Reviews of three books on leading breakthrough performance for the C-suite:
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. The Penguin Group, 2005.
“Then I look at my business today, I realize one of the biggest challenges I have is combating complacency. I always say we’re running Patagonia as if it’s going to be here 100 years from now, but that doesn’t mean we have 100 years to get there! Our success and longevity lie in our ability to change quickly. Continuous change and innovation require maintaining a sense of urgency—a tall order, especially in Patagonia’s seemingly laid-back corporate culture. In fact, one of the biggest mandates I have for managers at the company is to instigate change. It’s the only way we’re going to survive in the long run.”
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp, founder of Twyla Tharp Dance. Simon & Schuster, 2003.
“The wonderful and scary thing about solving creative problems is that there isn’t one right answer. There are a thousand possible answers, but the valuable and practical thing to do is fix the things you know how to fix. That’s why a failure of skill is unforgiveable: If you don’t have the broad base of skills, you’re limiting the number of problems you can solve when trouble hits.”
The Winner Within: A Life Plan for Team Players by Pat Riley, former NBA coach and president of the Miami Heat. Berkley Books, 1993.
“Hav[ing] a sense of mission that reaches beyond the present defines the final steps to individual and team significance. That means going beyond simply being the best, going so far that you leave footprints.”
