“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” –Harry S. Truman |
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Welcome to Fifth Pillar, the Kearney Chamber's leadership book club!
Reading is an essential component of leadership development.
Books give us a reason to get together to talk, collaborate, and focus. They give a platform for concepts and broaden our perspectives. They are a big part of growth.
The format of the book club meeting will be an open discussion, allowing attendees plenty of opportunities to share insight and perspective. Prepare ahead of time by thoroughly reading the chapters and taking notes for reference during the meeting.
Fifth Pillar will meet on the fourth Monday of the month over the lunch hour at the Chamber office and/or via Zoom. Feel free to bring your lunch to the meeting.
To kick things off we've selected six popular leadership book titles. Using the button below, you can rank the titles by preference. The book most preferred will be announced as our February read. More details will be provided at that time.
This event is free for all Chamber members! Register by clicking the link below.
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Deadline for book selection is Sunday, Jan. 24.
The preferred book title will be announced Monday, Jan. 25.
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Proposed book titles and a brief summary: |
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The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do - Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller get at the heart of what makes a leader successful. Newly promoted but struggling young executive Debbie Brewster asks her mentor the one question she desperately needs answered: "What is the secret of great leaders?" His reply—"great leaders serve"—flummoxes her, but over time he reveals the five fundamental ways that leaders succeed through service.
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Outliers: The Story of Success - In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
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How Successful People Lead: Taking Your Influence to the Next Level - In this perfectly compact read, #1 New York Times bestselling author John C. Maxwell explains how true leadership works. It is not generated by your title. In fact, being named to a position is the lowest of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To be more than a boss people are required to follow, you must master the ability to inspire and invest in people. You need to build a team that produces not only results, but also future leaders. By combining the advice contained in these pages with skill and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of leadership-where your influence extends beyond your immediate reach for the benefit of others. (Derived from material previously published in the Wall Street Journal bestseller The 5 Levels of Leadership.)
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Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World – “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better. Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments.
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Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. - Leadership is not about titles, status and power over people. Leaders are people who hold themselves accountable for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and developing that potential. This is a book for everyone who is ready to choose courage over comfort, make a difference and lead. Brené Brown spent the past two decades researching the emotions that give meaning to our lives. Over the past seven years, she found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial start-ups and family-owned businesses to non-profits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies, are asking the same questions: How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders? And, how do you embed the value of courage in your culture? Dare to Lead answers these questions and gives us actionable strategies and real examples from her new research-based, courage-building program.
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The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities - New York Times best-selling author Patrick Lencioni has written a dozen books that focus on how leaders can build teams and lead organizations. In The Motive, he shifts his attention toward helping them understand the importance of why they're leading in the first place. In what may be his edgiest page-turner to date, Lencioni thrusts his readers into a day-long conversation between rival CEOs. Using unexpected plot twists and crisp dialogue to take us on a journey that culminates in a resolution that is as unexpected as it is enlightening, Lencioni then provides a straightforward summary of the lessons from the fable, combining a clear explanation of his theory with practical advice to help executives examine their true motivation for leading. In addition to provoking readers to honestly assess themselves, Lencioni presents action steps for changing their approach in five key areas. In doing so, he helps leaders avoid the pitfalls that stifle their organizations and even hurt the people they are meant to serve.
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Developing Visionary Leadership:
Business moves the world.
So how do you want your company to contribute?
To one degree or another, many of us feel the world today lacks quality leadership. But what better way to fight against that trend than by inspiring greatness in our future leaders? It all begins with leading by example. That’s a tall order, though, and not very specific — so we'll explore ways the Chamber can assume thought leadership in the ongoing search for a better quality of life for all.
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