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What would your team members say is your greatest strength?

March 23, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What would your team members say is your greatest strength?

  • Your inspirational leadership 9.73%
  • Your ability to develop their skills 9.73%
  • Your strategic vision and ability to innovate 12.98%
  • Your decisiveness 9.19%
  • Your caring, empathy and compassion 43.25%
  • Your ability to influence others 9.72%
  • Something else 5.40%

Caring counts. While many of these leadership traits had some decent representation, far and away was the importance of caring, empathy, and compassion. People want to work for people who care about them. They’re willing to forgive mistakes when it comes to decisions, strategy, and influence if they know you genuinely care about them. When was the last time you sat down with your team members and expressed genuine concern for them? How often do you take time to listen to them and empathize with the challenges they face? A caring leader is one they’re willing to confide in and work hard for. Make the investment in demonstrating you truly care about them.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How effective is your manager at creating a meeting environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

March 16, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How effective is your manager at creating a meeting environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

  • They’re great at it. They create space for everyone to participate comfortably 27.52%
  • They’re good at it. They create some space but tend to drive the discussion 24.84%
  • They’re OK at it. They drive most of the discussion and get some input 18.12%
  • They’re not good at it. They drive the discussion and don’t solicit much input 16.77%
  • They’re bad at it. They dominate the discussion and no one feels comfortable joining in 12.75%

Create the space. 48% of you report that your manager doesn’t do a great job of creating space for discussion. They just drive the conversation to get to their own chosen endpoint. That likely feels frustrating and unfulfilling for their team members. Now the real question – how would your team members answer this question about you? Seeing how easy it is for your managers to miss the mark on this one, it’s not a stretch to think that you might demonstrate some of the same behaviors. Be honest with yourself. Keep track of how much you talk during a meeting and how much others participate. Look at the balance of what you say. Do you make more statements or ask more questions? That’s a good indicator of how inviting your environment is. Get input from others. You hired them because they’re smart. They stay because they feel like they contribute and have an impact. Create that space for them to do so.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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In team meetings, how good are you at creating an environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

March 9, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: In team meetings, how good are you at creating an environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

  • I’m great at it. Everyone offers their thoughts and I just guide the discussion: 17.95%
  • I’m good at it. Most people offer thoughts and I drive some of the discussion: 58.98%
  • I’m OK at it. I drive a lot of the discussion and offer some time for input: 17.44%
  • I’m not good at it. I have to actively remind myself to create space and not dominate the discussion: 5.12%
  • I’m poor at it. I dominate the discussion and no one feels comfortable joining in: 0.51%

Know your role. Most of you self-report that you’re pretty good at creating an environment where people feel comfortable participating in your meetings. Recognize that you might feel this way but they might not. A key to running collaborative meetings is clearly defining your role in leading it. If you want to create that collaborative environment, designate yourself as a facilitator. Challenge yourself to only ask questions or hold yourself to asking at least one question before you offer your own thoughts or opinions on a topic. Try defining meeting success as the participants generating and owning the outcome rather than trying to steer participants toward what you believe the outcome should be. This means releasing your own agenda, setting aside your ideas, and being open to different ways of doing things. This will be uncomfortable for many of you but the benefits are a more engaged team that’s more committed to executing the outcome they defined.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Four Powerful Mindset Shifts To Help You Conquer Love, Overcome Death, And Succeed In Business

March 6, 2023/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

thinking window

These four mindset shifts can help you create winning strategies in both your business life and your personal life.

Today’s guest post is by Alex Brueckmann, author of Secrets of Next-Level Entrepreneurs (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Sitting on the balcony of our apartment in New Westminster, Canada, I hold my baby boy and reflect on the past few months. After everything that happened, I’m amazed that I made it through without breaking down mentally. I recall founding a new business while my girlfriend navigated a challenging pregnancy, and my father fought terminal cancer.

My emotions were erratic, and I felt pulled in different directions, trying to be present for my girlfriend, dad, mom, and clients all at the same time. Things spiraled downward, and my father passed away shortly before the birth of my son. I was overcome by a mix of grief and joy, and at the same time, we relocated from Germany to Canada amidst the start of a global pandemic.

This was in the Spring of 2020, and I realized that a few mindset shifts helped me navigate these challenging months. Adjusting your mindset allows you to focus on thinking smarter, more complex, with more ingenuity, and finding multiple paths to success. Let’s explore four mindset shifts that will help you succeed.

Embrace JOMO, because YOLO

The first shift is from FOMO to JOMO. The fear of missing out is that feeling when everyone around you is raving about a new artist, and you feel like the only one who hasn’t heard of them. But you buy tickets, just in case, because everyone else is doing it, and you don’t want to miss out.

If we allow fear to drive our decisions, we waste our biggest asset, our attention, on things that don’t matter. In business, this can lead to poor job performance, lack of career advancement, or even job loss. On a corporate level, FOMO can lead to “me-too” strategies, with companies copying whatever their competition does first. However, success comes from clarity, direction, and differentiation, not copying others.

To shift from FOMO to JOMO, the joy of missing out, we need to define our priorities in life and business. Writing them down helps us crystallize our thinking, understand what matters to us, and how we can achieve our goals. This becomes our go-to resource for decision-making, as we evaluate opportunities based on whether they help us reach our goals.

Overcoming Perfectionism with Speed and Agility

The second mindset shift is moving away from perfectionism and towards speed and agility. As a strategy facilitator, my role is to assist businesses in achieving their future goals. When clients ask me how long it takes to create the perfect business strategy, I tell them the truth: it’s impossible to achieve perfection. We can align a business around an 80 percent strategy and leave the remaining 20 percent for uncertainty. This gives us enough direction to get started and make progress.

In business and personal situations, we must be able to adapt quickly when unexpected events occur. When COVID-19 first hit, we had to decide: wait it out, or pull our relocation to Canada forward, and move within days. Our perfectly planned relocation had to make space for a new reality: we acted swiftly and learned as we navigated the uncertainty of moving to a new continent under lockdown conditions. Prioritizing speed and agility over perfectionism will help you move forward, learn from mistakes, and succeed over time.

From Scarcity to Abundance Thinking

The third mindset shift is from scarcity to abundance. In business, an abundance mindset is crucial for creating a winning strategy. It’s about exploring possibilities, curiosity, and daring to dream. It’s about creating hope. Allowing ourselves to be in an abundance mindset will bring about new perspectives, thoughts, and discussions that were previously unclear to us because we listen deeply and build on each other’s creativity.

Abundance also helped me deal with the emotional rollercoaster in 2020. While I traditionally dealt with my emotions by myself, I wanted to seek out additional resources this time. It might sound obvious, but my next move was a sign that I was starting to embrace an abundance mindset. I reached out to a psychologist. As an additional resource in my life, she helped me sort the emotions and embrace both joy of being a dad, while still mourning the loss of my own father.

From Fixed to Growth Mindset

The last shift is from a fixed to a growth mindset. Instead of thinking in limited terms and absolutes, a growth mindset allows us to see mistakes as learning opportunities. Instead of thinking “I failed” or “I’ll never make it,” we can find new ways of doing things and try something different without giving up. When I was younger, I had a fixed mindset, and I struggled with understanding many things. However, I realized I could do something about it and became an avid reader and embraced learning to overcome my fixed mindset.

Instead of making statements and trying to fit things into what we already know, we should ask questions like “What am I missing?” or “How could I use this negative experience and turn it into something positive?” In a growth mindset, we understand that nothing is too hard. By adding perspective and time, we can figure things out, even if we don’t know how at first.

Making Mindset Shifts Happen

How can we implement these mindset shifts in our lives and where would they be most useful? Adam Grant, a leading organizational psychologist, suggests two concepts: challenge networks and confident humility.

A challenge network is a group of people around us who can disagree with us in a constructive way, providing honest feedback without being aggressive. They help us question our assumptions, identify blind spots, and counterbalance potential weaknesses in our thinking. By building a reliable challenge network, we can tackle speed and agility in execution and learning.

Confident humility is having faith in our capabilities while appreciating that we may not have the right solution or may not be addressing the right problem. It involves having enough doubt to re-examine our old knowledge and enough confidence to pursue new insights.

Implementing these mindset shifts can have a significant impact on our lives. Embracing JOMO helped me avoid distractions in business and prioritize what mattered, resulting in more quality time with my family. Adopting an abundance mindset allowed me to see options that would have otherwise been invisible when starting a new business. A growth mindset helped me rise to the challenge of being a first-time dad in my mid-40s. Finally, speed and agility helped us avoid overthinking and instead move to Canada, even under the most challenging circumstances.

To implement these mindset shifts, we need to have faith in our capabilities while being open to new insights. By doing so, we can transform hopes and dreams into reality and create winning strategies in both business and our personal lives.

next level bookAlex Brueckmann is the founder and CEO of Brueckmann Executive Consulting, and the author of “Secrets of Next-Level Entrepreneurs” and “The Strategy Legacy” (Fall 2023). He is a keynote speaker at the intersection of business strategy, leadership, and empowerment. Brueckmann is an alumnus of EBS European Business School (Germany), and holds certificates in change management, leadership, finance, organizational development, and strategy from INSEAD (France), and Harvard Business School (USA).

For more information please visit www.AlexBrueckmann.com

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When you have to deliver a tough message, what best describes your approach?

March 2, 2023/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When you have to deliver a tough message, what best describes your approach?

  • I deliver it directly and without apology or cushioning: 32.15%
  • I strike a balance between tough news and positive news: 62.15%
  • I soft-pedal the message and risk it not being received: 4.28%
  • I avoid delivering the message and hope they’ll figure it out on their own: 1.42%

Beware the “But” Sandwich. 62% of you report delivering tough news but trying to balance it with positive news. Another 6% soft-pedal the feedback message or don’t deliver it at all. That’s not fair to the person who needs to get the message. For the 6%, you’ve deprived them of an opportunity to improve. They are likely unaware of the issue (which is why it’s happening) and would probably like to rectify it if they know about it. For those who are balancing a tough message with a positive one, it probably sounds like “You’re great, but… here’s some tough news… but, here’s why you’re great.” The risk is they hear everything before the first but and everything after the second but and the part in the middle that’s the tough message gets minimized or missed. While this approach might make you feel better and make it easier to deliver the tough message, you’re risking them not getting the message and the behavior recurring. Step up. Deliver the tough message and instead of soft-pedaling, talk about how you’ll help them correct the behavior and improve their performance.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How willing are you to change your decisions when presented information that could be counter to the original decision you made?

February 23, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How willing are you to change your decisions when presented information that could be counter to the original decision you made?

  • Very willing: new information means new decisions even after I’ve made them: 59.24%
  • Somewhat willing: I have strong beliefs and it takes concrete new information to get me to change: 35.54%
  • Not very willing: I have a hard time changing direction even in the face of new information: 3.48%
  • Not at all willing: I want to see my decisions through and not be seen as being “wrong”: 1.74%

New information, new decision. Decision making flexibility can be challenging. We make a decision and share it with our teams. We own that decision. It’s hard to say “I was wrong” and change course when new information is presented because no one wants to be seen as “wrong,” especially in front of their team. Here’s a different way to think about it. Instead of saying “I was wrong” or “I made a bad decision,” say “I made the best decision I could with the information that was available at that time. Since then, I’ve received new information that requires me to make a different and better decision.” It’s possible to be right and be right again. This is a mindset you can adopt that will make it easier for the 40% of you who say you have some challenges changing your decisions.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post?  If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog.  It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!).  SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

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How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome at Work

February 20, 2023/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Business Toolkit, Career, Guest Blogger /by Trevor Jones

stressed

Imposter Syndrome is the belief that we don’t believe we deserve the job we’re in or the success we achieve. To overcome it, become aware of what’s letting you down and allowing these intrusive thoughts into your mind. That awareness enables you to shift your perspective and start being kinder to, and more patient with, yourself.

Today’s post is by Ethan Lee of Inspiring Interns.

Imposter Syndrome is a term that was coined in the late 1970’s from research carried out by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Their researched showed that many high-achieving women tended to believe they were not intelligent enough and were being over-evaluated by others. Imposter Syndrome has therefore come to describe the feelings of people who, quite simply, don’t believe they deserve their job. Those exhibiting the syndrome believe that deep down they are frauds, and fear that sooner or later they’ll be exposed.

It’s thought that most of us will feel like an imposter at some point or another in our careers, with studies suggesting around 70% of us will experience the feeling sooner or later. While it’s not necessarily harmful in and of itself, the dangers arise when these feelings make you apprehensive, and hold you back from fulfilling the upper echelons of your potential.

Like all problems in both your personal and professional lives, understanding where they may be stemming from is a great place to start. There are myriad reasons that could be causing your imposter syndrome, but here are just some ideas:

You feel inexperienced

This is a likely scenario for younger workers, graduates, career changers and generally people who are prone to a weakened sense of self-worth or self-appreciation. The notion that you’re not automatically worthy of something can be a good thing in moderation, keeping you grounded, humble, and realistic about your goals and capabilities. When these thoughts are consistent and intrusive, however, they’ll certainly begin to be a distraction, and damage your performance in the long term.

You’re a perfectionist

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What kind of challenge do you find the most interesting or exciting?

February 16, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What kind of challenge do you find the most interesting or exciting?

  • Taking something that’s been successful and building on that success 9.10%
  • Taking something that’s failing and turning it around 49.67% 
  • Building something new that no one has ever built before 41.23%

Give me a challenge! 90% of respondents want to take on big challenges – either fixing something that’s broken or building something entirely new. Obviously these approaches carry significant risk with them, but the rewards and satisfaction that come with success are clearly attractive. Be sure to go into these situations fully aware that your chances of failure are high. You might not achieve the impact you want to have. Manage expectations with your stakeholders accordingly. There’s no upside to an aggressive forecast of success. You’ll simply be putting undue pressure upon yourself and set people up for disappointment if you don’t achieve your lofty expectations. These situations are ones where you’re best off underpromising and overdelivering.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How to Make “Easy Button” Career Decisions

February 13, 2023/2 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Trevor Jones

doorbell

Finding your core values isn’t just good for guiding your life, its good for guiding your career too. 

Today’s post is by Tracy Timm, author of Unstoppable (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

When it comes to making career decisions, we’ve all been to “the dark side.”

Endless pro-con lists. Sleepless nights. Emotional rollercoasters. Circular conversations. Worrying if this is our “one shot” while simultaneously wondering if we’re settling or worth more. Trying to balance the shiny components of the offer, maintain a level head, remember to negotiate, and keep every other generic piece of career advice front of mind.

Cue confusion, anxiety, doubt, and fear.

But what if there was a way to ensure that every decision you made in your career was in your best, long-term interest? What if you could wade through the emotions and momentary elation and get down to brass tacks: Will this work for me or is this just another distraction?

In the moment, it can be so difficult to separate what really matters from how we are currently feeling. After all, no matter if we’re being offered the CEO role or a part-time consulting position, there are so many emotions at play.

It’s human nature to feel compelled to pursue something that we’re offered. Even if the offer is coming from left field (hello, Mr. CMO, would you like to design a logo for me?) there’s something about an opportunity showing up on your doorstep that begs the question: Am I supposed to take this?

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How robust are the employee mental health resources in your organization?

February 9, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How robust are the employee mental health resources in your organization?

  • Very: We have a significant number of high-quality resources available to our associates 33.34%
  • Kind of: We have some key resources available but we could do better 27.17%
  • Not very: We have a couple of critical mental health resources but that’s it 18.51%
  • Not at all: We have no mental health resources available whatsoever 20.98%

An absence of resources. Mental health issues impact a significant number of employees yet two-thirds of respondents say their company’s mental health resources are lacking. While mental health issues may be mostly invisible, their impact on employee wellbeing and productivity are substantial. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you’re a leader, see if you can lead the change on making these critical resources available. Your team members and colleagues could benefit greatly from them. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental illnesses are no joke. Facing them alone is an incredible challenge for your team members. Show them you care about them as an entire person. Get them the resources they need. They’ll appreciate it and it’s simply the right thing to do.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When you or someone on your team gets sick, how do you approach the situation?

December 29, 2022/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When you or someone on your team gets sick, how do you approach the situation?

  • Stay home, stop working and only focus on getting well 31.81%
  • Stay home but stay in touch on major deliverables 29.69%
  • Stay home and keep current on as much work as you can 30.03%
  • Power through and go to work for important tasks 3.88%
  • Power through, take medicine and get back to work 4.59%

Give yourself a break. While 32% of you focus on getting well when facing an illness, the other 68% of you continue with some degree of work – up to and including actually going into the office when sick. And note these results apply to expectations of team members as well. As a leader, the wellbeing of yourself and your people should come first. The work will always be there. The more you focus on getting well, the faster you’ll return to work fully healthy. You’ll also be sending a message to your team that their personal wellbeing is more important than whatever work is waiting on their desk. Carefully consider what you’re communicating with your behavior as far as expectations you have of others when they fall ill. People want to work for employers who care about them as individuals and prioritize their health above the work. If you’re not sending that message, you might find yourself with some open roles on your team.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How well do you define accountabilities when the team is listing out all the work that needs to get done but no names are being put next to the tasks?

December 22, 2022/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How well do you define accountabilities when the team is listing out all the work that needs to get done but no names are being put next to the tasks?

  • Extremely well: We don’t end the conversation until there’s a name next to every item 31.29%
  • Very well: We resolve most accountabilities immediately but some slip by 27.61%
  • Well: The important items have accountabilities identified but I let the smaller ones sort themselves out 22.70%
  • Not well: Only the most important tasks get defined and others tend to languish without owners 15.34% 
  • Poorly: I have a really hard time assigning people’s names to tasks 3.06%

Naming names. 80% of you report doing a good (or better) job of assigning accountabilities to specific people when task and project lists are being created. Without visibility into who’s driving something, you run the risk of the task falling through the cracks of “I thought so-and-so was in charge of that.” If you’ve not yet developed the habit of assigning tasks, even smaller ones, to specific people, consider changing that behavior immediately. And just because a task is small, that doesn’t mean the owner should go unnamed. Small tasks can be on the critical path for larger ones getting done. It can be a nasty surprise when a seemingly-small item got dropped and that failure delays or jeopardizes a larger deliverable.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Structured Thought: Problem Solving
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Structured Thought: Problem Solving

Clearly define a problem, scope all issues related to the problem, generate potential solutions, then analyze and select the best solution by using time-tested critical thinking methods and tools.

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Structured Thought and Communication
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Structured Thought and Communication

Craft clear and compelling recommendations that resonate with stakeholders. Get your ideas approved by using a proven method for delivering executive-level communications.

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Principles of Chart Design
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Principles of Chart Design

Create well-designed presentation charts that get your message across quickly and clearly to drive your audience to action. From data charts to concept charts, these methods help make your point.

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Engagement Management
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Engagement Management

Whether you’re an internal or external consultant or a project leader, learn proven methods, techniques, and processes to effectively lead consulting engagements that drive your client’s success.

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Strategic Business Planning
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Strategic Business Planning

Use a straightforward and effective strategic planning process that shows how to craft a clear, compelling plan for your organization - not just one time, but on an ongoing basis year after year.

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Deliberate Decision Making
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Everything is Negotiable
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Everything is Negotiable

Become a better negotiator in all situations – from day to day interactions to hammering out large deals. Build the skills required to get what you want and strengthen relationships while you do.

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Breakthrough Innovation
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Generate and select unique strategies that separate you from the competition. Construct bold and disruptive solutions then build and execute a plan for taking those strategies to market.

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Storytelling for Leaders

Create business stories that inspire people, build connections with your audience, and ultimately advance your organization's goals by using a repeatable, straightforward method.

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Lead your organization through the most challenging times using a proven change management process. Get people through the change and back to driving performance quickly and effectively.

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Books You MUST Read

The Elegant Pitch
One Piece of Paper by Mike Figliuolo
Lead Inside the Box
10 Stories Great Leaders Tell
Getting Ahead
Sell with a Story
Lead with a Story
Mastering Communication at Work
The Hook
Innovative Leadership Fieldbook
Innovative Leaders Guide to Transforming Organizations
The Three Commitments of Leadership
The Littlest Green Beret
Storytelling in the Land of Oz
The Camino Way
The Leader with a Thousand Faces
The Inner Matrix book
The Vision Code
The Most Unlikely Leader
The Leader with a Thousand Faces
The Elegant Pitch
One Piece of Paper by Mike Figliuolo
Lead Inside the Box
10 Stories Great Leaders Tell
Getting Ahead
Sell with a Story - Border
Lead with a Story
Leading from Your Best Self
Mastering Communication at Work
The Hook
Innovative Leadership Fieldbook
Innovative Leaders Guide to Transforming Organizations
20120318 Three Commitments
Leadership Vertigo
The Littlest Green Beret
Storytelling in the Land of Oz
The Camino Way
Hijacked by Your Brain
Outthink the Competition
Driving Innovation from Within
The Voice of the Underdog
The Inner Matrix
The Vision Code
The Most Unlikely Leader
The Leader with a Thousand Faces
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  • The Elegant Pitch
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  • The Most Unlikely Leader
  • The Leader with a Thousand Faces
  • The Voice of the Underdog

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