Alan Mulally

Former CEO at Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airplanes, member of the Board of Directors at Google (now Alphabet), Carbon 3D, and the Mayo Clinic

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Book Recommendations:

Recommended by Alan Mulally

Dan Pontefract's Work-Life Bloom recognizes how my 'Working Together' leadership, management system, and its connected culture of love by design contributes to one's integrated life and life's work of service, which is one's love made visible. Great job, Dan! (from Amazon)

THINKERS50 BEST MANAGEMENT BOOKS FOR 2024 GOLD MEDAL WINNER – 2024 AXIOM BUSINESS BOOKS AWARD – LEADERSHIP CATEGORY "Work-life balance" isn't making anyone happy. In fact, our relentless attempts to achieve this goal have created workplaces full of stress, discontent, and burnout. While this workplace disillusionment has been brewing for years, the pandemic helped catalyze a cultural shift of workers redefining themselves beyond what they do for a living. Now, it's time for you to rethink your role as a leader in the nexus of work and life. In Work-Life Bloom: How to Nurture a Team That Flourishes, award-winning author Dan Pontefract contends that a thriving workplace isn't about employee engagement levels, nor is it predicated on your team members bringing their "best selves" to work. Instead, it requires you to support the people you manage so they can be their best in work and life. Just as a flower needs the right mix of sunlight, water, and nutrients to grow, your people need the right mix of work-life factors to create a fulfilling and harmonious existence. Pontefract introduces a new leadership paradigm focused on twelve key work-life factors that determine whether your team members' gardens are able to grow. Drawing upon primary global research, interviews, and personal experiences, Pontefract delivers a timely blueprint for leaders to cultivate work-life ecosystems where individuals don't just survive—they bloom.

Recommended by Alan Mulally

In this book, Will Guidara shows us how to lead and to serve at the next level by building a foundation of hospitality, and creating a people-first “working together” culture. It’s an inspiring book for businesses in every industry. (from Amazon)

The must-read New York Times bestseller that's redefining hospitality and inspiring readers in every industry. - Featured in FX's The Bear and Showtime's Billions - JP Morgan NextList Pick Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world. How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room—and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. Guidara’s team surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip to Central Park after their dinner; they filled a private dining room with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple with a cancelled vacation. And his hospitality extended beyond those dining at the restaurant to his own team, who learned to deliver praise and criticism with intention; why the answer to some of the most pernicious business dilemmas is to give more—not less; and the magic that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner. Today, every business can choose to be a hospitality business—and we can all transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences. Featuring sparkling stories of his journey through restaurants, with the industry’s most famous players like Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer, Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do—for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.

Recommended by Alan Mulally

I’ve been a friend and mentor of Jennifer’s since 2020, when she approached and asked me to help her apply principles of my ‘Working Together© Leadership and Management System and Culture of Love by Design’ at Linkage. I was privileged to be a part of helping the organization navigate the challenges of COVID-19 and emerge stronger on the other side. This book provides a glimpse at the brainpower (and heart-power) of the woman at the helm of that turnaround. (from Amazon)

Based on 25 years of research into the specific hurdles facing women in business, In Her Own Voice offers sage advice and empowerment for any woman striving to advance her career—and any organization ready to improve gender equity at every level. The world has awakened to the urgent need to focus on women’s advancement—companies with gender-balanced leadership are far more likely to outperform their peers, and the evolving expectations of leadership align to women’s natural strengths. Yet just 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and less than 30 percent of senior leaders are women, and the pace of growth is shockingly slow, made worse by COVID-19 and its aftermath. What does it take for women to ascend to the highest levels of leadership? In Her Own Voice from Jennifer McCollum, CEO of Linkage, a global leadership development firm, sheds light on this timely topic. Backed by in-depth and enlightening research, this book examines the specific challenges women still face in the workplace. Whether we’re contending with our own inner critic, being expected to prove our value time and again, or navigating the often-intimidating world of negotiating for ourselves, women today still have unique obstacles as we advance our careers—but they need not become roadblocks. In Her Own Voice outlines how readers can overcome these obstacles, with key competencies and action steps such as quieting your inner critic, discarding biases, building confidence, gaining clarity about the future, and more. Supported by data and infused with compelling real-life stories, it’s a blueprint for helping readers identify, measure, and conquer what’s holding women back at any stage of their careers.

Recommended by Alan Mulally

If I had to name the secret ingredient to the success I’ve enjoyed in my career, I would say that it all boils down to a commitment to self-awareness. In this groundbreaking and thought-provoking book, Tasha Eurich shows how we can all seize that single greatest opportunity for continuous growth, improvement, and performance. It’s the book I wish I’d had when starting out in business and the book I’d recommend to anyone who wants to cultivate the kind of self-knowledge that is the bedrock of personal and professional success. Very insightful indeed! (from Amazon)

Learn how to develop self-awareness and use it to become more fulfilled, confident, and successful. Most people feel like they know themselves pretty well. But what if you could know yourself just a little bit better—and with this small improvement, get a big payoff…not just in your career, but in your life? Research shows that self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—is the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. There’s just one problem: most people don’t see themselves quite as clearly as they could. Fortunately, reveals organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, self-awareness is a surprisingly developable skill. Integrating hundreds of studies with her own research and work in the Fortune 500 world, she shows us what it reallytakes to better understand ourselves on the inside—and how to get others to tell us the honest truth about how we come across. Through stories of people who have made dramatic gains in self-awareness, she offers surprising secrets, techniques and strategies to help you do the same—and how to use this insight to be more fulfilled, confident, and successful in life and in work. In Insight, you'll learn: • The 7 types of self-knowledge that self-aware people possess. • The 2 biggest invisible roadblocks to self-awareness. • Why approaches like therapy and journaling don't always lead to true insight • How to stop your confidence-killing habits and learn to love who you are. • How to benefit from mindfulness without uttering a single mantra. • Why other people don’t tell you the truth about yourself—and how to find out what they really think. • How to deepen your insight into your passions, gifts, and the blind spots that could be holding you back. • How to hear critical feedback without losing your mojo. • Why the people with the most power can often be the least-self-aware, and how smart leaders avoid this trap. • The 3 building blocks for self-aware teams. • How to deal with delusional bosses, clients, and coworkers.