Twogether In Texas : Recommended Reading : Great Read
Let's Have Lunch Together (How to Reach Out and Build More Powerful Relationships)
Author: Marshall Howard
This learning novel reveals the secrets and how-to's that turn boards and supporters into legions of powerful mission partners. Imagine having more influential, well-connected volunteers on your fundraising team. Imagine generating millions without spending a ton of extra time, money or making big changes. Follow the story of Oscar, an Exec. Dir. who tries everything to move his organization to the next level. Oscar could easily raise a lot more money and get more of what he wants. He's smart, works hard and is deeply committed. There's one thing stopping him: Oscar can't build strong relationships with enough of the right people He thought he knew all about relationships - until things took a downturn. He needed answers quickly and discovered the secrets to more powerful partnerships. Now, his organization and his life are on the upswing. Reviewers say This little book is full of golden nuggets that make a big difference, exceptionally beneficial for the seasoned veteran and the novice fundraiser. In a few hours, read this fast-paced story and learn the how-to's of power relationships. Most fun I have ever had being trained, captured my heart, then my mind.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Author: Jim Collins
In what Collins terms a prequel to the bestseller Built to Last he wrote with Jerry Porras, this worthwhile effort explores the way good organizations can be turned into ones that produce great, sustained results. To find the keys to greatness, Collins's 21-person research team (at his management research firm) read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in a five-year project. That Collins is able to distill the findings into a cogent, well-argued and instructive guide is a testament to his writing skills. After establishing a definition of a good-to-great transition that involves a 10-year fallow period followed by 15 years of increased profits, Collins's crew combed through every company that has made the Fortune 500 (approximately 1,400) and found 11 that met their criteria, including Walgreens, Kimberly Clark and Circuit City. At the heart of the findings about these companies' stellar successes is what Collins calls the Hedgehog Concept, a product or service that leads a company to outshine all worldwide competitors, that drives a company's economic engine and that a company is passionate about. While the companies that achieved greatness were all in different industries, each engaged in versions of Collins's strategies. While some of the overall findings are counterintuitive (e.g., the most effective leaders are humble and strong-willed rather than outgoing), many of Collins's perspectives on running a business are amazingly simple and commonsense. This is not to suggest, however, that executives at all levels wouldn't benefit from reading this book; after all, only 11 companies managed to figure out how to change their B grade to an A on their own.
Built to Serve: How to Drive the Bottom Line with People-First Practices
Author: Dan Sanders
Dan Sanders, CEO of the award-winning, service-oriented United Supermarkets, makes this bold claim: the prevailing business culture is broken and a radical transformation is required-a paradigm shift that reshapes our understanding of the true purpose of work. Leaders have a choice-continue to chase a broken price-profit model and suffer the consequences or build a culture committed to servant hood and discover the fulfillment evident when people see their work as a ministry. The choice leaders make will not only determine economic success and failure but also will determine their organization's long term impact on humanity. The time is now. Sanders reveals how your people can adopt United's mission of “Ultimate Service, Superior Performance, Positive Impact.” He distills valuable lessons from nine decades of a people-centered culture that consistently delivers outstanding customer service and reveals how you can develop a fully engaged, productive workforce. When you're built to serve, employees come to work because they want to, not just because they have to. Built to Serve is your hands-on guide to seeking this higher purpose.