beliefs of this target audience do you need to build, change, or reinforce to reach your goal? (Novak, p11) To me, questions, similar to challenges or problems, make a person grow and grow with directions.

            Another appealing and attention-catching thing I found in this book is the true cases Novak shares with the readers. For example, I enjoy reading the part on “Break through the Clutter.” One of Novak’s employees stood up at his program “Taking People with You” and said the following: I’m floppy chicken number 147. I was working in LA, in the inner city. You came to my restaurant and gave me your floppy chicken award. I went home that night and told my wife, ‘Hey, David patted me on the back and said I was great. He gave me an award and a handwritten note.’ It was magical, and the experience always stuck with me.” The way Novak appreciates and rewards his employees’ excellence and hard work is full of fun, creativity with a true and sound personal touch. Though I wouldn’t be able to receive such interesting award, the image of such gift and personalized recognition makes me proud of those award receivers. Novak truly excels at speaking people’s languages and knows how to take people with him.

            There are saying I found inspirational and I list some here to share with you.

--I treat every interaction as an opportunity to inspire and coach others to provide their maximum effort (p204).

--How to keep the focus on your big goal: persistence, constant communication, and playing like you’re behind (p207).

--I regularly check my dissatisfaction with the status quo to identity new challenges (p207).

--When evaluating performance I consider both what was achieved and how it was achieved (p204).

--You shouldn’t lower your standards just because something hasn’t been done before (p199).

--Believe in people, and they’ll believe in you in return (p65).

--There is always room to grow and improve and be a better me. Ask the self: what am I today? How can I be even better tomorrow? Be your own masterpiece: be your best self (p32).

            At the end of each chapter, there is one insights and actions session            to help readers assess the self. In addition, there are tools and exercises readers would find helpful and insightful. Overall this is a good book not only for leaders or leaders to be; it also guides a person how to be a better one.            

Reference:

http://blog.tribeinc.com/2009/07/13/leadership-you-had-me-at-chicken/