A book recommendation from Dan Beaulieu.

Leadership (The Brian Tracy Success Library)

By: Brian Tracy

I have read all of the books in Brian Tracy’s Success Library and found them all equally useful as well as readable and interesting. What I like about his newest book is that everything you need to be a great leader is right here in this very short, but very concise, volume.

From learning how to be a leader:

• Be action oriented;
• Have a vision;
• Have a plan;
• Know where you are going;
• Lead by example.

With just a few minutes reading, Tracy allows you to discover all you need to develop into a strong leader.

But hold on–this book is much more important than that. This is what I call a “right-hand drawer book.” It’s the kind of inspiration stimulation tool you refer to again and again as you develop into a true leader.

Here, for example, are Tracy’s four basic steps to becoming a better leader:

1. Do more of certain things. Do more of those things that are of greater value to you and more important to achieving your results as a leader.
2. Do less of certain things. At the same time, you must deliberately decide to reduce the amount of time you spend on certain activities that impede your success as a leader.
3. Start to do those things you aren’t doing that you need to be doing. What are the skills, competencies, or knowledge that you need to succeed as a leader? Identify them and then either acquire them or learn them.
4. Stop doing certain things altogether. There may be certain activities that are no longer relevant to your goals as a leader…what was once important is no longer important and should no longer take up your time.

From the chapter on how to handle yourself in a crises:

• Stay calm;
• Be confident in your abilities;
• Dare to go forward;
• Get the facts;
• Take control;
• Cut your loses;
• Manage the crises;
• Communicate constantly;
• Identify your constraints;
• Unleash your creativity;
• Counter-attack;
• Keep things simple;
• Never compromise your integrity; and
• Persist until you succeed.

I know that many of us have heard and read these things before, but, then again, the truth is the truth and great is advice is just that–great advice. I look at this particular chapter as that fire extinguisher behind the glass you break in case an emergency or, in this case, a crisis.

I can say with one 100% honesty that I’ve used Tracy’s books in this way. I have used them as an emergency tool when I get intoa jam. I just take a deep breath, open my right-hand drawer, and read through the appropriate book until I find something that helps me to find the solution. You should try it…it works.