LeaderSHOP Volume 1: Workplace, Career, and Life Advice From Today’s Top Thought Leaders
Rodger Dean Duncan
Maxwell Stone Publishing (October 2018)

Many different parts…one body of business wisdom

Organizations — including those that are corporate, governmental, religious, and non-profit — need effective leaders at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise.  Similarly, individuals are more likely to achieve greater success in any of those sectors if they develop the skills to lead others. Beyond the workplace, those who develop the same skills to are more likely to achieve their personal growth as well as professional development

The last time I checked, Amazon offers more than 70,000 different titles on the general subject of leadership. Some of the most valuable were written by several of the 39 thought leaders who shared their insights in this book. For example, bestselling authors such as Erika Andersen, Carmine Gallo, Bill George, Marshall Goldsmith, Jim Kouzes, Tom Rath, Edgar Schein, and Dave Ulrich.

The format is very straightforward: Rodger Dean Duncan posed several questions to which each responded. He also selected the contributors, introduced chapters, and edited responses. The “Personal application” that concludes each chapter suggests to each reader the possible relevance and value of the given material. Moreover, he contributed commentaries in Chapters 5, 7, 25, and 26.

Duncan could have asked many (if not most) of the same questions to all of those he contacted. Instead, he wisely organized and then formulated questions — most appropriate to each interviewee’s expertise — that address and evoke these major business considerations:

Meaning and Purpose Mental Maps
Workplace Practices
Behaviors
Trust and Teamwork
Culture
Feedback and Accountability Communication
Career Management
Personal Balance

I highly recommend this book to those now preparing for a career in business or have only embarked on one. I also highly recommend it to those who supervise them. The scope and depth of advice can be of incalculable value.

This seems to be the first of several volumes in a series that Rodger Dean Duncan will develop. I look forward to reading them in years to come.