Book emphasizes that leadership is an action, not a position

Growing @ the Speed of Change has a very “today” feel which comes from more than just using the @ symbol in the title. Reading it give you a sense speed is the norm. At times you get tired trying to keep up with all the quotes and references. However, the quotes, stories, and references also spur you on.

Jim Clemmer is obviously a lifelong learner. He shares his passion for learning with stories, quotes, and insights, based on 25 years of work as an innovator in leadership training. Clemmer moved from the corporate world to training, first with Zenger Miller and then with Achieve Global. In 1994 he formed the Clemmer group to focus on the practical application of timeless leadership principles for personal, team, and organizational success. His years of developing world-class products are reflected in this new book.

Growing @ the Speed of Change draws on his other books – he has written six others – to reference pertinent material and to demonstrate how effective leadership is a continual learning process. To quote Clemmer, “leading employs persuasion rather than the power of position.” The quotes, stories, and information are assembled to persuade leaders to stop wallowing and step up to a new reality. As he puts it, “there are no shortcuts or quick and easy solutions that require little effort or personal change. There is only the hard work of building basic habits.”

I marvel at Jim’s capacity to recall events and his foresight to take notes — continually. You don’t collect the diverse quotes and stories in an afternoon on Google. Clemmer weaves information from business leaders, political leaders, common folk, and Aesop’s fables into a truly compelling book, which he bills as an Inspir-actional How-To-Guide. What impressed me, a chronological reader, is how I can open any page and learn instantly. I suspect you could read this book from back to front and come out a winner.

Two snippets of information that resonated are “I don’t have the authority,” and the “Tips and Techniques” exercise. “I don’t have the authority” is number two of Jim’s Tempting Ten Wallowing Words. As a fellow leadership trainer, I too am tired of hearing that excuse.

As for the other nine tempting tips on the list, they are a summary of real errors and attitudes many of us demonstrate. The “Tips and Techniques” exercise, which must be tackled continually, might seem very “airy-fairy” for some pragmatic leaders, but I challenge you to try it. Visualization is a strong leadership tool, rarely used effectively.

Clemmer continually reminds readers that “leadership is an action, not a position.” Even in the opening pages when he’s recounting his own growth path, you learn the value of focus, consistency, and vision. Jim uses his own history and mixes it with pertinent leadership insights. Thriving in Turbulent Times is the title of one page and Clemmer explains, “Turbulence means disorder, chaos, and instability. Turbulent times are unpredictable, disruptive, and confusing. Sound familiar? Yes. It sounds like life.” Growing @ the Speed of Change is designed to help the reader thrive on turbulence and in life.

The balance of the book is comprised of very short chapters, in a consistent format to entice you to continue reading. Set in five different parts, with as many as eight themes in each part, the book challenges you to step up to a new reality and rewire your brain in the process. There are even a couple of exercises where you can score yourself and discover opportunities for growth.

Clemmer is a leading international practitioner of improving personal, team, and organizational performance. He’s also a popular keynote speaker and conducts management workshops, leads retreats, and consults with international companies. I know from personal experience that Jim is a “giver” who shares his expertise at the drop of a hat.

Thanks to Growing @ the Speed of Change, my reading list just got a lot longer. Jim quotes authors, speakers, psychologists, optimists, pessimists, and many more. Each quote, story or reference to a resource made me want to drop my reading and research the quoted author or specialist. The back cover of Growing @ the Speed of Change suggests you read and contemplate or flip through and browse. I know for a fact I will return to this book again and again for the insight between the covers and to resource the names of other experts.