In a previous post, I wrote about how reading helped my career. You may consider this post as a sequel.
Winning
I still remember clearly that I was a staff of the erstwhile Standard Trust Bank when our CEO then, Tony Elumelu, mentioned this book in one of his emails to staff. I said to myself, “If TOE mentioned a book, that book must be worth reading”.
Jack Welch is on record as being the CEO who received the highest severance package in history. He got $417m when he left @GeneralElectric. If that kind of fellow writes anything, it must be worth reading. Share on XWinning by Jack Welch is a book I will always thank God I read at the time I did. TOE–that’s Tony Elumelu–made the book a compulsory read for all senior managers then. I wasn’t one at that time but I got the book. If it’s good for senior managers, it must be good for me too.
Jack Welch is on record as being the CEO who received the highest severance package in history. He got $417m when he left General Electric. If that kind of fellow writes anything, it must be worth reading. That book taught me that leadership matters.
I learnt about differentiation of employees. I learnt how to hire well and fire fairly. He was very pragmatic about how to handle your boss. His ideas about work-life balance were practical. It’s a very good read for anyone aspiring to lead a team. A highly recommended text.
University of Success
Fresh from secondary school and while waiting for undergraduate admission, I got to know about a library at Ibadan called A Day Shall Come Christian Library. It was located around Town Planning, Ring Road.
It was owned by a Christian minister who made his private library available to the public for free. He had all manner of books and I visited the library almost on a daily basis. My love for books was consummated in that library. That was around 1991/92.
University of Success is a compendium of the best from the very best. If you need to have just a single self-help text in your library, this book is your best bet. Share on XIt was at that library that I came across Og Mandino’s University of Success. I recall sitting with the book and raptured by the words. The book is divided into 10 semesters and different chapters were written by different authors.
It’s a compendium of the best from the very best–Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, James Allen, Napoleon Hill, Clement Stone, Benjamin Franklin and many others.
It’s a practical book and dealt with different topics such as how to take charge of your life, how to find the courage to take risks, how to conquer the ten most common causes of failure, developing a vision for your life, dealing with the challenges of success and mastering time.
I have given out more copies of University of Success more than any other book. If you need to have just a single self-help text in your library, this book is your best bet.