I think a good business book has one coherent idea that is richly played out.

Managers are, and should be, totally responsible for recognizing individual strengths (both natural talents and skills), getting those strengths in proper alignment (i.e. in the right "seats"), and then leveraging them.

The talented employee may join a company because of its charismatic leaders, its generous benefits, and its world-class training programs, but how long that employee stays and how productive he is while he is there is determined by his relationship with his immediate supervisor.

Clarity is the preoccupation of the effective leader. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear.

The difference between a pebble and a mountain lies in whom you ask to move it.

Focusing on strengths is the surest way to greater job satisfaction, team performance and organizational excellence.

You should know that what wakes me up at night, what gets me running fast in the morning, and, frankly, what prompts me to lose any semblance of my habitual reserve is the conviction that work doesn't have to be this grim. We can do better.