Grappling: Leaders Striving to Improve(Grappling: Leaders Striving to Improve)

If you've tried to change and failed, this book is for you. Grappling will show you the way, not by giving you lots of advice but by letting you in on other people's struggle to be better. Different from most books on self-improvement, Grappling is a page-turner. It was chosen as one of the "BEST NEW SELF-HELP BUSINESS BOOKS."(YoungUpstarts) There are eight stories, fictionalized real-life cases, that bring leadership and self-improvement to life. You will probably see yourself or people you know in at least a few of the stories. The stories are instructive but the lessons aren't spelled out. You draw your own conclusions. But the final chapter, "Lessons For Leaders," pulls all the threads together. That's where the book's major points are all laid out. It's not a book that needs to be read cover to cover. You can cherry-pick. There's the senior leader, EmmaJean, whose coal-miner father told her she'd never amount to anything. She's warped by it to this day. She suffers. Her relationships suffer, the one with her husband included. She stiff-arms the consultant assigned to her. ("Coming In from the Rain") The general manager who lost his father at a young age and whose sense of responsibility never quits. His wife eventually reads him the riot act. But he can't just let go. He's got to do the mental work first. ("Arm-Wrestling with Myself") The professional manager replaces the founder of a successful high-tech start-up, but he stays on as chief of innovation. She's the CEO but his power rivals hers. To contend with him, she's got to learn to take up her own power. ("Succeeding Sanjay") A senior manager who specializes in putting out business fires is combustible when he shouldn't be. Can he change enough to save his relationship with the love of his life? He knows he needs to be the good wolf, but he likes being the big bad wolf. ("Fight Brewing") To grow is to grapple--with yourself. In every story there's something blocking the way to being a better leader. The leader's got to grapple with that block, that obstacle. Often it's in the person's head. But they don't necessarily know what that is, what they're up against. That's where a consultant--a guide--comes in handy. The book is a hybrid--part fiction, part non-fiction. It's like historical fiction. It's based on real people and many of the scenes are imagined. It's a novel way of writing about leadership and self-improvement. So far, Grappling has won an award for non-fiction, from the Non-Fiction Association. Publishers Weekly summed up Grappling this way: "Leadership Lessons Shared Through Insightful Storytelling." The fight is with yourself. This book will help you emerge victorious.

About the Author :
Robert E. Kaplan is founding partner of Kaplan DeVries Inc., a foremost consulting and research firm that specializes in assessment for selection and development.

Review :
"Unlike almost every book out there about leadership and self-improvement, Grappling isn't formulaic or simplistic, pedantic or prescriptive in its approach. Rather, it features a collection of rich, real-life stories, fine-grained portrayals of people in action, dealing with situations and challenges that readers will surely find familiar. Each narrative follows an engaging dramatic arc that unfolds with unhurried assurance, exploring the nuanced motivation and development of each character through deft scene-setting, revealing dialogue and descriptive detail. This is not a book that settles for the prosaic payoff of 'lessons learned.' Rather, each story reveals subtle but clear insights about leadership and its underpinnings that are far more resonant and helpful than any how-to list of strategies and tactics could ever be." -- "Chris Bergonzi, former editor of MIT's Sloan Management Review "