Recommended Read - Principle Centered Leadership

One of the great things about being a consultant is that you are constantly learning new things, especially if you're a technology consultant. If you like to read like I do, then ever better.

There are A LOT of business books out there, and I've read a ton of them. Probably the most impactful business book I've ever read is "Principle Centered Leadership" by Steven Covey. He's the same guy that wrote the very popular "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (also very good). There are a few key concepts that really changed the way I do business, and caused a remarkable growth and satisfaction in how I ran my consulting practice:

1. The abundance mentality: You don't have to fight over every scrap with everyone, there is enough to go around and if you focus on finding those opportunities and give great service, there will always be enough.

2. Building Trust is Key: The key to running a successful business is building trust. And trust has to be earned - with great service, going the extra mile, and doing the right thing, even if it's not the easy thing

3. Human Resource Accounting: In technology especially, we forget that the most important part of any project, process, company, etc. is the people. Take care of people, and they'll take care of you.

There are numerous other great points, and there's just no way I could cover them all in a single blog, so there's something to wet your whistle and hopefully motivate you to pick up a copy. I just looked on Amazon.com and there were new copies of the book for under $5.00.

Until next time...