Today’s guest, a former fashion executive, successfully turned her communications expertise into a multimedia brand and consultancy. And today, you and I have the privilege of learning from her years of experience. Her name is Aliza Licht, and her latest book is called On Brand: Shape Your Narrative, Share Your Vision, Shift Their Perception. How you show up in person, over email, and on social media, Aliza says, communicates your personal brand. That brand deserves...

Today’s guest is special to me in so many ways. I’ve admired him for over a decade. The way he carries himself, the kindness he shows to other people, and his ability to appreciate that anyone who crosses his path might have something to teach him, are just some of his more admirable qualities. Today’s episode is, at its core, about change. It’s about understanding that when things don’t go as planned, the right response might be to change your beliefs about the outcome and what...

The topic of project management has been the focus of only two other episodes of Read to Lead that I can think of: Episode 101 with Cesar Abeid, and Episode 277 with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez. Frankly, it’s a topic that doesn’t get covered nearly often enough. Today, I work to change that a bit. Our featured book is by Gerald J. Leonard and is called, A Symphony of Choices: How Mentorship Taught a Manager Decision-Making, Project Management, and Workplace Engagement—and...

I’ve yet to meet my guest today in person, but we live less than 30 minutes from one another. I think I need to work harder at changing that soon. His name is Steve Woodruff, and this will make his second appearance on the podcast; his first being about five years ago in Episode #243. Steve’s new book, released just last week, is called The Point: How to Win With Clarity-Fueled Communications. Clarity-fueled communications, Steve says, is the practice of using...

One is a retired Navy SEAL. The other is an award-winning business executive. Together they’ve built a company called Culture Force. Dare I say both the company and their new book is a force to be reckoned with. Their new book (released August 29, 2023), has quickly become a favorite among those in my Read to Lead Community online. It’s easy to see why. Leadership as it is, just isn’t working. Say Chris and Kyle, despite the countless seminars, courses, and management...

I’ve had the chance to interview a number of professor/authors in the past. Today’s guest is both of those things, but with decades of experience as a CEO and entrepreneur to boot. He is Stanford Graduate School of Business professor David Dodson. His new book is called The Manager’s Handbook: Five Simple Steps to Build a Team, Stay Focused, Make Better Decisions, and Crush Your Competition. Managers, David says, desperately want a crisp, how-to book that will show...

When the topic of the book your writing centers around mindset, and the one and only Carol Dweck (author of Mindset: The Psychology of Success) gives it a glowing endorsement, then yours is a book worth paying attention to. Such is the case for my guest today, Eduardo Briceño. His new book, out now, is called The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset Into Action. To succeed in a fast-changing world, Eduardo says, individuals and companies know they must...

It’s probably no surprise to you that I appreciate effective communicators. Well, that’s just one of the many reasons I am excited to present to you today’s guest, who’s written a wonderful book on an aspect of presenting not often covered. Impromptu Speaking! His name is Matt Abrahams, and his brand new book, out today, is called Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put On the Spot. In the book, Matt provides tangible, actionable skills to...

Just about a month ago, I featured a business fable here on the show. Today, I am pleased to feature another. This one is cowritten by an author who’s appeared here before (John David Mann). However, my guest today is the other half of that co-author duo. His name is Dan Rockwell. If his name rings a bell, that may be because you’ve heard of his successful Leadership Freak blog. Dan’s book with John is called The Vagrant: The Inner Journey of Leadership. The...

I’m old enough to remember a book from over 30 years ago called, The Late Shift, a chronicling of the wars between David Letterman, Jay Leno, NBC, and who would eventually end up with the Tonight Show Crown. Our featured book this week reminds of that book in many ways. The difference, however is the players. Instead of Letterman and Leno, we have Amazon and Walmart. And the battle is still raging, and likely will be for some time to come. That book is called Winner Sells...

Today’s feature book is one that I can’t wait to read with others. Yes, I’ve read it myself, but I want to talk about with other people and share insights ASAP. That’s when you know you’ve stumbled across a great book. And that book is Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today, and it’s written by Hal Hershfield. When my mastermind group asks me to recommend our next book we’ll read together, this one will be at the top of my list. In my course,...

In today’s episode, I make a fairly dramatic statement. It’s a warning to those who may read this week’s featured book. I say, plainly, read it at your own risk. Why do I make such a statement? Because if you’re anything like me, you’ll immediately want to figure out a way to go work for Learn It CEO Damon Lembi. Yes, his new book is that compelling. This describes how I felt after reading Damon’s book, and I’ve been gleefully self-employed for ten years, so that’s...

This week’s guest wrote a book that is considered to be the best coaching book of the century. He and I spoke about that book here several years ago. His latest book is another winner in my view. His name is Michael Bungay Stanier and the book is How to Work with (Almost) Anyone. The hard truth, Michael says, is most of us leave many of our relationships to chance. Few of us approach them with any amount of intentionality. Relationships always get a little broken,...

One of my favorite guests of all time, and one of my favorite humans in general, is joining me again for this episode. His fourth visit thus far. I’m talking, of course, about New York Times bestselling author, Dan Miller. His latest book, unconventional in that he made all the “wrong” choices during its creation, is called An Understanding Heart. Some of those choices include: * A simulated leather book * 406 pages * 84 vignettes in...

Over the years, I’ve been exposed to a number of coach-written books. Many, though certainly nowhere near all, serve as little more than business cards or lead magnets to their coaching programs. Some are good, some are just okay. Few, however, would I consider to be as well-written and well-researched as the one I want to expose you to today. It is written by Kelli Thompson and is called Closing the Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential, and Your Paycheck....

Twitter, or X, or whatever we’re calling it these days is an incredible place to learn and meet new and exciting people, despite what others are saying. It’s all about who you CHOOSE to follow that makes all the difference. Someone I follow—I don’t recall who—made mention of a new book called Hidden Genius: The secret way of thinking that power the world’s most successful people. I was immediately intrigued and began to researching the book and its author, Polina...

When I first met today’s guest several years ago, it was actually the second time I’d met him. Apparently, I said something like, “Nice to meet you.” To which he replied, “We’ve actually met before. I obviously made a strong impression,” or something to that effect. I liked his sense of humor right away. His name, which I’ll never forget now, is Bryan Orr. And, his new book is called Unconformed: The Unbound and Unbridled Path to Unstuck Growth. Let me ask you a question:...

This week’s guest is making a repeat appearance (or should I say, “three-peat” appearance?). It’s been a while since his last visit, but I can say it is definitely worth the wait. His name is David Burkus. We previously chatted with David about his books Friend of a Friend and Under New Management. His new book is called Best Team Ever! The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams. Talent, David says, doesn’t make the team—the team makes the talent. But why are...

My guest this week is making his first—and hopefully not his last—visit to the Read to Lead Podcast, and on the eve of the show’s 10th birthday, no less. His name is Richard Shotton. He’s written a followup to his amazingly well-received The Choice Factory. It’s called The Illusion of Choice: 16 1/2 psychological biases that influence what we buy. I devoured this book in a single day. It’s just over 190 pages with short, to-the-point chapters. Each one lays out plainly a...

I was in a crunch for time the week I sat down with today’s guest and needed to get through his book (a seven- to eight-hour read) in a single day. What to do? I had a physical copy of the book in hand, but needed to get through it quickly. I decided to use one of my favorite speed reading tricks. I purchased the audiobook version. Then, following along in the physical book, I cranked up the audiobook to 2X speed. Instead of nearly eight hours, I was through the book in less...

This week’s guest—someone who I once referred to as “a hoot”—makes her second appearance on the show, her first in nearly six years. Her name is Dr. Constance Dierickx. We last heard from her way back in Episode #190 to talk about her book High Stakes Leadership. This time she’s here to discuss her brand new book, Meta-Leadership: How to See What Others Don’t and Make Great Decisions. All top leaders make mistakes, she says, simply because they are human. In fact,...

Two years ago, my 81-year-old mother, fell in love with Turkish culture. Credit Turkish men. Suffice to say, there’s not a Turkish movie or soap opera she hasn’t seen at least twice. She’s even teaching herself the language. This means, of course, that possibly for the first time ever, she’ll be excited to give one of my episodes a listen because Turkey is from where my guest today originally hails. Her name is Zeynep Ton (Zeynep, according to my mother, is a popular...

Once in a great while, a book title just grabs you in a way that makes you want to stop what you’re doing right then and there and open it up to experience the gems you know are waiting inside. I recently discovered just such a book, and its gems were numerous to say the least. I’m talking about a new book titled The Life You’re Made For: Finding Clarity, Confidence, and Courage to Be Fully Alive by Dr. Heather Penny. Heather helps you blaze a path to the life of...

In the conclusion of my book Read to Lead (BakerBooks, 2021), I argue that the evolution of our brains have been adversely impacted by technology. That books helped rewire our brains in a positive way when they came on the scene hundreds of years ago, and that today’s screens—and the ways in which we interact with them—are undoing much of that rewiring. One only need to read the book written by today’s guest to confirm my not-so-positive assertion. It’s called,...

Today is a real treat for me (and for you), as I get to welcome—for the third time—the person I consider to be one of the world’s greatest thinkers and authors. He’s certainly had a huge impact on me and my life. That thinker and author is the one and only Seth Godin. He’s written his twenty-first book, and today is the day we get to welcome it to the world. It’s called The Song Of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams. Seth argues that real value at work is no...