Fierce Leadership Introduction (Post #1)

This week I'll review Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the worst “Best” Practices of Business Today by Susan Scott (Broadway Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group: 2009)

My personal admission: I’m in love with Susan Scott—leadership love, that is. I have long been a huge fan of Susan Scott, who also wrote Fierce Conversations, which has been reviewed on this site previously. Scott’s basic philosophy is to speak the truth to people in a sincere and direct conversation, face to face. Her new book, Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst “Best” Practices of Business Today, extends her reach more deeply into companies and organizations. For example, she thinks the anonymity of 360s should be replaced with a 365-day-a-year feedback mechanism—which would make 360s unnecessary and obsolete. One technique to figure out if long term “best practices” are even still relevant is what she calls “squid eye” but what I would call “poker eye.” Any skilled poker player knows how to look for “tells” or subtle behavioral changes in his/her opponents, giving a clue to what cards they are holding. In other words, the nonverbal behavior tells the real truth, as opposed to the oral bluff of, “I raise you fifty.” This week, I’ll review Scott’s new book based on her 6 Fierce Practices. Buy copies of this book, use it as an excellent “corporate read,” and discuss it in depth at every employee meeting—it just might change your culture from good to great.