Leadership and Reading

As the saying goes: Not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers. Plain and simple. Often we meet "ultimate managers" who believe they are leaders, but their actions speak louder than words. Their power exists purely due to history, nepotism, or position and people in these situations often feel threatened when real leadership is in their presence.

True leaders hunger for change and continuous improvement. In the information age the old saying, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" has been antiquated. To survive and thrive in the information age a new axiom holds true: if it ain't broke, let's break it and make it better!

Unfortunately, Alticor has no intention (let alone hunger) to improve their broken business model. This is obvious in their unprofessional approach and publication regarding the most successful community building organization in Quixtar's history (please reference the Alticor article, "Just Go Team" (see link: http://media.alticorblogs.com/2007/08/10/just-go-team). I am personally embarrassed for Alticor for choosing to publish such an unprofessional, finger-pointing rant. This is the official statement from a billion dollar company?! I could never imagine the likes of GM or GE posting such an unprofessional article. Instead of accepting responsibility for their negative reputation and uncompetitive product prices they turned to gossip and lies.

If the referenced article is too long winded to handle, the following Dilbert (by Scott Adams) cartoon summarizes Alticor's thinking and future business strategy in a nutshell.



Maybe Alticor should try reading some leadership books to enhance their thinking. And, oh - by the way - the book authored by Orrin Woodward & Chris Brady (Launching a Leadership Revolution) debuted this week on the New York Times best selling business book list at number 12! (See link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/books/bestseller/200711besthardbusiness.html?ex=1194930000&en=abf2b301375bad67&ei=5070&emc=eta1) As if that weren't enough, LLR is currently #1 of the Wall Street Journal's best seller list for business! It would be wise for the managers within Alticor to pick up this book and hopefully learn some lessons from the leadership team they just fired.