Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders

Gardening is a good time to think and I just finished a couple of hours. Of course thinking and reaching conclusions are not the same thing. Some of my thoughts:

Gardening is a poor hobby for someone with hayfever (like me)

It is a strange world we live in where people need to go to the gym to get exercise then they pay their gardener.

Any problems I feel are ridiculous and not really problems. Like do I harvest leeks. Or which book do I review. Do I run 3 miles or 5 later today.

Any perception of pressure is of my own making.

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I notice the well established row of parsnips (planted last year and overwintered) and even the asparagus is so vital that there are no weeds. The vegetable chokes out the weeds. In the newly planted sections, the weeds dominate.

I found in my life I worked very hard when I was young. I became established. This has made my life very easy now.

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I read a book by Rajeev Peshawaria called "Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders - The Three Essential Principles You Need to Become an Extraordinary Leader."

The introduction starts with the gripping story of Ghandi's life and how he mobilized a nation despite lacking any position, title or money.

One of the most important points Peshawaria makes is leaders who have the right purpose have true power and become great leaders. And a hint - true purpose is not about money, fame or power.

This purpose ties into his first essential principal and that is "energize yourself". Clearly knowing your purpose (which starts with understanding your values) is the first step to being energized.

The 2nd and 3rd essentials are "Craft your core of co-leaders and energize them" and "Energize the whole organization".

Leadership is about energizing. "Leadership is the art of harnessing human energy toward the creation of a better future".

He talks about 3 parts of the organization - Brains, Bones and Nerves. Each of which need to function well for an organization to be strong.

The Brains is the setting direction part - vision, strategy, unique capabilities and a widespread understanding of those.

Bones are the execution - actually getting it done. This is about process, structure, quality of talent, resource allocation etc.

Nerves are the culture - leadership quality, short/long term focus, learning and renewal.

He talks about these 3 key parts and how to strengthen each.

As with any good book, he illustrates each point with true life stories like Tell to Win speaks about.