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SWAT - Seize The Accomplishment [REVIEW]

My good friend, Timothy Johnson, is releasing his third book today. And it's really good.

SWAT - Seize The Accomplishment

If you are a fan of a compelling story, with twists and conflict, that teaches you something throughout - you will love this book. I read it in one sitting. But I've been thinking about it all day.

I was connected to the story immediately. A young and witty manager who has to overcome a Call Center crisis in the midst of unsupportive leadership. And his best resource is his observation and interaction with the local area S.W.A.T. team. 

I have always enjoyed learning best practices through a well-told story that contains many teachable moments. That's why books by authors like Patrick Lencioni and Steve Farber have always been ones I pick up quickly. I would like to introduce you to another fantastic author that I will add to that list - Timothy Johnson.

Without giving it all away, here's some of what I learned (and will continue to learn about) through SWAT:

1. "Consistent where critical. Variable where valued."
2. Systems thinking helps you and everyone on your team better understand the process and what's expected.
3. Drawing a flowchart is more than just a futile exercise, it actually helps you think through important next steps.
4. Clear communication is vital for everyone to be on the same page.
5. How to properly prepare yourself to fire a sidearm.
6. The steps that a S.W.A.T. team uses to infiltrate and secure a building or stronghold.
7. I need to take a better look at the inputs and outputs within my organization.
8. Rona is really mean and probably tore the heads off her Barbie's as a child.

This is the first book that I've read by Timothy Johnson. He's actually written two others that I'm excited to dive into as well:

Race Through The Forest - A Project Management Fable

GUST - The "Tale" Wind Of Office Politics

I'm wishing Tim all of the best on the release of his new book. If you are involved in any type of organization that has to critically look at the flow of information or if you want to develop better systems (or analyze how you look at your systems) I recommend this book to you. Click here to buy it!

One last thing. Throughout the book, each chapter begins with a quote. While many books include quotes at the start of chapters, I felt like these quotes were especially timely and fit well within the context of the story. My favorite quote from the book came at the start of Chapter 8:

"If the first button of one's coat is wrongly buttoned, all the rest will be crooked."
- Giordano Bruno

This book is going to help me and help you make sure that first button is right where it needs to be.

What Matters Now Ebook - Free Download

This is an 82 page eBook with more than 70 contributors. Each one of them have provided one word (along with a short 200 word essay on that word) that they think matters now. Download the PDF file (3 MB) by clicking on the button below.

The Studentlinc Core Leadership Training BOOK Available

It's ready and available for student leaders!

The Studentlinc Core Leadership Training Book is completed.

This has been a slow learning process for me as these lessons have evolved from material that I use to teach and train student leaders into a book that I can put into their hands.

Here's some of the highlights of this release:

1. The lessons were previously written to those who work with and advise student leaders. In the process of creating this book, I've changed the audience and written it directly TO student leaders.

2. The lessons were previously sold as a pdf download on studentlinc for $49.99. The book is actually cheaper (by $20 or almost 50%) and is being sold through Lulu for the price of $29.79. The reason? I want you to be able to put this resource into the hands of your student leaders. I didn't write this material to fund my retirement and I don't want money to get in the way of your students having this. In fact, with Lulu, if you start buying the book in bulk the price goes down!

3. I went with a spiral-bound book. It's 252 pages and I want students to write in it, refer back to it, and work through the questions and action items in each chapter. A spiral-bound book allows you to lay the book flat on the table and is much easier to write in.

Again, I'm pretty excited to get this resource into book form. It's something that your student leaders can work through over an entire student leader year. For a little more information visit the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training page on this site.

Studentlinc Core Leadership Training - New Book Form

Soon! Soon! Soon!

Great news for those of you looking to put practical, easy-to-use student leadership training in the hands of your students. I've recently re-written and re-formatted the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training into an actual book!

The lessons are currently available as a PDF download. But this new format will make it easier for you to work through the lessons with your students. The lessons have also been edited to speak directly to student leaders instead of those who work with student leaders.

The other exciting news is that these books will be made available at a lower cost than the current PDF download. I want to make it easier for you to get as many copies as you need for each of your student leaders. Imagine putting a resource in their hand that you can work through with them for an entire student leadership year.

Stay tuned for more information within the next week about how you can order this resource for your own student leadership development program.

Just Ask Leadership

I received a review copy of Just Ask Leadership by Gary B. Cohen and I've been marking it up since it arrived.

This is more than a book with a lot of good questions in it. It digs a little deeper and helps leaders know WHY asking questions is a good idea. Employees respond better to a well thought out question rather than being told what to do. Cohen offers the reader a guide to "question-based leadership."

The one question that stood out to me from the beginning was this:

What happens if you don't do your job well?

This question got me thinking about what it means to be excellent, what I could do better, and what would happen if I continually failed in my role. All that from one question.

Just Ask Leadership is broken down into five chapters that provide quality questions, as well as, timely examples of the powerful leadership capacity each question tries to elicit.

1. Improve Vision - Gaining insight from all levels of the organization

2. Ensure Accountability - Increasing team and organization-wide performance

3. Build Unity and Cooperation - Creating a culture of trust

4. Create Better Decisions - Getting the right answers by asking the right questions

5. Motivate to Action - Asking for success.

Each chapter begins with a list of the questions covered in that chapter (between 20-30) and then offers a short explanation for each one. I especially appreciated the list of questions for Chapter 4. Cohen breaks down his decision-making questions into three categories: Context (Whose decision is it?), Clarity (How can I avoid getting "wishy-washy" answers?), and Objectivity (We've always done it that way, but why?).

I liked the philosophy behind Cohen's question-based leadership. A leader doesn't ask questions because he or she is always looking for an answer. Rather, leaders asks questions because they "know that questions lead to fresh ideas, committed action, and the creation of a new rank of leaders."

I encourage you to pick up the book. Once you've worked through it, you'll be better equipped to ask, not tell. If you are interested, you can visit this Amazon link: Just Ask Leadership.

Fearless - A Book Review

Max Lucado has provided his readers with another book of inspiration and encouragement with the release of Fearless - Imagine Your Life Without Fear.

The timing of this release is noteworthy. In a season where people are nervous about the economy, wary of the threat of terrorism, and apprehensive about one's own position in life, this book comes to us with some much needed assurance and hope.

The premise of the book is simple: If we trust God more, we can fear less.

Lucado is a master at painting a word picture and making the reader feel like you're sitting down with him in a coffeeshop, listening to his stories and relating your own life circumstances within each narrative. He is adept at connecting appropriate lessons from the lives we encounter in Scripture to the lives we are living today.

In this book, he addresses the fears that people face: fear of not mattering, fear of not protecting my kids, fear of life's final moments, fear of what's next, and many more. Each chapter stands alone and serves as the basis for a great conversation around the specific fear that's addressed. In fact, the book includes a study guide in the back for use in a small group setting.

Published by Thomas Nelson, a portion of the book is available as a small, paperback booklet. It includes portions from five of the chapters and is a great tool to introduce someone to the concepts offered in the complete text.

The Principle Of The Path - Book Review

I listen to Andy Stanley a couple of times a week. He's well-represented on iTunes through his various podcasts. Some of his audio downloads are sermons, some are talks he gives to select groups of people, and some are fantastic leadership podcasts that are practical and applicable the minute you stop listening.

Not only is he a fantastic speaker, but he's a great writer. Perhaps that's because he follows the sage writing advice that simply says to "write like you talk." His conversational style, insightful stories, and practical application that hits you right where you live make this a book that might require you bring two pens because there's so much to underline (you do write in your books don't you? If not, you need to read this).

The Principle of the Path is a book that answers the question: Why am I not where I want to be?

Each and everyone of us is on a certain path; an accumulation of choices, circumstances, and decisions that eventually lead us to the life we have...right now. Like the law of gravity, there are certain principles at work in our life. We don't need to discover them, we only need to realize that they are there and then operate accordingly. That's the way it is with this principle - the principle of the path:

Direction - not intention - determines our destination.

That's the punchline. But you've got to read the book to unpack it and understand how this principle impacts our lives...every...single...day.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is how Andy Stanley goes Old Testament on us. He pulls out nuggets from the classic Wisdom literature in Proverbs. He works through the key issues that prominent OT people like David, Solomon, Jeremiah, and Rehoboam wrestled with as this principle was at work in their own lives. This book isn't simply based on Andy Stanley's ideas. It is written from the wealth of wisdom that we find in pages of Scripture.

Andy also speaks from the breadth of his own experiences, sharing how this principle has affected his own life. You'll immediately relate to his points as you hear his self-depracting stories about his encounters with a closed down highway, or a hurricane while anchored off shore in the St. Thomas, or driving the streets of Florence, Italy where no cars had gone before, or how his life was immediately changed when he met his soon-to-be wife, Sandy. Andy has a way of telling a story.

Yet, with each turn of the page you realize that Andy's story sort of sounds a lot like my story, like our story. And then you start to realize that you might be trying to operate outside of this foundational principle - the principle of the path.

If you're a college student - you should read this book. You have some of the most important decisions ahead of you. This book will help you think about where those decisions will lead you.

As I look back through all of the notes, underlines, asterisks, and arrows pointing to exclamation marks in my copy of The Principle of the Path, there are some points that stand out that you might be interested in as well.

• "It really doesn't matter where I intended to be, the path I take determines my ultimate destination." (p19)
• "The best question ever: 'In light of my past experience, and my future hopes and dreams, what's the wise thing to do?" (p40)
• "Today's decisions create tomorrow's experiences." (p55)
• "We can never be free as long as we're in the habit of lying to ourselves about the reasons behind the choices we make and the paths we take." (p73)
• "Choosing the right path begins with submission, not information...submission to the One who knows where each path leads..." (p83)
• "One never accomplishes the will of God by breaking the law of God, violating the principles of God, or ignoring the wisdom of God." (p113 and I put BIG asterisks by this one)
• "Attention determines direction." (p137)

There is so much more. In fact, at the end of the book is a Study Guide for you and others who are reading the book to work through it together. The Study Guide will help you dissect each chapter by providing the Key Idea, Key Truths, Key Questions, and Key Wisdom (from select passages of Scripture).

My only warning about this book is that it's not a book that you simply read and then move on to the next one. As Andy Stanley states in the Epilogue, "Knowing doesn't make the difference. Doing does." The truths in this book will require careful reflection and evaluation of one's own direction. And that's a good thing.

How Are Your Student Leaders Doing?

I've just revised and updated the eBook - Student Worker or Student Leader.

I WANT you to download this eBook and give it to all of those people you know who are student leaders or who work with student leaders. It is free! It is easy to read! It is useful for your student leadership development right now.

I wrote this eBook because I was struggling with the number of students that were elected or selected to serve in student leadership positions - but they weren't doing anything that even closely resembled leadership. These students thought they were student leaders because they had the nametag, or got to go to the student government meetings, or because they were chosen.

The fact is, they were working (often very hard) but they weren't leading. And as I write on the cover of the eBook:

Most students often confuse being a student worker versus being a student leader. Both are necessary. Yet many consider themselves to be student leaders when in reality, they are mostly a student worker. Do you know the difference?

I worked hard on providing a redesign of this eBook that would make it easy for you to print it off and pass it out to your students. If you are a student leader, I made sure there was plenty of white space for you to write down your thoughts and notes as you work through each one of the differences.

Download Student Leader or Student Worker

What you can expect:

• Have a better understanding of the various roles that both student workers and student leaders play in your organization.
• Know where to put your focus.
• Know when learning to lead becomes more important than your personal best effort.
• Understand why you can't do everything.
• Why you should identify your weaknesses and lead from your strengths.
• 18 easy-to-read pages.
• Challenge to be the leader you were meant to be.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Do you know if you're a student worker or student leader?

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT: After you've downloaded and read the eBook, leave your comments below.

: : : :

Tim Milburn
Student Leadership Speaker & Consultant

If You Wanted To Measure Leadership

...you would read the book, Measure of a Leader.

Here's just a sampling of some of the practical and useful leadership insights I'm writing down:

You receive what you reinforce.

An effective leader celebrates the ordinary.

You don't lead by results, you lead to results; and only behavior will get you there.

Leadership is most obvious (by its presence or absence) in the face of adversity.

If you know the behavior you want you can measure it. And if you can measure it, you can change it.

Haven't read Measure of a Leader yet? I recommend adding it to your list.

Remarkable Leadership - The One Day Buying Bonanza!

Remarkable. Maybe it isn’t a word or concept you think about very often. (If you don’t you really should.) Remarkable is about making a difference. And you can unleash more of your remarkable potential if you have  tools and a plan. There’s a new book that will help you do that. Remarkable  Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a  Time is the latest book from Kevin Eikenberry, and it is outstanding. You may be thinking, that is a leadership book.  If you are, you are right. Even if you  aren’t, that’s OK because the book isn’t just a leadership book. It is a handbook to help you on your personal road towards remarkable. You see, as we become better leaders, we become better humans – coming  closer to the potential within ourselves. Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup  and The Success Principles fame wrote  the foreword of the book and says, "Kevin accurately reminds us that whatever our job  title or position, we are all leaders—and all have the potential to become  truly remarkable. His belief in us and our ultimate success is real and can be  read on every page. This belief is inspiring and empowering—as you read these  pages his belief in you will build your own belief, an important ingredient in  any successful learning journey." Kevin says that his goal is to “help you become a Remarkable Leader by  unleashing the leadership potential that is already inside you.” This is a book that is practical,  inspiring, relevant and real. And today, when you buy a copy you can get more than 50 tools and  gifts from Kevin’s network of experts from around the world – me included - gifts  that make purchasing the book a very easy decision. And if you buy multiple copies – like one for your boss and others you  know – Kevin is offering some even better gifts to you – you definitely will  want to check it out! You can learn more about the book and the special offers if you buy  online today. You wouldn’t be getting this email from me if I didn’t believe in  Kevin and this book – it is a book that, if you apply it, it will change your  results and life in a remarkable way. Still not convinced?  Here are some  comments from people who have already read this book: "An    important book that combines profound simplicity with practical instructions    for leadership greatness.  Buy two copies--one for your desk and    one for your bedside.  Its poignant lessons will bear    fruit at work and at home." - Chip R. Bell, Author of Customer    Loyalty Guaranteed "What    is so remarkable about Remarkable Leadership is that Kevin has found that the    key to being a great leader doesn’t have to come with being a remarkable    person.  His book can take the ordinary and human in all of us and help    us meld ourselves into remarkable leaders.  His book invites all of us    to find what kind of leader we can truly be." - Rusty Rueff, CEO, SNOCAP, Inc "The    best measurement of success is the number of choices available to you. Kevin    Eikenberry in this book infinitely increases those choices for you. Choose to    devour this book. It's Brilliant!" - Jim Canterucci, Author of Personal Brilliance This book is about helping you take action to achieve Remarkable  results.  To take action requires that  you be decisive. Now is one of those times to be decisive.  Do yourself a favor and buy this book today – and  reap gifts and tools as an amazing bonus. <Insert your name and signature> p.s.  When you place your order  you are less than two minutes away from taking advantage of all of these bonuses! p.s.s.  Still not  convinced?  Watch this short movie.  I’ll bet it  makes you smile.