BOOK BRIEFS
Appearing each issue, Book Briefs lets LTEN members share tips and takeaways from their favorite business books. Hopefully you’ll find inspiration and recommendations for your professional library.
Reading a training-compatible book that you’d like to share with your LTEN colleagues? Reach out to us at editor@L-TEN.org and we’ll help you provide a Book Brief!
Author: Brian Gottlieb
Published: Sept. 10, 2024
For more information, click here.
Quote: “Simply put, a team that consistently executes at a high level will win in any market, with any product or service, regardless of the competitive landscape. What are the steps to developing a highperforming organization? How do managers get out of crisis mode so they can effectively lead their team? If I wanted to build a business, I had to start by building people.”
Brian Gottlieb
Book briefed by Greg Adamson
Brian Gottlieb’s new book, “Beyond the Hammer: A Fresh Approach to Leadership, Culture, and Building High Performance Teams,” had me hooked on page one. That’s when Gottlieb lays out the premise of the book:
“To tolerate inconsistency and chaos is to normalize it. If left unattended, the business’s ability to execute will suffer, and so will its culture. This is because the culture of a business is shaped by the lowest level of accepted behavior.”
The book has two distinct parts: Part one is a fable about George, who owns a fledgling contracting company he inherited from his father. The business experienced burnt-out employees, high turnover and frustrated customers. In part two, the narrative shifts to an actional blueprint for implementing five strategic leadership pillars.
Spoiler alert: George rights the ship and salvages his business, but only after a mentor (Marty) extends guidance by having George shadow him through his own business and shares lessons learned throughout his life.
This pillar included takeaways for helping team members who are experiencing fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), including five ways to activate belief:
Remember that negative voices are louder than positive ones. Humans universally hear criticism louder than they hear praise. The term is known as positive-negative asymmetry.
Make your belief evidence based. Call out precise examples of why you believe in them versus general “I believe in you” platitudes.
Remember to read the room. The whispers of FUD that live in people’s heads can truly be drowned out by a leader’s louder voice of positivity.
Belief is transferable beyond title and position. When individuals are not aligned around a shared team purpose, it’s easy for negativity and interpersonal conflicts to creep in.
Try to share feedback using a center and a sphere. When we offer feedback, we want our teammates to know: 1) why we believe in them, 2) what they need to work on and 3) why we’re confident that they can successfully incorporate the feedback. Numbers one and three are the sphere; number two is the center (action required).
Gottlieb identified five ways to shape company culture with purpose and direction:
Start with onboarding. This is one we can all relate to.
Create an awards program. My favorite quote in the book was, “Unlike a top sales award, nothing says you have to limit the number of recipients when publicly recognizing behaviors that reinforce your mission and vision.”
Weave the mission into your conversations.
Review team members according to the vision statement.
Use cause marketing to develop culture. Team members feel inspired when they perceive that they are part of the greater purpose of an organization, regardless of their role.
A recent U.S study found more than 60% of employees have left a job because of their direct supervisor. Therefore, words matter. Gottleib terms it “echoes that build” and reminds us of the echo from:
Being immaculate with your words.
Staying present.
Body language.
Clarity.
Intent.
Gottlieb uses a term that we use at Olympus: Training is a process not an event.
It is common for us to have a checklist for a new hire and their field trainer. But how about our sales managers, especially new, first-time sales managers? This chapter brought it home as he clarifies 10 practices of top-performing managers:
Effective coaching and mentoring.
Leading with a team vision statement.
Practicing empowerment.
Communicating effectively.
Ensuring key performance indicators are focused and accountable.
Discussing performance and career development.
Keeping a learning mindset.
Collaborating with other business units.
Embracing continuous process improvement.
Praising performance publicly.
That’s a lofty list and is only a small portion of the book’s final chapter.
If you are responsible for leading your managers’ onboarding and ongoing training, I highly recommend a copy of this book to offer straight-forward guidance and practical tips on being a leader within your organization.
Greg Adamson is immediate past president of the LTEN Board of Directors and executive director, sales training, for Olympus Americas. You can reach Greg via email at greg.adamson@olympus.com or through linkedin.com/in/greg-adamson-9b85ba7.
