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Summary: The Edge is IN!
Review: A great tool for all levels of management to learn how to acheive credibility and success at work. The insightful book can be applied to just plain everyday life. All leaders want to be respected. As a leader, the most direct path to respect is credibility and The Transparency Edge will guide you there.I manage mulitple manufacturing facilities. I am applying the knowledge gained from the book daily to become a great leader for myself, my company and for the associates in my plants. The world would be a better place if everyone practiced the nine key behaviors outlined in the book!
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Summary: Teach This To All College Students!
Review: A timely subject! The Transparency Edge should be taught to every college student regardless of his or her chosen field. Future leaders can learn credibility is that which must be built, not bestowed by a fairy with a magic wand.
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Summary: Road map to the top!
Review: As an educator at a major midwest university and a former CFO in a multinational corporation, I am continually amazed at how little practical information is available on effective leadership. My brother recommended this book to me and I found it to be a true "road map" for aspiring leaders. The principles put forth by Pagano are supported by compelling real life examples and solid statistical analysis. I believe my students will get a jump start on their competition by gaining "The Transparency Edge". This foundation in today's leadership requirements should be understood and embraced by anyone who aspires to effectively lead. Fron CEO to team leader, the insights provided in this well written, instructive guidebook will increase your effectiveness and build your leadership skills.
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Summary: Doing the Harder Right
Review: As an external consultant who is an Industrial/Organizational psychologist, I am impressed with the "common sense" approach of the Transparency Edge. As one who is grounded in the hard-core research as it applies to organizations and organizational development at the leader level, the anecdotes used effectively illustrate some of the common misperceptions and ethical shortcomings of high ranking professionals. This book is timely considering the events plastered all over the media recently. These events have brought down the largest companies in so ignoble of a way. This book was recommended to me by a colleague because she knew that my research explored some of the darker sides of vocational interests, and it dovetails nicely into where my research left off. Leadership skills investigated in this book all deal with how to do a harder right instead of an easier wrong. We can all learn from this book as individuals, but leaders should definitely revisit these issues. I thoroughly enjoyed this "read."
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Summary: Finally - Permission to be lead from the heart!
Review: As someone who has inhabited a pretty competitive corner of corporate America for over 20 years, I can honestly say this book was like a lifeline. With the huge generation of baby boomers all entering the business scene at the same time, I think a lot of us have felt tremendous pressure to conform to what seemed some pretty harsh norms. Being professional and getting ahead was all about being efficient - not taking the time to explain what was going on; being strong, which means never appearing vulnerable; being tough - which means focusing solely on the more easily quantified sales and profit implications of a decision, and shutting out the human factors. I work in the communications/consulting business and, at every company I've worked for, senior management would get up every year at the annual meeting and say something like - "What sets us apart and gives us our competitive advantage is how we care about our people," and "The most valuable asset in this company goes home every evening." And everyone would just look at each other and roll their eyes, because nobody believed them! If they cared so much, why didn't they tell us candidly the reasons behind some of their apparently uninformed and careless decisions? Even bad news would be better than all the confusion and speculation in the ranks when no-one knew what was going on. Why did they do all this management training, yet still knowingly tolerate bosses who brutalized their subordinates? Why did they ask for our suggestions - and even ask us to put extra time in volunteering for various corporate task forces - only to break their implied promise of change by ignoring everything we came up, and proceeding with business as usual? As I moved up into management myself, I understood better what some of the pressures are that push the people in charge into some of these behaviors, and there were times when I found it hard to reconcile my own choices. I saw it as having to make a trade-off between what I thought was the right thing to do (i.e., my responsibility to my personal values), and doing the right thing for the company (i.e, my responsibility as a professional). What The Transparency Edge does is show beyond a doubt that standing true to your values makes good business sense. Yes, it's harder to do sometimes, and yes, sometimes the benefits are long-term rather than immediate. But leaders have a responsibility to the long-term welfare of the company, which includes maintaining their own and their company's reputation, as well as creating the motivation for people to follow their leadership. Both of those goals are impossible to achieve without personal credibility. And personal credibility is built through conscientiously respecting the nine principles in this book.
Pagano demonstrates that, without question, the reason to behave transparently is not only because it's right, but because it's smart. What a breath of fresh air - it's about time!
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Summary: How to cultivate favorable word-of-mouth for lasting success
Review: Co-written by Barbara Pagano (President of Executive Pathways - a company specializing in leadership and team development) and award-winning journalist and business reporter Elizabeth Pagano, The Transparency Edge: How Credibility Can Make Or Break You In Business is an expert guide to crafting and implementing the power of a "clear and open" business policy. The priceless value of an impeccable reputation, and how to cultivate favorable word-of-mouth for lasting success using nine key behaviors form the core of this invaluable and very highly recommended resource for those charged with insuring the success of their enterprise.
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Summary: Everyday Leadership for Managers
Review: I really enjoy the stories in The Transparency Edge. It is a great reminder that we can choose to be better leaders in everything we do, everyday. Leadership concepts are hard to grasp generally. And illustrating these with personal experiences make these issues come alive for readers. The Paganos' conversational style also makes reading easy. I recommend this to those who are starting/doing 360 feedback. Such a feedback process can be rather disconcerting, as my first-time coachees have confirmed, and it is helpful to have a resource like Transparency Edge to act as a guide for reflection and new actions.
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Summary: This Book Is Cutting-Edge Reading For Business Executives!
Review: In the wake of major corporate scandals over the past few years, "The Transparency Edge" is cutting-edge reading for every business executive. If all companies took this book to heart, we could have avoided the financial fiascos at Enron, WorldCom, etal. The Paganos offer a nine-step system for creating credible leaders in the workplace. But like any system, it's only as good as the aplication. The authors provide not only solid theory, but also a practical way to live out the core principles of an organization. Well-researched, with lots of specific examples, this book features a unique 360-degree leadership assessment tied to the nine behaviors all business executives should strive to emulate for their co-workers. As one who licenses a comprehensive mentor program to Fortune 500 companies and other organizations that features 12 monthly seminars, I'm reminded that the first lesson is on values. I'm adding this book to the recommended reading list for Lesson I. If an organization isn't reputable and their people can't be trusted, nothing else matters. Thank you, Barbara and Elizabeth, for driving home this critical message in such a meaningful and memorable manner.
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Summary: Insightful!
Review: It's good to hear that employing a clear, open business policy can boost the bottom line and upgrade management. With all the recent corporate scandals, a management approach based on "what you see is what you get" is refreshing - and it works. Transparent management can increase employee morale, retention and productivity. Transparent leaders are better at their jobs and make a difference in people's lives. Using case studies and self-assessment surveys, authors Barbara and Elizabeth Pagano help potential leaders evaluate and hone their honesty and their leadership styles. The case studies in this easy to read, if slightly repetitive, volume help convey the authors' key points, which center on honesty, awareness and open communications. We recommend this value-enriched book to aspiring leaders, managers and executives who may be surprised to learn that transparent leadership is one of those intangibles that can produce concrete results.
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Summary: Credibility...and much more!
Review: The important concepts of credibility and transparency have been under-emphasized or totally ignored in most traditional leadership writing. This valuable book details extensive research that makes a powerful case for the importance of transparency to the success of present and future leaders. It is overflowing with new material, contemporary concepts and surprising insights. The authors present their views and pracitcal wisdom in a simple, engaging and entertaining manner.
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