Welcome to the PMI-OC Book Club! On this page, you will find a wealth of information. First, you will find takeaways (provided by Book Club participants) from books that the Book Club has already read and discussed. Second, you will find rankings of those books. Books are ranked from "1" to "5" where "1" is the worst and "5" is the best. For each book, the initial ranking is a survey of initial thoughts about the book. The final ranking is a post-discussion ranking to discern opinions after discussion in case the opinions have changed. Finally, you will find information for the book to read for the next Book Club meeting.

Books Read

Book Information and Takeaways	Initial Rank	Final Rank
"Dare to Lead" by Brene Brown Vulnerability is an asset and not a weakness. The most successful and courageous leaders are risk takers who are not afraid of failing. In fact, failures often lead to creativity and great opportunities. Perfectionism can be unhealthy due to the constant need for approval and fear of criticism and failure. This leads to missed opportunities and mental paralysis, which hinders creativity. Be clear as to what you value and live those values. Be curious about what you don't know. Walk in other persons' shoes before judging. Think empathy in place of shame, even if you fail; don't fear failure. Embrace it as a learning opportunity.	4.45	4.32
"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni Most people are conflict averse, but conflict is healthy for teams to perform at a higher level. The greatest dysfunction of a team is a lack of trust ‐ without it, the other dysfunctions cannot be managed/corrected and nothing can get accomplished.	4.63	4.71
"Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman EQ (Emotional Intelligence) can be improved. Our emotional health not only affects our interactions with others, but has just as much power over our individual successes and growth potential. With emotions being such a driving force, it behooves us to understand how emotions function physiologically, socially, and directly in our professional lives.	3.8	4
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear Does a thorough job in explaining the tools of engineering desired habits and eliminating unrewarding ones. For discussing the book in a professional business environment, I wish that there were more relevant examples from commerce and enterprise settings. The author's anecdotal examples were rather simple (e.g. losing weight, waking up early and improving athletic performance). The book focuses on one's habits, but, in the context of business, it's about developing and orchestrating the habits of your customers, employees, and other stakeholders.	3.83	3.18
"The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace" by Gary Chapman and Paul White Authenticity matters! Sincere appreciation is a powerful motivator. Everyone has a different appreciation language (e.g. words, acts, quality time, tangible gifts, and physical touch.) Understanding and speaking the right appreciation language to colleagues and direct reports is important. Mismatched expressions of appreciation can lead to misunderstandings and even worse, workplace dissatisfaction. I recognize and encourage appreciation at workplace. But the book attempts to tackle this topic with an engineered formula. In some ways, I feel that getting along with coworkers is a lot like "Be a good person..." so sometimes a lot of stuff in the book felt like common sense. All in all, I didn't find this helpful or satisfying as the original 5 Love Languages was for personal relationships[...] I am remote in my job and the book felt like so much of it was related to people you work with in person.	3.2	3.2
"Accidental Agile Project Manager" by Ray Frohnhoefer Provides a good summary of a wide variety of agile methods. Explains why agile methods are useful to use on certain projects. Full of practical tips and easy to follow. I really enjoyed Ray talking about his recommendation of starting with a small team of the best people — who work together, then build up credbility and roll it (the project/solution) out, bug free. That is the approach I beleive in and have found to be successful.	4.2	4.7
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey One of my favorites as well. "Begin with the end in mind" is one of my go-to strategies. That book club session was so much fun! In both my professional life and personal life, I jump from deadline to deadline and focus too much on urgency that often I neglect what’s important. Time to “sharpen the saw” in 2024 and remind myself to set aside time for people or causes that are important to me. The richness of the discussion highlighted the relevance of Covey’s principles to the challenges project managers face. The discussion on empathetic listening was a cornerstone on improving communication with others.	4.5	4.82
"The Jelly Effect" by Andy Bounds My understanding of the book could be summed as, "Poor communication is like throwing jelly at a wall - it does not stick." "People do not care about what you say. They only care about what they are left with AFTER you’ve said it." I loved the author’s explanation of AFTER. It is like determining the effect you want your communication to have before the conversation starts. The communication tips within this book are great because they apply to a wide variety of situations, like how to network to promote professional development and specific strategies regarding it, how to give a presentation to a team or executives, or how to think about and understand the needs of stakeholders. "The Big Fish Concept : The people you are itching to meet (decision makers in organizations & influencers), once you identify them, you will see that they are everywhere." Although I have always known this, reading it in the book was very profound for me.	4	4.5
"How to Measure Anything" (Chapters 1 -7) by Douglas W. Hubbard My understanding of the reading could be summed as, "You can measure anything you want, as long as you know what you are measuring in a very concrete way." The section in the book on calibrating estimates was very exciting as it presents a very visceral way of understanding choices in the context of what it means to have a confidence interval of any given amount. Would you rather take a given chance to be right with your decision or answer or would you leave it up to spinning a wheel of the equivalent chance? I liked the discussion on risk management as it goes against traditional methods of risk assessment and reveals what those issues are and ways to rectify the shortcomings.	4.2	4.5
"How to Measure Anything" (Chapters 8 - 14) by Douglas W. Hubbard One of my takeaways is learning the skill Bayesian reasoning with the intent to integrate new information into decisions." A part I liked was the discussion on how, while correlation does not prove causation (which is something everyone says), the book makes the point that correlation is evidence of causation.	3.25	3.4
"Business Acumen For Project Managers" by Steven Haines I enjoyed learning about the importance of establishing relationships throughout an organization and not limiting myself to just my department in order to understand how everyone fits into the organization's overall goals. A part I liked was the discussion on the interaction between business strategy (how to get there), business goals (where to go), and the makeup of the business (where we are now).	3.7	4
"The 360 Degree Leader" by John C. Maxwell It was interesting to learn about the author's point that leadership is about influence and not position and the various methods available to lead up, across, and down an organization. The discussion on leading down was very illuminating because that's an area where I do not have much experience because I typically am in lower positions within an organization. The book provided valuable takeaways for me, including the importance of leadership as a practice of influence, strategies for leading in all directions, and practical tools to strengthen relationships and inspire others.	4.14	4.87
"Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek It makes me reflect on better ways to lead the team. I liked the way Simon Sinek talks about being a servant leader. Regardless of where you are, help make your team feel human and have empathy! Reinforces the idea that we're all people who are just helping each other! Do what is under your power to do and allow your credbility to influence those above you in the pecking order.	4.5	4.64
"The Mensch Method" by Todd Zive This book has transformed my perspective on leadership, emphasizing the importance of being selfless and making a positive impact on others' lives. It has also made me reflect on the legacy we leave behind as individuals. I've learned to shift my mindset from a "have to" attitude to a "get to" attitude, embracing all the opportunities that life presents. The Mensch Method advocates for living a life of meaning, authenticity, and intentional growth. Success is not about status or wealth,but about becoming your best self and lifting others along the way. The book has lofty ideals but there is a practical path to becoming a better person. it's simple things, like choosing to pause and respond intentionally rather than react. It's choosing to assess the situation and take ownership rather than play the blame game. My overall takeaway was that person down the road that I want to be, sometimes it feels far away and I'll never get there so why try (a pessimistic viewpoint). Sometimes we get discouraged and develop this pessimistic viewpoint. I think "that's impossible, I'm not going to be top tier at my position."	4.3	4.6

Current Book to Read:

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Synopsis from Amazon

Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons, with absolutely everything at stake. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned this reality first-hand on the most violent and dangerous battlefield in Iraq. As leaders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, their mission was one many thought impossible: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a violent, insurgent-held city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping, firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories, they learned that leadership―at every level―is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.

Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training to pass on their harsh lessons of self-discipline, mental toughness and self-defense learned in combat to help forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After leaving the SEAL Teams, they launched a company, Echelon Front, to teach those same leadership principles to leaders in businesses, companies, and organizations across the civilian sector. Since that time, they have trained countless leaders and worked with hundreds of companies in virtually every industry across the U.S. and internationally, teaching them how to develop their own high-performance teams and most effectively lead those teams to dominate their battlefields.

Since it’s release in October 2015, Extreme Ownership has revolutionized leadership development and set a new standard for literature on the subject. Required reading for many of the most successful organizations, it has become an integral part of the official leadership training programs for scores of business teams, military units, and first responders. Detailing the resilient mindset and total focus principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult combat missions, Extreme Ownership demonstrates how to apply them to any team or organization, in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.

Reviews

“This is the SEAL Leadership book we have been waiting for. Poignant, powerful, practical. A must read for every leader.” ―Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and chairman, Fox Television Stations

“Leif and Jocko are the real deal. I’m honored to have served with them. They led SEALs in the fight through the hell that was the Battle of Ramadi. This book shows how they did it.” ―Marcus Luttrell, U.S. Navy SEAL and #1 national bestselling author of Lone Survivor

“The smartest, most revolutionary management approach since Jack Welch's Six Sigma.” ―Don Imus, radio host, Imus in the Morning

“Finally, a leadership book that actually demonstrates how to truly lead. Riveting, engaging, and free from the usual cliché platitudes, this book is strikingly impactful and will dramatically improve leaders of all types.” ―Amy Brandt Schumacher, entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist

“Extreme Ownership provides huge value for leaders at all levels. An inspiring and page-turning read, the leadership lessons are easy to digest and implement. It provides a powerful SEAL framework for action to lead teams in high-stakes environments. This book made me a better leader and enabled my entire team step up our game!” ―Jared Hamilton, founder and CEO, DrivingSales

"One of the best books on leadership I've ever read and a tremendous war story book as well." ―Marc Andreessen