Customer Reviews

Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make, How To Unlock the Secrets That Drive Growth and Profitability

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Mr. Northup has taken decades of experience in leadership positions, and now in leadership development, to provide us with an excellent guide through the leadership forest. He artfully provides the reader with the tools to discover the hidden mistakes and to avoid or correct them.

Each chapter leads us along the path of discovery and ends with a summary and the "Best Ideas" from the chapter as well as an invitation for us to note our own "Best Ideas" along with the action items needed to put them to use - accountability.

Mr. Northup points out that people development is what leadership is all about. He stresses that we each must be on our own continuous learning path, thus demonstrating to the leadership team and employees what is expected in the organization. He firmly advocates the use of the mastermind approach to problem solving and provides a framework for developing that practice.

Each of the five hidden mistakes (lack of clarity and focus, lack of development, lack of practice, lack of planning and lack of accountability) is afforded a chapter or more, and then other key leadership attributes are discussed as well. The last three chapters tie it all together by taking us up to see the leadership forest after discussing some of the day-to-day trees of tactical leadership skills. In the end, this well written book provides a whole bunch of information and insight into a packed 140 pages. A must read for anyone in a business leadership position.

This book is chock full of insightful truths every executive must learn, particularly those without formal management training. The book truly reveals mistakes that are unknowingly committed by even the most experienced executives.

"Five Hidden Mistakes" is concise, elegantly presented, insightful and instructional, yet practical. Profound examples abound:
* Successful people understand that the cost of failure is very modest compared to the cost of inaction.
* High performers create an organization that is in resonance.
* Personal competencies provide the basic groundwork, but social competencies set the effective leader apart.
* The book is a quick read, easy to comprehend, but so very insightful.

Tom Northup's mantra of "Easy to say. Hard to do", equates to practice, practice, practice! Can't have too much. Most authors don't bother caring about the reader's outcomes. Tom clearly does care. Poor execution will sabotage strategy every time. He treats the complex subject of Strategic Development with a practical approach, one that makes it realistic for the reader to implement. He has broken it down into bite-size chunks, executable initiatives that ordinary folks can handle.

Each time I read one of the presented concepts, a picture of a client popped into my head. Readers that have a similar reaction, vis a vis their own organization, will be the winners! Mr. Northup knows what he's talking about, having been there and done that himself. His enthusiasm for effective leadership jumps from every chapter. Tom makes it clear that the evolution of the organization is dependent on the personal growth and evolution of the Leader.

"The Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make" is a readable, understandable guide for every leader and manager.

Needless to say, I liked Tom Northup's, The Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make. I found it to be a great primer and Desk Reference for every CEO and Manager. It is straight forward and full of wisdom. Like a good first aid guide, is something to take in hand and read again when there is a hemorrhage or blockage in your business. Tom will quickly guide you though what needs done to create growth and improve performance. There is nothing but sound advice and great process improvements waiting to be gleaned from this guide to success in business. I have been a successful small business leader for many years and even managed my way though a surprise turnaround. Tom's book would have been a gift back then. I am convinced Tom truly embraces and understands being a Servant Leader. All of us who come from the age of Command and Control need his wisdom in working with Gen X, Gen Y, and the Millennium generations.

I am an avid reader of books with a special interest in books written to help CEO's and business owners. The title of this book immediately caught my attention. Being a business owner and an have led organizations for years I was intrigued as I looked through Mr. Northup's table of contents. Seeing his 5 Mistakes listed and given ample pages to cover the subject matter made me feel he understood the challenges I face growing my business.

After I began reading the book, I found his writing style to be natural and easy to follow. The layout of the chapters are well designed and I especially appreciated the BEST IDEAS section at the end of each chapter. These gave me the space to jot down notes and ideas that I have since referred back to in order to actually take action based on what I read. This is a very practical idea and one I wish other authors would include in their books.

It is clear having finished the book and finding myself referring to the BEST IDEAS section of each chapter that this book has real world application for the CEO's who read and want to apply what they have learned. I appreciate Mr. Northup's sharing his years of experience with us and have recommended this book to other business owners I know.

A good book from a good man. Concise and informative, very useful for business leaders.

Tom Northup has crafted a gem with this little book. While it is a quick read, it is packed with practical and insightful truths. Tom calls it "blocking and tackling" for managers, and rightly so. He points out that "knowing" these principles and "living them" are what separates the average manager from the extraordinary one and goes on to share a methodology for continually incorporating these principles into your daily activities.

The book's premise is that organizational performance is a result of focus and clarity, personal and people development, practice, planning and accountability. What makes this book special is that Tom takes it a step further to identify that lasting improvement, like any change, is an incremental process (as opposed to some quick fix). He concentrates on "high payoff activities" and "best thinking" in each area and ends the book with some simple models that I found very useful.

One final note; you don't need to be a CEO to get a lot from this book. If you lead people in any capacity, this is a worthwhile read. I find myself referring back to it regularly.