"Walk the Walk" named one of the best business books of 2009 by Strategy+Business

Thank you, Strategy+Business magazine, for naming "Walk the Walk' as one of the best business books of 2009 (and for publishing the review by Charles Handy, which called it "compelling reading.")

Podcast interview on "Walk the Walk"

I'm interviewed about "Walk the Walk" on this podcast from Penguin books.

Slideshow on BusinessWeek website about who does and doesn't Walk the Walk

Check out this brief article and slideshow that I did for the BusinessWeek website about who does and doesn't "walk the walk" among prominent figures in business and national politics.

Wall Street Journal review of "Walk the Walk"

The Wall Street Journal's review of my new book, "Walk the Walk" called it "an engaging reminder of some leadership basics that aren't ­necessarily taught in business school."

Great Article on Leadership by Swarthmore's Barry Schwartz

Read this terrific article on leadership by Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology of Swarthmore College. The article (published by the National Internet) focuses on the "tyranny of the commons"--how to overcome the tough problem of individuals making everyday small choices that hurt the greater society over the longer run. How do you inspire people to change how their daily behaviors that harm the environment, for example? Schwartz looks at two themes that I write about at length in my new book Walk the Walk. In this passage he writes about the power of leading by example:

"The Obama vegetable garden by itself isn’t going to change how Americans eat. But many social phenomena are susceptible to what Duke economics and political science professor Timur Kuran describes as “informational cascades.” Someone out there who won’t take the lead in using cloth bags is almost ready to do so. Just one example will tip that person’s behavior. And once there are two adherents, other people, whose “tipping threshold” is a bit higher, will come on board. This will make it easier for others, and so on. Before you know it, plastic grocery bags will have gone the way of the rotary phone."

And here Prof. Schwartz underscores another important theme that I discuss in "Walk the Walk": the necessity of leaders sharing the struggle with the rest of us:

"As economist Robert Frank has observed, people, like states, care more about their relative position in a social or economic hierarchy than they do about their absolute position. Better to keep your thermostat at seventy-eight degrees in summer when others are doing the same than to keep it at seventy-four when others have theirs at seventy-two. Knowing that 'we’re all in the same boat' matters to people just as it does to states. And sacrifice must be shared in a way that is publicly verifiable because people, like states, care about fairness. They care enough to punish those who exploit power, even at a cost to themselves..."

There's much more rich detail and fascinating thinking in Prof. Schwartz's article. Check it out!

Profile of Apple's Steve Jobs in London's Sunday Times

Check out this uncommonly well-done profile of Apple's Steve Jobs in London's Sunday Times. The reporter, Bryan Appleyard, interviewed me for the story as well as some of the most insightful journalists who've covered Jobs and executives who worked with him closely over the years.

"Walk the Walk" Watch: Angelo Mozilo

The great business journalist Connie Bruck's fascinating article in the New Yorker magazine about the fallen king of home mortgage lending, Countrywide Financial's Angelo Mozilo ("Angelo's Ashes," June 29, 2009), shows the disastrous effects of powerful leadership that was focused on the wrong objective. Bruck writes that in 2002, when Countrywide had a market share of almost 10 percent, and none of its competitors had more than 13 percent, Mozilo decided to strive for unprecedented dominance of his industry: He set a goal of capturing at least 30 percent market share. As the co-founder and strong leader of Countrywide, Mozilo's overriding goal became the laser-like focus of his people, even after Mozilo himself largely stepped away from the company's day-to-day operations. In their effort to achieve his highest values--rapid growth and market dominance--they sacrificed other values that should have been important, such as creating relationships with their customers that would be mutually beneficially for the long-run.Countrywide was one of the biggest pushers of high-risk mortgages that led to countless people losing their homes--and the financial system nearly collapsing.

In my upcoming book "Walk the Walk," I write about how a real leader must constantly show the one or two values that are most important for the company. Mozilo did exactly that. The problem is that they've got to be the right values. Any time a company is focused on growth and dominance as its No. 1 objective, then the other things that get in the way, such as ethics and prudence, will likely be sacrificed. If Mozilo had enshrined the security and prosperity of Countrywide's customers as his top value, the outcome might have been very different. Instead, he wanted market dominance at whatever price--and that's exactly what he wound up achieving.