Rating: 
Summary: Throughly Enjoyed the Book
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the message clear and understandable, as well as applicable to my job. The countless interviews with true leaders of winning companies were especially interesting and informative. I got dozens of ideas for my job from the book and have started to implement them just as the book suggested. Sometimes I have found management discussions abstract, vague, theoretical or not directly applicable; but this one was just the opposite: clear, focused, practical and right on target. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Reved on hype
Review: Mr Tichy's book has a catchy title and an interesting cover. It also has..no, that's about all it has. Books containing anecdotes about leadership always run into the problem of being unoriginal. The combustable metaphor cannot save this book from being quite pedestrian. Try 'the art of leadership' if you want a book that hits quick and leaves a scar of wisdom
Rating: 
Summary: They Can, They Do, They Teach
Review: Noel Tichy's "The Leadership Engine" is a practical and easy to read book on leadership. His research is exhaustive and well documented; there are sixty pages of notes and bibliographic citations. Tichy's central theme is that winning companies possess a "Leadership Engine" that produces dynamic leaders at every level within the organization. He argues forcefully that winning is about leadership and that leadership is the key trait that distinguishes winners from losers. He defines winning as success in adding value, coupled with sustained excellence. For a company or organization to be successful it must have outstanding leaders at every level. In order to have those dynamic leaders at every level, the organization itself must systematically produce them. Tichy insists that learning, teaching, and leading are intertwined and admits he is a proponent of transformational leadership theory. Elements of this theory are clearly evident throughout his book. Tichy is also resolute in his belief that leading IS teaching-"they can, they do, they teach"-this point is driven home numerous times throughout his book(1). Winning organizations are teaching organizations. Successful organizations have proven leaders who are both teachers and avid learners themselves. The author emphasizes on numerous occasions that leaders must have a teachable point of view and must create teachable moments for the right kind of learning to occur-the kind that transforms an organization. A leader's "teachable point of view" is a trinitarian view composed of: a) ideas, b) values, and c) emotional energy and edge(2). Ideas are the substance of learning and good ideas are teachable. Tichy uses numerous real life examples from the business world and even the military to highlight his points throughout the book. His liberal use of relevant and true stories to emphasize the point he is making, is in itself, a subtle illustration of a key leadership trait-being a good story teller. Tichy insists that successful leaders are successful teachers because they use stories and share examples from their own personal life. The author's frequent use of stories makes the book interesting, even captivating at times and minimizes the possibility of the reader getting bored. The Leadership Engine is an outstanding, well organized, and very readable book; and not just a book, but a useful handbook as well. Tichy includes a 99-page workbook with practical exercises designed to both help the reader assess his or her own leadership and to help the reader develop a "Leadership Engine" in his or her own organization. The workbook is what sets this leadership book apart from the thousands of others in this crowded category. Noel Tichy has accomplished what he set out to do-convince us that winning organizations are teaching organizations. However, for the student of leadership, there is no new ground or profound insights in this book and consequently, I am not convinced that it deserved its Business Week "Book of the Year" honor. NOTES
(1)Taken from the oft repeated jest by George Bernard Shaw that, "Those who can, do-those who can't, teach." This quote does not appear in Tichy's book.
(2)Tichy defines "edge" as the courage to see reality and act on it.
Rating:
Summary: EMMP: Central : A very good book to read.
Review: The book "The Leadership Engine" by Noel Tichy, discusses how to build dynamic leaders at every level within an organization. The book focuses on fundamentals of winning organizations and the characteristics of these leaders giving insight into some of the greatest leaders stories. Noel Tichy has researched companies like General Electric, Ameritech, PepsiCo, Intel and Focus Hope.
The book is concise in its contents and is good for intellectual reading. Author has made his best attempt to present conceptually his thoughts about leadership engine by proving the facts that "winning organizations are teaching organizations". Senior leaders take direct responsibility for developing and teaching other leaders. Those leaders have great "teachable point of view" as composed by ideas, values and E3 (Emotion, Energy and Edge). Each of these leaders has their own style of teaching and the technique may vary based on the needs of the organization. Great leaders use stories to teach and communicate their ideas. The term "Engine" as used by author, illustrates the dynamic potential of the winning organization to teach the leaders and develop future leaders. Noel says, "Many management theories don't buy the argument that leadership engine is the key factor in determining an organization's success. They assert that a winning culture, or efficient work processes, or any number of other ancillary attributes are the sine qua nons for success". But he believes that leadership takes precedence over everything else and one reason leadership take precedence is that leaders are the people who decide what needs to be done and are the one's who make things happen. To accept the fact as represented by author, the research should also include mid sized organizations and opinions of middle layered managers.
The ultimate test of success for an organization is not weather it can win today but whether it can keep winning tomorrow and the day after. The key ability of winning organization and winning leaders is creating leaders. One of the greatest quotes in the book was "Every person in a key position has to see himself or herself as a mini-CEO. They have to conceptualize what has to be done in the same way the CEO has. Then it cascades."
Rating:
Summary: EMMP: Central : A very good book to read.
Review: The book "The Leadership Engine" by Noel Tichy, discusses how to build dynamic leaders at every level within an organization. The book focuses on fundamentals of winning organizations and the characteristics of these leaders giving insight into some of the greatest leaders stories. Noel Tichy has researched companies like General Electric, Ameritech, PepsiCo, Intel and Focus Hope.
The book is concise in its contents and is good for intellectual reading. Author has made his best attempt to present conceptually his thoughts about leadership engine by proving the facts that "winning organizations are teaching organizations". Senior leaders take direct responsibility for developing and teaching other leaders. Those leaders have great "teachable point of view" as composed by ideas, values and E3 (Emotion, Energy and Edge). Each of these leaders has their own style of teaching and the technique may vary based on the needs of the organization. Great leaders use stories to teach and communicate their ideas. The term "Engine" as used by author, illustrates the dynamic potential of the winning organization to teach the leaders and develop future leaders. Noel says, "Many management theories don't buy the argument that leadership engine is the key factor in determining an organization's success. They assert that a winning culture, or efficient work processes, or any number of other ancillary attributes are the sine qua nons for success". But he believes that leadership takes precedence over everything else and one reason leadership take precedence is that leaders are the people who decide what needs to be done and are the one's who make things happen. To accept the fact as represented by author, the research should also include mid sized organizations and opinions of middle layered managers.
The ultimate test of success for an organization is not weather it can win today but whether it can keep winning tomorrow and the day after. The key ability of winning organization and winning leaders is creating leaders. One of the greatest quotes in the book was "Every person in a key position has to see himself or herself as a mini-CEO. They have to conceptualize what has to be done in the same way the CEO has. Then it cascades."
Rating:
Summary: Practical, great stories/examples, easy read, good format
Review: The GWU/Richmond book club gave this book a thumbs up. It was easy to read, but full of clear examples of the leadership qualities under discussion. Leadership was demonstrated not just as a quality of the top execs, but for all levels. The handbook at the end was occasionally simplistic, but overall very usable & useful. Worth your investment of time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Leader as a Teacher
Review: The name "LEADERSHIP ENGINE" in my opinion is very apt. In a train the Engine is the one which pulls the train with all the coaches towards the required destination. Similarly it is the Leader who pulls the organization with all the people towards achieving the Vision. Assume a train with all coaches as engines, how easy it will be for the first engine to get the combined pulling power of all the other engines and can reach its destination much faster and quicker. Also if any one of the engine has a problem there are the other engines to support. Similarly it is easier for a Leader to lead Leaders than lead followers.
The main theme of the book is that all great business leaders-whether CEOs, managers or at whatever level they are ,they must not only be committed to improving their own leadership ability, but also must be committed to teach others to be leaders as well. The authors by giving examples of various real life leaders, proves that successful organizations win because they are run by people who cultivate leaders. Markets, products, and technologies come and go but a company that continually produces leaders at all levels will stay and grow. According to the authors, leaders who develop other leaders have teachable points of view in the specific areas of ideas, values, emotional energy , edge and leaders embody their teachable points of view in living stories for people to easily understand and remember. Winning leaders also have well-defined methods and teaching techniques. The book also consists of a "Handbook for Leaders Developing Leaders." located at the end of the book which provides guidelines that you can use to improve your own leadership abilities and develop other leaders in your organization. After reading the book I am tempted to form a new definition of CEO - Capacity to Energize the Organization and form a Quotient called the CEO Quotient where leaders will be measured by their ability to energize others.
Rating:
Summary: Leader as a Teacher
Review: The name "LEADERSHIP ENGINE" in my opinion is very apt. In a train the Engine is the one which pulls the train with all the coaches towards the required destination. Similarly it is the Leader who pulls the organization with all the people towards achieving the Vision. Assume a train with all coaches as engines, how easy it will be for the first engine to get the combined pulling power of all the other engines and can reach its destination much faster and quicker. Also if any one of the engine has a problem there are the other engines to support. Similarly it is easier for a Leader to lead Leaders than lead followers.
The main theme of the book is that all great business leaders-whether CEOs, managers or at whatever level they are ,they must not only be committed to improving their own leadership ability, but also must be committed to teach others to be leaders as well. The authors by giving examples of various real life leaders, proves that successful organizations win because they are run by people who cultivate leaders. Markets, products, and technologies come and go but a company that continually produces leaders at all levels will stay and grow. According to the authors, leaders who develop other leaders have teachable points of view in the specific areas of ideas, values, emotional energy , edge and leaders embody their teachable points of view in living stories for people to easily understand and remember. Winning leaders also have well-defined methods and teaching techniques. The book also consists of a "Handbook for Leaders Developing Leaders." located at the end of the book which provides guidelines that you can use to improve your own leadership abilities and develop other leaders in your organization. After reading the book I am tempted to form a new definition of CEO - Capacity to Energize the Organization and form a Quotient called the CEO Quotient where leaders will be measured by their ability to energize others.
Rating:
Summary: It Can Be Done
Review: The subtitle suggests the book's objective: To explain "How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level." According to the authors, there are certain "fundamentals" common to winning organizations: "First, leaders with a proven track record of success take direct responsibility for the development of other leaders. Second, leaders who develop other leaders have teachable points of view in the specific areas of ideas, values, and something I call E-cubed -- emotional energy and edge....Third, leaders embody their teachable points of view in living stories....Finally, because winning leaders invest considerable time developing other leaders, they have well-defined methodologies and coaching and teaching techniques." Together, these "fundamentals" create the central metaphor in the book: a machine. As a "machine", an organization consists of separate but interdependent parts; requires lubrication and fuel as well as constant maintenance; and functions best when utilized to serve the specific purposes for which it has been designed.Almost half of The Leadership Engine consists of a "Handbook for Leaders Developing Leaders." In it, the authors provide a cohesive and comprehensive answer to the question "How to create a Leadership Engine?" One useful approach to the "Handbook" is to think of it as a "super" hardware store and you have an empty toolbox. Examine everything available. Select only what is most appropriate for your own organization. Then work with others to assemble the "machine" your organization needs. In doing so, you and they are providing leadership. Your shared obligation is to involve as many others as possible, helping them to become leaders also. If help is needed along the way, it is reassuring to know that the authors have created the equivalent of an operator's manual to help ensure maximum performance of your organization's "leadership engine." Whenever it's time for a "tune-up", you will have the guidance you need. This is a superb piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly filler in here
Review: There are some good ideas in this book, particularly the E3. However, the author filled the book with long and boring anecdotes. This book could have easily been written as a pamphlet and saved the reader time and money.
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