Customer Reviews

Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Absolutely love this book! Not only is Harrison's thinking down to earth and practical but easy to understand and implement immediately. It has been a huge relief to learn that someone of his clout and experience believes and teaches you can reach the C-suite by leveraging what you already have, yourself - just managed. Harrison reminds me that we all have `that special thing' if we could just hone our executive presence and plan for the career changing moments. Just over the past four months, I've used his knowledge on several occasions in my career and I continuously find myself in planning meetings and leading initiatives where I am the only person in the room that is not a VP or Executive. Why? Because I have been able to establish report, reputation and an executive presence that allows the executives to give me reign and freedom to show them the goods to back it all up. As Harrison points out, commanding respect like a CEO requires reading others, influencing perceptions, persuading naysayers, creating a personal brand, managing reputation and controlling any possible damage to the previous. It's quite easy to lay out a strategy with his experience and research as a guide. In fact I've used several of the personal points within this book to ignite the company to go about the same transformation.

Why is the lion king of the jungle? The reasons, says business consultant and executive coach Harrison Monarth, are his "impressive mane" and "even more impressive roar." Though other creatures may be smarter or even bigger, the lion has a special blend of true power and "an image and related behavior" that convey that power. In today's business jungle, image matters, too. If you want to rise to the top of your firm, whether you are a lion or a lioness, you must craft and maintain an "executive presence" by combining superior communication skills with the ability to "read" people accurately and influence their perceptions. Explaining these techniques and more, Monarth's ambitious work is dense with information and strives to cover a broad range of topics, some complex enough to warrant their own books. getAbstract recommends Monarth's comprehensive advice to professionals who want to win the lion's share of influence and power at their firms.

I read this author's first book on public speaking (liked it very much!) and decided to continue on my path of self-improvement with other relevant management books. This one really gets into the politics of interpersonal relationships and how to promote your achievements without stepping on toes or bragging. I knew perceptions (by others) influenced my career path and professional opportunities...I just didn't know enough to map out a strategy that will help me manage those perceptions better. I felt that this book did a great job in providing that map. A bonus: well written with lots of engaging examples.

I bought this book based on it's cover reviews and while it has a wealth of great information, I find the author's style a bit challenging to read. There is no doubt Harrison Monarth is an expert, and I'm certain his programs are totally engaging in person.

The challenge in processing his wealth of knowledge is the abundance of one-sentence paragrpahs, or just plain long sentences! At times, it was tedious to get through a concept. Would've like more "how to" info on the social intellengence segment. He does a terrific job with branding yourself online, however.

Recently purchased and read it cover to cover! I found it very insightful and easy to read. I especially enjoyed reading about the "Impression Management", the importance of "Storytelling" and how to use this for personal and professional success, "Personal Branding" and "Reputation Management". I highly recommend it!

I got this book recently after learning that I am potentially moving into a new leadership position. I've always felt confident in my leadership abilities except for the fact that others with seemingly less experience or tenure at the company seemed to be on a faster promotional track than I was. One of our senior executives (a friend) finally gave me some feedback and mentioned that I'm seen as a "Diamond in the rough" and while I am "highly qualified", I needed to hone my communication and political skills in the boardroom, with peers and direct reports. He recommended "Executive Presence".

The first thing I have to say, I love the author's style. He writes in a way that I'm used to seeing in my husband's "Wired" or "Esquire" magazines. Fresh, hip, a sharp sense of humor and great points and easy take-aways. You get the feeling the author wants you to succeed and use the information in the book, vs. just educating yourself. I had a peripheral understanding of the importance of social intelligence, personal branding, managing perceptions and reputation management, but this book clearly lays it out and stresses not just their importance, but breaks it all down so the reader can immediately practice the lessons learned. I also loved the chapter "You've Been Googled: What's the Verdict?". Too many of our younger employees don't realize that their social media habits are virtually "etched in stone" on the internet and can harm their chances at moving up when it comes to selecting high potentials and new leaders. I immediately cleaned up a couple of social media accounts after reading this book. I also loved the step-by-step 7 day plan to improving social intelligence. The author puts down a common sense plan to help anyone improve their relationships with others while honing perceptions and self-awareness. I personally feel that I have a plan now to improve my executive presence and already started implementing a lot of the advice in the book. Loved it! Recommend it!

Excellent information written in an entertaining and lively style. Creating a personal brand is imperative in today's über-connected society and how you go about it will determine your success. This book shows the benefits and cautions readers about the traps of personal branding in the age of social media. The author makes it very clear that the responsibility of managing one's reputation has to be taken seriously as the consequences of either being invisible in our digital world are almost as dire as being visible in a negative way via twitter, facebook, myspace, LinkedIn and other social and professional networks. I for one will be much more careful about my online posting after reading this book. I also loved the step-by-step advice on how to increase one's social intelligence, something that's still not taught to any significant extend in most business schools, even though it is said to be a key factor in getting ahead and promoted at work.

I'm not sure whether most books on leadership focus as much on effective communication as Executive Presence does, but the advice in this book was an eye-opener for me. Having just moved from one division in the company to another, where I am now managing former peers, I learned the nuances of communication and social intelligence that are critical for interpersonal success.

The author uses critical aspects of the research on social and emotional intelligence and brings them to live with relatable anecdotes and advice from his coaching practice. Incredibly helpful is his 7-Day program (easy to follow if you're motivated) to improving self- and other-awareness and relationships with others. I've had one particularly difficult relationship at work I started to "recover" after reading this section just prior to a company-wide retreat. I saw great results that I feel will get even better with continued application of the book's principles.

Other helpful parts of the book for me were on storytelling, understanding the power of spin, and the managing of one's ever so fragile reputation and personal brand. The tools I got from these and other chapters changed the way I view myself and others for more effective leadership communication.

They don't teach this stuff in college, business- or, god forbid, Med School. You can only hear about "Personal Branding" for so long before realizing that it's something worth paying attention to. I remember reading an article by Tom Peters, covering personal branding and how everybody should pay attention to their personal brand, in the late 1990s. It left an impression. This book actually gives you the how-to on developing a personal brand--among many other things. Some of my favorite topics in the book: The Natural laws of Perception and How People Perceive You; How to Master the Art of Storytelling for Personal And Professional Success; How to Hold the Conversations Nobody wants to Have; Secrets to Managing Interpersonal Conflict and Improving Relationships. I work in a hospital (a highly competitive environment) and building your personal brand and executive presence is just as important for promotions and professional success, e.g. more responsibility, better shifts, leadership opportunities, as it is in Corporate America or Corporate India etc. But many of us are left to figure political success out on our own, Darwin-style. This book gave me some much needed awareness and a few extra tools that should help in getting me to the front of the pack.

A great bonus, particularly in this current political election cycle, is the chapter on: How the Media Create Meaning in the Minds of an Audience: Powerful Messages and the Art of Spin. It gave me a better understanding of what unfolds on TV and our national news programs on a nightly basis. It's like peeking behind the curtain of electioneering. Much to learn and use for own own constituency, whether they are peers, superiors, clients, patients, or even our own families.

All in all, a terrific informative read, and an entertaining one at that.

The book starts extremely well written, with the author comparing corporate life to being in a jungle. Why is the lion the king of the jungle when other animals are stronger, better hunters, faster? Because of his regal mane and impressive roar. And the author promises in this book he'll show you how to be king of the boardroom.

Does the book deliver on this promise? Well...sort of. Each chapter feels like a Reader's Digest version of other great business books. I've read all this stuff before in books like "Influence" (Bob Cialdini), "In the Line of Fire" (Jerry Weissman), "The Psychology of Persuasion" (Kevin Hogan) and so on.

Perhaps that's fine. An executive would find value in a single book that summarizes key ideas from other business books.

Monarth goes broad without going deep. Each chapter reads more like a blog article than an intelligent and indepth discussion. The advice is thrown out casually, like it's the easiest thing in the world to learn how to read someone's body language. Monarth does not linger on a point but breezily moves onto other points.

And that's where my disatisfaction lies. Monarth adds no new ideas of his own. Monarth had an opportunity to stitch all these great insights together into something bigger - a useful system for managing your executive presence. Instead, it's all left disconnected and shallow; chapter after chapter of lists of other people's ideas.