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Book Review

Monday Morning Leadership

Cornerstone Leadership Institute —2002 (110 pages in hardback)

Author David Cottrell

ISBN 0-9719424-3-9

This is a short but highly engaging book. It is written in a way that draws you into the subject. The book begins by explaining why it was written. The author begins by explaining in the prologue a story about an executive named Jeff Walters. Jeff’s life was falling apart. He was in a slump in his career, personal relationships and health. He needed help and was at a crossroads, desperately needing direction. He rekindles a relationship with an old friend of his father’s named Tony Pearce. Tony, being a respected and successful semi-retired business leader, offers to help but only on two conditions. The first condition is that the struggling executive must agree to meet with Tony every Monday morning for eight weeks of tutelage. The second condition is that the author must promise to teach others the experiences and lessons Tony teaches him. Monday Morning Leadership is the fulfillment of the second condition.

The eight chapters of the book are a synopsis of the Monday morning sessions with Tony. Jeff shows up with his spiral notebook ready to learn and grow. Each Monday morning session is educational and entertaining to read. There is no new ground covered here regarding known leadership principles, but the analogies used by Tony puts many in a new light. For example, in the third chapter (The Third Monday – Escape from Management Land) Jeff learns that many managers fall into a trap called management land. In this artificial world things are not always as they seem. Simple things become complex and games are played. People are rewarded not for performance but for saying the things managers want to hear. Jeff learns that he must “escape from management land and get in touch with your people”. He also learns there are three types of employees or “stars” on every team and how to deal with them.

This is a book you will enjoy and it ends with a collection of quotations from Tony that are thought-provoking and helpful. You will be able to read it in one or two short sittings. Monday Morning Leadership deftly covers a number of important leadership principles in a refreshing way. If you want something different, easy to understand, and a pleasure to peruse, Monday Morning Leadership is a book for you.

weLEAD rating – highly recommended

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