Book Review of The Element by Sir Robinson.

This book has some great strengths and presents some powerful insights. The author is a wonderful speaker (watch him on youtube) and I could hear his voice as I read the book. There is a good bit of humor in that book that stresses the need for all of us to find our personal element.

The book effectively presents the idea that helping children find their element will improve education. Sir Robinson reached me when he started talking about the notion of Tribe; the idea that we can learn about our element by finding our fit in the world. Who do we relate with? Who inspires us? Where do we feel at home? When we are open to learning about ourselves through our relationships and groups, we have an easier time finding our element.

The book contains a great number of stories of people (some celebrities) who found their element and pursued it to great success. I loved the chapters on the diversity of intelligence, the power of imagination, and the advice to stay committed to our won capabilities. Sir Robinson reminds us to listen to our own inner calling and to not be dissuaded by the group. All in all I found this book to be very inspirational and enlightening. Great information backed by research and delivered with a sense of humor. I recommend it to anyone as a good read, as bit of encouragement about personal path, and for a new view on education and learning.

Book Review: Greater than Yourself by Steve Farber

I read every leadership book I can find, but I have never found one that described my personal leadership style in simple terms. As I read the book I more and more realized why I had been a successful leader, as well as recognized the common thread linking other leaders that I respect and admire. The focus of the leader is not on personal ego, but on the potential of the everyone else in the organization. This type of leader is rare, but incredibly powerful.

The book has a very simple formula for success: expand yourself, give yourself, and replicate yourself. This means that we need to find and be our best self, share that, and help someone else become their best self. It sounds so simple, but first we first have to get our ego out of the way. We have to be willing to give away the credit and not worry about building our own brand. We succeed when we help others around us succeed.

I like this book because it has a simple yet powerful message. There are no charts to memorize, no tests to take, “seven” right things to do. Be your best self, share your best self, help others be their best self. Start again and repeat. This is one of the story based leadership books I have read. The story is not overly contrived, nor does it require that I meet a Jedi leader in order to grow. I recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position, anyone who understands that we can be leaders at any level of our life, as well as students of leadership. A quick simple read with a great message.

Elisa Robyn, author of Pirate Wisdom