Are You an Extreme Leader?

Reading a business fable is still a unique experience for me. The last leadership-related parable I read was Who Moved My Cheese. The Radical Leap, the second book the ASCPA Book Club reviewed, did keep my interest as if I were reading a work of fiction. Instead of using mice as the main characters, the author of The Radical Leap, Steve Farber, built his book around people he knew. He had some very unique characters, like Edg, a corporate rebel/surfer dude who was as enigmatic as he was familiar. Now, Farber did disclaim that while, “…some scenes are true and an accurate depiction of actual events, some have been just plain fabricated from my twitching gray matter.”  That is one of the things that intrigued me about this book; you just didn’t know what to expect and you were left wondering if any of the situations in the book ever happened.  In addition to being entertained, I did learn a few things.

Throughout the book, we get many lessons on the importance of revealing our true selves to our employees and colleagues. Shortly after they first met, Edg tells Farber the “four words that describe leadership… Love, Energy, Audacity, and Proof.”  Yes, another acronym (LEAP) we need to learn. This was not just leadership, it was extreme leadership according to Edg. This is practical advice for anyone and everyone wanting to get back to loving what they do. A pleasant surprise to me, the topic of “love” was a recurring theme in the book.

Farber writes, “Love is the ultimate motivation of the Extreme Leader: love of something or someone; love of a cause; love of a principle; love of the people you work with and the customers you serve; love of the future you and yours can create together; love of the business you conduct together every day.”  As leaders, we need to remember why we are doing what we are doing and not give up when we experience a challenging situation at work or in our personal lives. We need to keep our commitment to the things that are important to us and those we love.

The ASCPA Book Club members who read The Radical Leap seemed to enjoy our recent discussion about the book. One of our members, Yvonne Clark, shared her thoughts on the book “…in The Radical Leap, advice that ordinarily would be dry management directives are given in real life situations. Rather than trying to recall mere words, I envision the actions these people (and animals) take to reach for success.”

Don’t miss our next book club meeting scheduled for May 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., where we will discuss What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith. Start reading What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and I’ll see you on May 12!

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