The Fisherman’s Path to Leadership: 24 Lessons from the Wisdom of Nature
Oleg Konovalov
Kindle Direct Publishing (February 2024)

Practical advice to accelerate personal growth and professional development 

No brief commentary such as mine could possibly do full justice to the quality of the information, insights, and counsel that Oleg Konovalov provides in his latest book. My purpose now is to offer my reactions to the material to assist your consideration of whether or not to check out the book.

Whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need effective leadership at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. Konovalov draws upon a wide and deep range of experiences in real-world situations in which leadership is the decisive factor, for better or worse.  Valuable lessons can be learned, especially from less than satisfactory results. Valuable lessons can be learned from non-business sources. From the sports world, for example or, in this instance, from nature. Norberg offers 224 practical lessons in this book. These are among the ones that caught my eye:

o “If something could go wrong, it will go wrong. Nothing is over until you are at the shore.”

o  “Caring should come from the heart, be personal, and express great appreciation. No matter who you are, we are all looking for care, appreciation, and acceptance.”

o “Be specific when asking for help. Otherwise, you will end up paying for unnecessary help because of your lack of clarity.”

o “We employees to think and act outside of their mental boxes instead of standing sesparately as  indedpendent units. Otherwise, the organization will remain fragmented and unable to realize its full potential.”

o “Focus on growth, don’t focus on uncertainty. If you feed uncertainty, it will only grow. If you nurture your growth, it will happen. Think pragmatically –all these difficulties and challenges that you are facing are opportunioties for growth.”

o  “I improve every day to lead people tomorrow better than today, otherwise they don’t need me.”

o “Be your best at what you are best. This is why you are a leader.”

o “A visionary leader sees what others don’t see. However, a leader must see what and how others see, otherwise he or she is disconnected from them.”

o “If you set metrics not supported by values, people won’t commit to the vision. Without metrics that resonate in minds and hearts, people will only feign commitment and enthusiasm.”

o “A compelling leadership vision is a strong emotion in itsxelf. It makes people passionate. These emotions drive people to put themselves through anything uncomfortable and challenging to executing a vision.”

Who will derive the greatest benefit from reading The Fisherman’s Path to Leadership? First, I recommend this book to those now preparing for a career in business or have only recently embarked upon one. With or without a formal title, they need to know how to avoid limits on their opportunities that are self-imposed. I also highly recommend this book to executives who have direct reports entrusted to their care.  None of these insights is a headsnapper but all are eminently sensible and frequently underappreciated. Their value as reminders is incalculable.

Let’s give Oleg Konovalov the last word:

“Fishing is a labor of love. Leadership is a labor of love. Love and care are my tackle to catch people’s hearts and minds.”

* * *

In school, college, and then graduate school, I learned more and learned it faster when I discussed material in a group with 3-5 others taking the same course. I also recorded key Q&As on 3×5 file cards (based on course material, whatever the subject) with a Q on one side and the A on the other, held together by a thick rubber band. I carried them with me and reviewed the content whenever I had a few minutes to kill.

Here are two other suggestions to keep in mind while reading The Fisherman’s Path to Leadership: Highlight key passages, and, record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and lessons you have learned as well as your responses to key points posed within the narrative. Also record your responses to specific questions posed, especially at the conclusion of chapters: “Lessons Learned.”.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.