The Next Book on the Agenda...

I really enjoyed blogging with the last book that I read. I will not be as detailed in the future, but thought it might be interesting to let you know of other books that I am enjoying...

I am now deep into the book, The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample. Sample is the President of the University of Southern California. I ran across this book at Barnes and Noble and thought it looked interesting. I am currently half way through the book, and to this point have thoroughly appreciated what I have learned.

Sample begins in his introduction to let us know where he is going with the book. He tells us that a clone of a past leader would not necessarily make a great leader today. He says that his goal is to get the reader to think about leaders and leadership from a fresh perspective. He wants the reader to, "Break free from the bonds of conventional thinking." To let our minds work instead of depending on others minds to think for us.

Sample teaches how to be a good listener. If you want to grow as a leader you must listen to those around you. You may not always agree with all that is shared, but it is important to take in as much of the information as possible. Sample also urges leaders to be careful who they are listening to. There are lots of people out there with bad informatuion that can lead you down the wrong road. Beware!

This is a good book on leadership. Not an easy read by any accounts, but nonetheless very interesting! Two thumbs up!