summer reading: 14 proven leaders can teach us a lot.
by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting
lee iacocca passed away july 2 at age 94. he was a brilliant business and civic leader and a cultural icon who was even considered for president.
more: growing with a client | my first thought is to never turn down business | secret success formula: e=fs4uh | high cpa fees should be a client’s goal | how hidden bias taints results | when to keep some plans to yourself | when writeups went extinct | kennedy’s acceptance speech
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
i never met him but read his autobiography and besides enjoying it i took away a management technique i am sharing with you here.
iacocca had each person directly reporting to him submit their annual goals for approval and then he met with them quarterly to review their progress. i liked this and adopted it with some of my staff. i also introduced this technique to clients and it has been used effectively.
this got me thinking about other successful business leaders’ autobiographies and biographies as a rich source of management and leadership guidance. what better way to learn about how to lead and manage than by reading how proven and successful leaders have done it?
some to consider are books i wrote about that are listed here:
- “managing the elephant” by louis v. gerstner, jr.
- “autobiography of benjamin franklin” (or any biography of him)
- “gutenberg’s apprentice” by alix christie
- “the wright brothers” by david mccullough
- “first entrepreneur” by edward g. lengel (about george washington)
- “am i being too subtle?” by sam zell
here are others i’ve read and recommend. note that these come quickly to mind, but there are many more and i suggest you start with someone you want to learn more about or who is in industries you are in or want to be in.
these are all good reads. biographies shouldn’t replace the many excellent leadership and management books, but it helps to round out managers and leaders who want to be more effective and grow.