Good People

Anthony Tjan has written an inspirational and informative book about goodness. Good People is a practical book. Tjan has developed a framework that identifies the elements of what makes for a good person. He then describes in depth the practices that will allow an individual to deepen goodness within self and facilitate its development in others. He also makes the case for why goodness is critical to the health and success of society, businesses, organizations, teams, families, and individuals. He argues that the key focus of leaders is to help self and others become the fullest and truest versions of themselves. This is a book for anyone committed to being a good person. The volume will especially be useful to leaders and those responsible for the development of others, such as managers, mentors, teachers, counselors, parents, etc. Tjan makes the case, with real-life examples to support his argument, for why making the choice to be a good person is the key to transformative leadership.

Lead Yourself First

Lead Yourself First by Raymond M. Kethledge and Michael S. Erwin is a series of stories illustrating how contemporary and historical leaders have used solitude to achieve clarity of thought, tap into intuitive insights, spark creativity, achieve emotional balance, bolster moral courage, and more. The leader profiles make for interesting reading. This is not a “how-to” book, though. Only in the last few pages are specific recommendations given for how to carve out alone time for focused thinking. Rather, the book’s focus is to make a case for the importance of solitude to leadership by illustrating the role of solitude in key decisions and actions taken by leaders in politics, business, the military, academia, not-for-profits, religion, activism, and other arenas. The writing is engaging, the stories illustrative, and the lessons informative.