Three must read books for our new leaders

One is about change, the other teaches how to structure your first 100 days and the third one, written by one of my favourite authors, tells you, in an engaging and inspirational manner what leadership is all about.  All of them are written in a style that I love: accessible, full of stories and case […]

One is about change, the other teaches how to structure your first 100 days and the third one, written by one of my favourite authors, tells you, in an engaging and inspirational manner what leadership is all about.  All of them are written in a style that I love: accessible, full of stories and case studies and written by people who know what they’re doing.
The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Get Immediate Results
“The 100 day action plan is as others have described it – most of the content is obvious once you read it,” W. Wise wrote in his review of the book. “The great part about this book is that it makes you actually sit down and think about it, and it structures your thinking process. Could you come up with some of these items and ideas on your own? Absolutely – eventually. I’m happy to pay the price for a tool that helps me organize my thoughts, gives me a structure of ideas to think through, and makes me really analyze what I want, why I want it, and a plan to obtain it. I definitely recommend this book to those who are interviewing for a new position as a leader, even if you have already been a leader before. It will help you articulate your thoughts, reasoning, goals and objectives in a more concise manner. Well done!”
I agree with Wise.  The New Leader’s 100 – Day Action Plan helps executives develop and deliver.
Here’s a dive into the book.  It espouses three main ideas are:
“1. Get a head start before the start. Day One is a critical pivot point for people joining from outside the company. The same is true for the formal announcement of someone getting promoted from within. In both situations, you can accelerate progress by getting a head start and hitting the ground running. A little early momentum goes a long way.
“2. Take control of your message. Everything communicates. People read things into everything you say  and do, and everything you don ’ t say and don ’ t do. Thus you ’ re far better off choosing and controlling what they see and hear, and when they see and hear  it, than letting others make those choices for you, or letting them happen by chance.
“3. Build a high – performing team. The first 100 days are the best time to put in place the basic building blocks of a high – performing team. You will fail if you try to do everything yourself, without the support and buy – in of your team. As a team leader, your own success is inextricably linked to the success of the team as a whole.”
The authors also give you downloadable templates and other tools, so that you don’t have to start from scratch and can hit the ground running.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
“The Heath brothers (coauthors of Made to Stick) address motivating employees, family members, and ourselves in their analysis of why we too often fear change,” wrote Publishers Weekly in its review of the book. “Change is not inherently frightening,” it continued, “but our ability to alter our habits can be complicated by the disjunction between our rational and irrational minds: the self that wants to be swimsuit-season ready and the self that acquiesces to another slice of cake anyway. The trick is to find the balance between our powerful drives and our reason. The authors’ lessons are backed up by anecdotes that deal with such things as new methods used to reform abusive parents, the revitalization of a dying South Dakota town, and the rebranding of megastore Target. Through these lively examples, the Heaths speak energetically and encouragingly on how to modify our behaviors and businesses. This clever discussion is an entertaining and educational must-read for executives and for ordinary citizens looking to get out of a rut.”
Switch is one of the bestsellers on Amazon.com.  Written in the tradition of Gladwell’s Tipping Point, when you start reading it, you simply can’t stop.  
“Chip and Dan Heath have once again summoned a lively writing style to present a series of compelling insights that make this book even more interesting as well as more valuable than its predecessor, Made to Stick,” Robert Morris wrote. “As they explain in the first chapter, ‘In this book, we argue that successful changes share a common pattern. They require the leader of change to do three things at once: To change someone’s behavior, you’ve got to change that person’s situation…[to cope with the fact that change] is hard because people wear themselves out. And that’s the second surprise about change: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion…If you want people to change, you must provide crystal clear direction [because what] looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.’ Throughout, the Heaths work within a narrative, best viewed as a “three-part framework,” as they provide countless real-world (as opposed to hypothetical or theoretical] examples and – to their great credit – also provide a context or frame-of-reference for each.”
My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence
One of my favourite books of all time.  This book was written by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum.  Prince Alkutu wrote: “This book is filled with the wisdom of leadership. You won’t believe the level of insight of Sheikh Mohmammed Maktoum.”  Out of the three, if you’re going to read only one, it should be this one.