Why am I passionate about this?

I am the principal of Guttman Development Strategies (GDS), an organization development firm that works with senior executives and their teams in major corporations globally to build horizontal, high-performance teams, provide leadership coaching, and develop leadership skills. I am a speaker and author of three acclaimed management books and dozens of articles in business publications.


I wrote

When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization

By Howard M. Guttman,

Book cover of When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization

What is my book about?

Many books on conflict management are technique-driven and treat the issue as an interpersonal problem rather than one connected toā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies

Howard M. Guttman Why did I love this book?

This elegantly written book is chock-a-block with real-life examples and balances rigorous conceptual discussion with practical tips for moving organizations from mediocrity to excellence.

I especially like the author's distillation of eight practical tips that separate successful companies from the wannabes, including a bias for action, staying close to the customer, and ā€œsticking to the knitting.ā€ These were ahas! at the time and have since become timeless ā€œmustsā€ for well-run companies.

By Thomas J. Peters, Robert H. Waterman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked In Search of Excellence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The "Greatest Business Book of All Time" (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.

Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful.

Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today's management reader.


Book cover of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

Howard M. Guttman Why did I love this book?

I like the redemptive quality of this book. Moving from mediocre, merely good companies to great ones is not a function of organizational DNA but of holding fast to certain traits and practices.

Collins and his research teamā€™s rigorous analysis provides a detailed analysis of the key factors that propelled 11 companies from so-so to exceptional. He begins with leadership, ā€œLevel 5 Leadership,ā€ which squares with my own approach to organizational change, which happens first with the top executive team.

The eight key factors that he identifies are essential building blocks for any organization wanting to transition from business as usual to business as unusually successful.

By Jim Collins,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked Good to Great as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

________________________________
Can a good company become a great one? If so, how?

After a five-year research project, Jim Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organisation to make the leap from good to great while other organisations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.

Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel. It is widely regardedā€¦


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Book cover of Trial, Error, and Success: 10 Insights into Realistic Knowledge, Thinking, and Emotional Intelligence

Trial, Error, and Success by Sima Dimitrijev, PhD,

Everything in nature evolves by trial, error, and successā€”from fundamental physics, through evolution in biology, to how people learn, think, and decide.

This book presents a way of thinking and realistic knowledge that our formal education shuns. Stepping beyond this ignorance, the book shows how to deal with and evenā€¦

Book cover of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

Howard M. Guttman Why did I love this book?

The insights in this groundbreaking book apply across the board, from social and family life to interacting and managing others in organizational life.

What factors are at play when people of high IQ flounder while those who are more modestly endowed succeed? Goleman argues that the difference is Emotional Intelligence, which, as he explains, comprises empathy, effective social skills/communication, self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation.

Iā€™ve watched too many of the allegedly best and brightest, tough-minded executives flame out because they failed to rein in emotional impulse, read othersā€™ feelings, or handle interpersonal relationships. The skills are learnable, and in todayā€™s asymmetric, hybrid, matrixed organizations, they are essential for success.

By Daniel Goleman,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Emotional Intelligence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The groundbreaking bestseller that redefines intelligence and success Does IQ define our destiny? Daniel Goleman argues that our view of human intelligence is far too narrow, and that our emotions play major role in thought, decision making and individual success. Self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, motivation, empathy and social deftness are all qualities that mark people who excel: whose relationships flourish, who are stars in the workplace. With new insights into the brain architecture underlying emotion and rationality, Goleman shows precisely how emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us.


Book cover of A Guide to Rational Living

Howard M. Guttman Why did I love this book?

We all make ourselves. How well we do it is our choice!

This book has had a profound impact on my approach to executive coaching and organizational change, where a key difficulty that compromises performance centers on self-limiting and misguided beliefs. Drs. Ellis and Harper focus on self-management techniques that shift the focus from ā€œthemā€ to ā€œyou.ā€ We can change negative emotions and behaviors that stem from our own thinking. Itā€™s our choice as to what we think and emote.

This book, based on clinical research, provides readers with insights and techniques to permanently shift their game.

By Albert Ellis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Guide to Rational Living as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Direct, get-to-the-heart-of-the-problem methods to teach you what you do to needless upset yourself and make yourself emotionally stronger by the creators of the most popular forms of therapy in the world.

From the foreword by publisher Melvin Powers:
Years ago, after two decades of burning the midnight oil, reading manuscripts which professed to have all the virtues this one actually possesses, I found the original New Guide to Rational Livingā€”a gem that has become a classic in the field of psychology.

Since then, I am delighted to say, I have sold 1.5 million copies of this book in previous editions.ā€¦


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Book cover of Currently Away: How Two Disenchanted People Traveled the Great Loop for Nine Months and Returned to the Start, Energized and Optimistic

Currently Away by Bruce A. Tate,

The plan was insane. The trap seemed to snap shut on Bruce and Maggie Tate, an isolation forced on them by the pandemic and America's growing political factionalism. Something had to change.

Maggie's surprising answer: buy a boat, learn to pilot it, and embark on the Great Loop. With noā€¦

Book cover of Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used

Howard M. Guttman Why did I love this book?

Consultants come in many flavors. Some are content consultants; others focus on technology; still others deal with the ā€œsoft side.ā€ Regardless of how consultants work their magic, this book lays out clearly and in fair detail the ABCs of ā€œflawlessā€ consulting.

The key question is: How can consultants leverage their impact in the absence of control? I find this book a valuable guide to answering this tough question. It covers the waterfront from the contracting process to overcoming client resistance to providing feedback, which is often a major roadblock to a consultantā€™s success.

This book should be required reading for all consultants, especially those who are new to the task. 

By Peter Block,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flawless Consulting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An expert discussion of the timeless fundamentals and latest tools that form the foundation of successful influencing

Renowned consultant and author Peter Block delivers the latest and fourth edition of his best-selling Flawless Consulting, an intuitive and insightful step-by-step guide to the five phases of effective consulting. The book offers a deep exploration of the skills, tools, and behaviors required to successfully influence others. You'll see exactly what you need to say and do to help others achieve their goals, whether you are an internal or external consultant or anyone in a leadership position who wants to build effective partnershipsā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization

By Howard M. Guttman,

Book cover of When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization

What is my book about?

Many books on conflict management are technique-driven and treat the issue as an interpersonal problem rather than one connected to the larger organization in which conflict plays out. This book treats conflict as a business issue between individuals and groups in organizations in their face-to-face, written, and electronic communications.

Learn how executives in organizations ranging from Colgate-Palmolive to Johnson & Johnson to Campbell Soup and Lā€™OrĆ©al have dealt with tough conflict issues in real-time. Recently updated to include fresh insights into conflict on virtual teams and in electronic communications, this book will provide you with proven strategies and tools for turning dysfunctional conflict into healthy confrontation and win-win solutions.

Book cover of In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies
Book cover of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
Book cover of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

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