The Secret

I'm currently reading an excellent book by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller; It is called The Secret -- What Great Leaders Know and Do. The book was written to help you explore five fundamental ways that leaders lead through service. "The Secret" is a message about leadership woven into a story of a leader struggling with her team's performance. When she applies for the Company mentor program, she is paired with the Company President, who imparts some simple, but powerful wisdom about what great leaders do. There are hundreds of good books on leadership, but some of the best are those which take advantage of application opportunity and relay the concepts within a storyline that demonstrates how they are applied. This book does a credible job of that, although the story is at times a bit engineered. The essential message is the SERVE model of leadership:

• See the Future
• Engage and Develop Others
• Reinvent Continuously
• Value Results and Relationships
• Embody the Values
Although a little simplistic in it's storyline, the SERVE model is easy to understand and put into practice. Mark Miller, the co-author of the book has been a successful executive with Chick-fil-A. If one looks at the success of Chick-fil-A, who wouldn't want to know their secret? I would encourage you to buy the book and learn how to implement "the secret" of being a great leader.