Three Good Reads
Read this before our next meeting
By Al Pittampalli
Pittampalli is on a mission against the status quo. He’s not against meetings altogether; he’s opposed to mediocre meetings. “In modern organizations everywhere, meetings are the lever that allows coherent motion. Meetings are the way we make change.” His book, which is produced through Seth Godin’s Domino Project, suggests the rules that need to be broken to make internal meetings effective.
More on the Domino Project: Author, blogger, speaker, marketing expert and all-around forward-thinker, Seth Godin has teamed up with Amazon in an attempt to flip book publishing on its head. The Domino Project, based on the theory of the domino effect, combines powerful, high-quality ideas, direct distribution channels (e-books) and a purpose beyond the bottomline. A thought-provoking blog at thedominoproject.com and a growing assortment of e-books on a variety of topics show the potential of the theory.
Connecting Not Competing For Success
By Linda Seger
Part business philosophy, part lifestyle paradigm, this book spins the case for “web thinking,” a metaphor based on the dual images of the spider web and the World Wide Web. An international speaker and script consultant, Seger uses the term to describe the movement from linear, competitive thinking to a collaborative model that relies on teamwork, flexibility and connections, citing examples from the world of movies and online games. Web thinking is now being used in virtually every discipline from biology to theology, according to Seger, who sets out to prove that it is not only more humane but also more likely to bring lasting success.
You Can’t Lead With Your Feet on the Desk
By Ed Fuller
Here’s another book from Marriott’s management team. As president and managing director of international lodging at Marriott International, Fuller clocked more than 10 million miles building relationships across cultures. With colorful anecdotes from his nearly 40-year history at Marriott, and earlier as a captain in the U.S. Army, Fuller explains how he navigated cultural nuances and language differences, unfamiliar geography and frustrating local bureaucracy. He demonstrates how building trust, shared values and personal relationships are the real currency of every culture. Today, in addition to his responsibilities at Marriott International, he serves in various leadership and advisory capacities on many educational, philanthropic and tourism boards.
