Reviewer Michelle Kaye Malsbury:
Michelle was born in Champaign, IL. Currently, she resides in Asheville, NC
and is in her second year of doctoral studies at Nova Southeastern
University in Ft. Lauderdale with specialization/concentration in
conflict resolution and peace studies. She has over six hundred
articles published on the web and one book published thus far with
many more in the wings. Hobbies include; reading, writing, music, and
playing with her Australian Cattle Dog, Abu.
Authors: Omar Khan with Paul Brown
Wiley and Sons Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-470823-13-2
The universal thought is how to make it happen! It being passion! The roadmap is provided in this enlightening and well written book.
Authors: Omar Khan with Paul Brown
Wiley and Sons Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-470823-13-2
Omar Khan, author of Liberating Passion, is a graduate of Oxford and Stanford Law School. (2009, back cover) He has written two previous books and numerous articles. (Synergy,Timeless Leadership) He has lived and spoken all over the world on the topics of business and leadership. Currently, he and his wife live in New York City.
Paul Brown, who contributed to Mr. Kahn’s book Liberating Passion, is a graduate of Rutgers University and Rutgers Law School. (2009, back cover) Mr. Brown previously wrote and edited for BusinessWeek, Financial World, and Forbes. He writes a regular column for the New York Times and has authored over a dozen books. He and his wife share time between Cape Cod Bay and New York City.
There has been much written on the topic of leadership, but according to Khan and Brown there is a single thing missing from those writings and that single thing is passion. (2009, p.1) They write that “….passion will amplify your energy….” And that passion is the solution to success in whatever you do. (p.2) In order to unravel your passion one must comprehend the roles and goals of the organization: company culture. (p.3) Determining whether those goals and roles are aligned means using feedback regularly. Feedback is what gives a leader credibility and authenticity. (p.4-5) Feedback can come in a variety of forms from forming “listening posts” (p.19) to performance reviews, but is critical to improving quality and sustaining change.
They say that (2009, p.29) intimacy is needed to inspire passion. It is this intimacy that connects people in groups or teams and provides us with a sense of belonging. Honesty is an important ingredient in being intimate. Honesty and intimacy in our relationships gives us credibility and lets others know what we care about. (p.32)
The next thing Khan talks about is called the “bulls eye” and the bulls eye is actually the organizational vision. (2009, p.44) Khan says that “Visions come from strategic insights.” Once the vision is defined you can begin placing the building blocks on the foundation and determining who is going to be doing what. When the resources have been allocated and the work divvied up you can then pick the relevant metrics will be used for measuring whether that vision is being achieved or not. Doing this right means being clear and letting everyone know what is “valued and will be measured and rewarded.” (p.57)
Obstacles to creativity and inspiration are: denial or fear of sharing ourselves with another (2009, p.69), and defensiveness or “counter attacking” (p.70) others when thoughts and feelings are not shared. When we overcome those two barriers we find ourselves in the curiosity stage or “openness” stage (p.71) where we are “willing to re-invent the status quo” and become more than we were alone. In this stage …”We are open to all that happens, we accept and share our feelings, and we continue to be a prism through which possibility can shine.” (p.82) Here we are confident, imaginative, and open to infinite possibilities.
The authors say that if organizations want to move ahead they must do three things at the same time: (2009, p.89) “let go of the past, improve the present, and create the future.” They offers the following hints for doing so. (p.96) “….look at the most pressing challenges that are keeping us stuck….describe an audacious future in which problems are gone or transcended….the opportunities realized are reeled in.” The key to achieving success in this endeavor is hinged on realizing that the future you want is already here. (p.98)
Accountability according to the authors is (2009, p.107) understanding what has to be done, why it should be done, and how to make it happen. Doing this logically means clarifying the strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and the threats (p.112, but also designating who the stakeholders are. Good leaders will (p.164) “…help people build on their strengths…..encourage them to fortify their weaknesses…”.
Khan and Brown round the book out with how to surpass our egos and being able to visualize what success looks like. (2009, p.178-80) There are tips for individuals and organizations. The universal thought is how to make it happen! It being passion! The roadmap is provided in this enlightening and well written book.