Customer Reviews

Taking People With You: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen

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I've had the privilege and pleasure to read, study and learn from many excellent books on leadership.

Building a team of inspired and productive people is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Every so often though, a great leader comes along who knows how to do it...and does it! Such a man is the author, David Novak.

How to do it is what this book is all about. And, as Mr. Novak teaches, it's understanding what drives and motivates others that truly makes a difference. It's also a matter of truly desiring for those on your team to enjoy their work and feel a sense of self-satisfaction.

Yes, there is a dearth of leadership in corporate America today. This is inexcusable because - in the private sector - a company must please consumers in order to earn their business and make a profit. And, the best companies earn the buy-in of their team members in order to ensure that happens.

Fortunately, there are those who come along who have not only proved themselves as top leaders but are willing to share that information with others. They know that doing this does not create more competition but rather increases the pie and brings prosperity and abundance to more and more people.

As he worked has way up through the ranks of PepsiCo, David Novak had a realization: you can't lead a great organization of any size without getting your people aligned, enthusiastic, and focused relentlessly on the mission.

Fortunately, as he was growing in position, he was also a constant and ongoing student of leadership. He'd eventually not only lead his own organizations (becoming president of both KFC and Pizza Hut while they were still under the PepsiCo umbrella) but would go on to be Chairman & CEO of the parent company of three of the largest restaurant chains in the world after they were spun off into their own separate company, YUM! Brands, Inc. (1.4 million employees in more than 117 countries.)

The trademarked program he developed, which is also the title of his book, he now teaches all over the world. It centers around setting big goals, getting people to work together, blowing past your targets, and celebrating both the touchdowns, as well as the first downs -- the smaller victories -- along the way.

Perhaps that sounds familiar. But, lots of things are familiar. How they are taught and actually implemented is key. What the author did in this book is provide a step-by-step course in leadership. And, like all great leaders, his entire philosophy and methodology revolves around focusing on making others successful.

What he does, works. YUM Brand's stock has increased over six times and they've had 13 percent growth or more for the past nine years. He's been featured as one of the world's "30 Best CEOs" by Barron's, one of Fortune's "Top People in Business," and one of the "100 Best-Performing CEO's in the World" by Harvard Business Review.

Personally, I loved the book. Practically every page is highlighted, underlined and with copious notes. I highly recommend it. From Mr. Novak's teachings, great and useful information can be extracted, whether you are a one-person show, a medium-sized firm, or a major international conglomerate. And, I believe this would be an excellent gift to give any college student who might one day be in a position to lead and grow a team in the real-world and can use these tools to do so.

*****

"Not many business leaders have produced long-term performance that merits our attention; of those few, not many write books; and of those who do, hardly any write good books. Novak is in that tiny subset. You can safely declutter much of your business leadership books..., and install this one in the vast empty space." -- Geoff Colvin, Fortune

*

Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill strived for victory together, but there was a vast difference between their leadership styles in managing WWII. In fact, there are as many management styles as there are leaders. Business leaders and psychologists have developed useful and simple ways to describe the main leadership styles, that can help aspiring leaders understand which styles they should use. In leadership of big corporations a critical mix of delegation and participation is applied in proportion with responsibility and geographical integration strategy. Leadership styles should be adapted to the demands of the situation, participation of the people involved and the challenges facing the organization.

Effective leaders can maneuver among situation leadership styles, adopting one that meets the needs of followers by directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Daniel Goleman, in his recent book "Primal Leadership," describes six different styles of leadership; affiliative, visionary, democratic, coaching, pace-setting, and commanding. All or most could become part of the leader's repertoire. Understanding David Novak's strategies and optimizing their impact can help you develop your own, personal leadership style, could help you become a more effective leader, being your true self, genuinely human. Novak, a gifted trainer, challenges his readers with self revealing insightful checks, helpful tests and reflective evaluations.

For over fifteen years at Yum! Brands, Novak has developed a program, called, "Taking People with You. Novak delivers his vision in book's three sections, starting with setting your brains and talent right, creating a viable plan to follow through and get good results. The first task needs having the right attitude in place for your team. A leader has to contend to learn and exert tenacious effort to believe in people as much as your own capacity to achieve goals. Understanding the core and specifics of the business in hand, as a requirement to develop a compelling plan to reach and surpass goals, entails the second part. Set a strategy, mobilize the best resources in place, enhancing a win-win culture where results are reached together and success celebrated for the team.

Novak's book is calling for real attention, he perceives leadership differently, to be about the leader's own nature, rather than management techniques. Eisenhower was proven successful because he was true to his character. A leader's prime qualities, his personal nature, and how can he connect with others, as a human being are crucial for his success. Most management books call for business analysis; Novak asks you to conduct self analysis, the harder psycho task. He demands you to examine your traits, rather than a new business discounted cash flow analysis. The global corporate guru coaches you so you would stop to imagine being the leader you are not.

This book is about common sense-but as the auther says, common sense is just not that common these days. It pushes you to move from theory to action. Its not just a motivational speech or a feel good list of things leaders ought to do-Its a real practical roadmap to leadership. A must read for any individual or business leader that wants to say "ok now what?" and actually do something about it.

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Now, think about it. Part one of this book is called, "Get Your Mind-Set Right." Part two is labeled, "Have a Plan: Strategy, Structure, Culture." The final part, Part three, is called, "Follow Through to Get Results." What leader--effective leader--doesn't already know this? So the question becomes, what can David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands, Inc., which, (according to the back flyleaf) operates in more than 117 countries and employs 1.4 million people bring to the table that hasn't already been said by dozens/hundreds of other books on leadership?

Personal stories is the answer to the question. Story after story after story! Are they interesting? Are they engaging? Are they worthwhile? Do they offer insights into effective leadership? "Yes" is the answer to all of these questions. And that is precisely what makes this book a fun read.

There are exercises, tools, and additional anecdotes. There is a good organizational scheme, some useful graphics, and some interesting information about KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and PepsiCo--all brands with which Novak has held management positions.

I didn't find any new leadership insights, revelatory information that might change the way you look at leadership, or a new leadership paradigm that you could adopt. But, that should not deter you from reading this book. It is well-written, well-organized, and engaging. The stories are delightful!

Novak's Taking People With You is a content rich book that provides leading edge tips and practical strategies for leadership, team building and enhancing relationships. Novak comes from a strengths based approach and encourages leaders to unleash the power and skill of their team.

Getting to know yourself as a leader and having the right mindset were particularly useful topics, especially for new and emerging leaders. He teaches how to create a culture that takes the vision and dreams of the team/business to reality. Following through to get results was another component of Novak's collaborative approach.

This book provides practical and hands on tips, and exercises to bring the team with you on the pursuit of corporate goals.

A must have for any leader!

Charmaine Hammond

Author, On Toby's Terms

There are lots of theoretical books from academics and consultants who want to persuade the world that their new idea is the way to go. And that's fine. Some of them are truly wonderful and change the world. Most do not succeed and are almost immediately forgotten. This book by YUM! Brands CEO David Novak is a workbook on a program he has developed and personally used at his company since it was spun off from Pepsi fifteen years ago.

This is NOT a book you read from beginning to end and mull over until you get to it someday, if ever. CEOs are often talked about as providing a vision for the organization. This book is a practical guide for any manager to figure out what the most important things are for them to get their team to do, and how to get your team, department, division, or company to see where you want to lead them, why they want to participate, what they can do to contribute, and why everyone has to be a part of the success.

He focuses on helping you get to know yourself and how you can use that to understand other people. And then how you can use that understanding to develop your vision of where you want to lead your team and what you want them to accomplish.

You work against your team when you create a vision utterly disconnected from who they are and what they actually do at work. By building your vision into their desires for themselves and showing them why your vision and goals will help them be happier and do their job better you have a much greater chance of realizing your vision. The reality is that you, as a manager at any level, must work through others. You have to have them on your side and you must convince them you are on their side to win them over. And since they can't get the company's work done on their own, you have to show them how to work most effectively as a team. This requires constant coaching and demonstration through your own example.

Novak also shows you how to think about big goals and why you should set big goals. Big enough it seems a stretch, but not so big it becomes unrealistic. You want to get your team excited about accomplishing something special and you want to build their confidence by helping them actually "blow past" those goals. You want them to get used to doing more than others expect they can. This culture of accomplishment and success will build a very positive corporate culture and help keep your key people loyal to you and your company.

But the key is you get the workbook tools to help you actually implement the principles Novak teaches in this book. That he personally teaches this course several times a year within Yum! Brands helps build confidence in us that he means what he says and gives us confidence in the book, which is in itself a demonstration of the principles of the book.

Personally, I am biased towards practical action oriented books because I want to use the things that I learn rather than merely contemplating what might happen in a world different than ours. I want to work in this life. And because this is a proven approach, is simple in the way it works (but requires strength, intelligence, and skill to accomplish), I like it and recommend it to you.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Saline, MI

I just got back from my local Wal-Mart after taking public transportation to buy this book the second that midnight struck on the 3rd of January. I was so eager (like an eager beaver!) to devour the nuggets of enlightenment in this book that I admit I even started reading some of it on the bus on the way back to my basement apartment! All the high praise I heard was warranted, though!

The book is basically a disclosure of what Novak teaches to managers at various Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and around the world so that they can get the most out of their employees and the most productive business environment possible. He is absolutely 100% correct about ditching business school theories and all that highfalutin nonsense; what Novak talks about here is all about life experience and what really works, not about theory. That aside, what he says here might be just a tad unconventional, but trust me! It works!

First, Novak rightly dismisses the old-fashioned notion that you have to speak respectfully or at least politely to get the best performance from employees. Enlighteningly, Novak exposes the secrets of how to get employees to faithfully follow their managers to do almost everything they want: Just yell abusively at them at the top of your lungs. I know, I was a bit confused at first, too, but the way Novak explains this really sophisticated art of "talking to people" and getting them to come along with you really makes sense.

For example, if an employee is lazy, Novak recommends not to inspire him by giving him some time off or by motivating him by being positive. Novak recommends that managers should just hurl the meanest form of invective at the lazy-bum employee (kind of like what happens in boot camps) in order to completely demolish their self-confidence and destroy them. Then, on top of that heap of ashes, managers are able to build up the employee again, but this time, into an employee who is actually not lazy but productive! In short, the employee that managers want to have! See how much sense that makes? Right? I...know!!

Another equally eye-opening example relates to an employee who is just undereducated or who has learned just by working on the job instead of having a surplus of higher education under his belt. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Novak recommends that managers publicly shame said employees by calling all the other employees together and having everyone laugh right in the faces of said employee with a dearth of higher education. The author convincingly reasons that this public shaming (he calls it a mockcecution, get it? LOL) will light a fire in the belly of the undereducated employee and cause him to rise to the top of the heap, like a fine brandy!

All told, this book is totally sweet. I hope that my managers at my local Long John Silver's motivate me the exact way that Novak recommends in this book.