The 2008 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards - Leadership

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
by Seth Godin (Portfolio, October 2008)

This may be Seth Godin's most important book yet. It's human nature to want to be part of a group that shares a connection, passion and a common leader: a tribe. Technologies today have changed the make-up and creation of tribes, enabling them to communicate and grow in ways not possible in the past. In the future, tribes will lead revolutions and usher in change. All they need is the right leader. Will that be you?

The Age of Heretics: A History of Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management, 2nd edition
by Art Kleiner (Jossey-Bass, July 2008

Our present is built on the ideas of our past. Consider this book a history lesson in the major business ideas from the last sixty years. What is now considered commonplace--business is personal, people can be trusted, that corporations might work to bring about change--was once considered heresy. We are living in The Age of Heretics. Art Kleiner, editor-in-chief of strategy+business magazine, is our tour guide to this fascinating era. The first edition of The Age of Heretics was published in 1996.

A Sense of Urgency
by John Kotter (Harvard Business Press, September 2008)

John Kotter is often considered the disciple of change. Complacency, he believes, is dangerous. He asked himself, What is the one reason most change initiatives fail? His answer: a lack of urgency. People regularly confuse urgency with busyness. They're not the same. Urgency moves people to action. Here's how to instill a sense of urgency in the people you lead.

Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor
by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman & James O'Toole with Patricia Ward Biederman (Jossey-Bass, May 2008)

Trust and transparency are intertwined. Without one, the other cannot be. Without both, an organization cannot be successful. In three essays, Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman and James O'Toole each look at different aspects of transparency and suggest constructive ways to build a culture of openness.