A Reader Writes... (Four Books)

In response to the post, “Four Books,” a reader writes:

“I would love to see the other books that make up the Top 10!”

SC Response
The rest of the top ten list is somewhat fluid and situational. Also, my list is more leadership and system focused. This doesn’t mean that I don’t value books on instruction, I do. I read a lot books on instruction, but they are generally content or grade level specific, which limits their value to the broad spectrum of the profession. So, here are all of the books on my current list of Top Ten books for school leaders.

The First Five (posted previously)

1. Results Now, by Mike Schmoker.

2. Corp Business, by David H. Freedman.

3. Good to Great, by Jim Collins.

4. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.

5. Classroom Instruction That Works, by Robert Marzano.

The Best of the Rest (6-10)

6. The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, by Michael Fullan.
You actually should read everything that Fullan writes, but if time is a factor, this is the one to start with. I do have one small problem with Fullan. He’s too smart. He understands the nuances that drive expert leadership and does a world class job of explaining this (perhaps better than anyone). Unfortunately, the smart/lazy manager type can use Fullan as justification for their repeatedly inane actions (or inaction).

7. How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins.
Yes, it is a business book, but Collins lays out the doom loop that district after district is currently stuck in. Fortunately, he tells us how to get out of the loop and even prevent it. Unfortunately, most senior leadership doesn’t care and isn’t listening.

8. Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
The modern classic. I only appreciated it after I read it the second time. First, you have to have tried to manage significant organizational change for the first time and made a mess of it; than you are ready understand what Dr. Johnson is really teaching us.

9. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell.
Maxwell is a former pastor. He writes about church leadership. In many ways, church leadership is a better model for school leaders than business leadership. Violate the Irrefutable Laws at the peril of your organization and you career.

10. Slot number ten is filled by a number of books, that depending on my mood, interest, or need of the person I’m working with, that I might recommend. Some of those books include:

33 Strategies of War, by Robert Greene for strategic and tactical planning.

The Federalist Papers, by Hamilton, Madison and Jay. If you are trying to lead an organization of more than three people who have competing self interests, you might find this worth reading.

It’s Called Work for a Reason, by Larry Wingate. Admittedly a pulp book. But sometimes we have to get over ourselves, cut thru the BS and admit that we have a job to do and how hard we tried doesn’t matter if we’re not successful. Just looking at the title ought to give you a little boost when the going gets tough.

His Excellency, by Joseph J. Ellis. Think you have leadership all figured out? If this study of George Washington doesn’t convince otherwise, you must be pretty darn good.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Cain Notes (As Named By Others)

Cain Notes were not named by me, it was an underground name that an AP said out loud one time and it stuck.

I read a lot. Not quite as much as I used to, but still much more than the typical educator. I can’t help myself, if it has words on it and I have 2 seconds, I’ll read it. When I was a teacher and an assistant principal, I assumed that everyone read at least as much as I did and I had no compelling reason to check to see if my assumption was correct.

When I became a Principal, I found out I was wrong. My first response was to suggest, beg, plead and chastise my staff into reading more. That worked a little (or at least they learned that if they nodded their heads “yes,” I would move on to the next topic). But, as I hired new staff I found out that waiting for them to catch up with the specific knowledge base of the existing staff took too long. So, I started typing up my book notes and commentary to use as a training tool. That way they would have an idea about what we were talking about until they had a chance to read the book.

ALWAYS READ THE BOOK.

As my staff got promoted and went to other schools, some of them would ask that I keep them in the Cain Note loop. Not a problem.

When I began working with struggling schools across the State of Texas, I dusted off the Cain Notes. When a particular book was a good fit for the problems that a campus was facing, I’d leave the notes, to prime the pump for a campus-wide book study. Some principals didn’t care, some found the notes useful.

Now I am posting the notes on the Lead Your School consulting website, just in case other school leaders might find the notes useful. I’ll put a 1 to 3 up each month. Here is all that I ask:

READ THE BOOK.

1. The notes are based on what I think is important from the book. They are not a replacement for the book.


2. Let me know what you think. Did you like the book? Were the notes helpful? Was I on the track or did I miss the boat?

Currently, I have notes for the following books posted:

• Corp Business, by David H. Freedman
• Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• Environments for Learning, by Eric Jensen
• Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

You can get to the notes by clicking on the following link, www.leadyourschool.com/Cain_Notes.html

Or, on the left side of this page, click on “Sean’s Book Notes.”

Did I mention, that you should read the book?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...