Recently, I had the great pleasure of hosting a podcast with Jeffrey J. Fox on Total Picture Radio. Over the years, Jeffrey’s books have been a tremendously positive influence on me. He did the crisp and clear short book to perfection before it became fashionable and without losing meaning. As I study the book business and art and craft of making a book myself, I’ve become further impressed by not only his achievements but also his longevity.
I’m excited about his most current book for a variety of reasons:
– Leadership – For a long, long time many have focused on doing the same activities harder, better or with tiny improvement. This book gives permission to do something in a different way.
– Inspiration – Leaders need to be inspired to take that first step to lead change consistently. The first step is often the hardest.
– Permission – Leaders need permission to know that letting go of the past to take another path is OK. All too often this serves as a roadblock.
Why else am I excited about this book? Put simply, this book’s message stimulates demand for the services and abilities I have to offer businesses align their operations and business models to grow revenue, cashflow and market share. It is an exciting time in that regard.
The Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of all companies need to take immediate action to start the long journey of recreating customer focused organizations that serve a need, in a way that is better than anyone else in their industry, do it in a way that is effective and empowers people across the organization to make incremental, real-time decisions. This is the model and culture that existed at BlackRock during it’s hypergrowth phase and it the the model culture that any organization can strive to build.
There is a long journey ahead, it will be successful for those who take action while others stand still. It is time for the Transformative CEO. I look forward to traveling with those who chose to go on it.