Learning From Heroes, a short essay in the March, 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review may explain why some of us have become less enamored with "how to" business books. Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, principals of 800-CEO-Read, point out that there are five recurring challenges in business and life: (1) we wander without knowing where we are going; (2) data and circumstances confuse us; (3) fear blocks us from acting; (4) change paralyzes us; and (5) despite our best intentions, we talk more than we listen. The authors work at a large business book seller with a mission similar to that of this blog - namely to get business leaders to read the good stuff - have also written, "The Best 100 Business Books of All Time." They report from a review of business books published in the last 30 years that these same challenges appear repeatedly and the solutions also are repeated again and again: "find a clear purpose; be aware that past experience and a mass of information can interfere with wise decisions; maintain a bias toward action; be open to change; and seek feedback."
These simple lessons may be studied and the authors lauded. But so often this wisdom is ignored, not absorbed, or not implemented because the executive has a personality and character that makes it difficult or impossible. A stubborn boss rarely changes. A leader unable to expand his a narrow focus on quarterly profits seldom leads to a flourishing enterprise.
My bottom line--although insufficient by themselves, appropriate personal qualities such as humility, courage, and decisiveness are essential for success as a health care leader. They cannot be transferred from a book to one's personality.
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