Sponge: Leadership Lessons I Learnt From My Clients


Ambi Parameswaran - 2018
    A challenging customer, in his view, goes from being someone who poses an obstacle to quality work to someone with eye-opening ideas and concepts. Approached as an exercise in listening and learning, these conversations can become long-term lessons. Ambi has worked with some of the most respected brands and names in the Indian corporate world, and each of those assignments were for him masterclasses in leadership development. In this book, Ambi recounts conversations with some of the most iconic business leaders, such as Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, S. Ramadorai, Karsanbhai Patel, M. Damodaran, Dr V. Kurien and many others. He soaked up these conversations, in his own words, 'like a sponge’. This book is an attempt to walk us through some of those dialogues – both the illuminating and the difficult aspects of them – to help us understand how they were learning sessions. For anyone looking at turbocharging their business and career, the ‘Sponge Process’ that emphasises listening is a radical new way of engaging with clients and customers.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right


Atul Gawande - 2009
    Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.

Who Will Cry When You Die?


Robin S. Sharma - 1999
    Specific lessons include how to: "Discover Your Calling," "See Your Troubles as Blessings," "Enjoy the Path, Not Just the Rewards," and "Live Fully So You Can Die Happy." This is a truly remarkable book that you will treasure for a lifetime!

Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters


Phillip C. McGraw - 1999
    McGraw's 10 Life Laws will empower you to take responsibility for your own actions and break free from self-destructive patterns. Drawing upon more than fifteen years of experience, Dr. McGraw explores each of the 10 Life Laws necessary to succeed:Life Law #1: You either get it, or you don't.Strategy: Become one of those who gets it.Life Law #2: You create your own experience.Strategy: Acknowledge and accept accountability for your life.Life Law #3: People do what works.Strategy: Identify the payoffs that drive your behavior and that of others.Life Law #4: You cannot change what you do not acknowledge.Strategy: Get real with yourself about your life and everybody in it.Life Law #5: Life rewards action.Strategy: Make careful decisions and then pull the trigger.Life Law #6: There is no reality; only perception.Strategy: Identify the filters through which you view the world.Life Law #7: Life is managed; it is not cured.Strategy: Learn to take charge of your life.Life Law #8: We teach people how to treat us.Strategy: Own, rather than complain about, how people treat you.Life Law #9: There is power in forgiveness.Strategy: Open your eyes to what anger and resentment are doing to you.Life Law #10: You have to name it before you can claim it.Strategy: Get clear about what you want and take your turn.

Doing What Must Be Done: Even Limitations Can Be Used to Make Life Better!


Chad Hymas - 2011
    but not out. In 2001, then-27-year-old Chad Hymas had everything: a beautiful wife, two sons, two thriving businesses and parents and brothers who loved and supported him in everything he did. It seemed he couldn't fail. Everything he touched turned to gold. And then a rushed decision to ignore safety in favor of getting home to see his baby boy take his first steps changed everything forever. A few minutes of caution could've kept his golden life on track, and he would live to regret his decision until he changed his mind about what his life was for. Ultimately, Chad Hymas spent many weeks in the hospital and in physical therapy. The doctors determined that psychological therapy wasn't needed, but Chad had another kind of help. He met Art Berg, another quadriplegic, who introduced himself without a word but with plenty of action. And Chad was paying attention. That was the day he began to change his mind about his life's purpose. With desperation, dedication and determination, and the help and love of his family and friends, Chad set out to reinvent himself, take risks, and do things he never thought he could or would do, even when his body was whole and fully functional. He had plenty of black periods to work through, to let go of his old ideas about who he was supposed to be, and the anger and frustration of not being able to be that. It hasn't been an easy journey, but it has transformed him into a man unlike anything he ever thought he could or would be. He's dedicated his life to service for others who have lost functionality, or perhaps never had it. He became a living example of what is possible, if one is willing to invent different ways to do what has to be done. In order to teach others, he had to invent those new and different ways of doing things for himself. He had to walk the talk. Now... He opens minds, eyes, hearts and doors for people just like himself. He helps people who have all their faculties to become more than they think they can be. He inspires children and adults alike, those with challenges and those without. He helps companies to work better by coming together, and teaches families and caretakers new ways to help those they care for. In the ten years since his accident, Chad travels the world, speaking to companies, kids in schools at all grade levels, families and individuals whose lives are being remolded by their own events. He has become the living demonstration of what is possible, if we find different ways of doing what must be done. His life changed forever and now, he changes lives.

The Flinch


Julien Smith - 2011
    Julien Smith has delivered a surprise, a confrontation, a book that will push you, scare you and possibly stick with you for years to come. The idea is simple: your flinch mechanism can save your life. It shortcircuits the conscious mind and allows you to pull back and avoid danger faster than you can even imagine it’s there. But what if danger is exactly what you need? What if facing the flinch is the one best way to get what you want? Here’s a chance to read the book everyone will be talking about, before they do. What are you afraid of? Here's how to find out.