Serial entrepreneur and executive coach Michael Schutzler has asked me to review his new book, Inspiring Excellence: A Path to Exceptional Leadership.
It’s an excellent handbook for those who aspire to leadership, as well as experienced leaders looking to hone their skills. I’ve known Michael professionally for almost a decade, so it’s a treat to review this book – a distillation of his thoughts, hard-won experiences, and principles on how leaders can inspire others to follow them. Ideally, in service of a greater good.
Michael believes that leadership can be learned, honed and perfected through practice. To that end he offers a very useful set of constructs, models, and explanatory stories to illustrate his key points in this “small is beautiful” book.
He uses everyday prose, simple storytelling and just the essential graphics to deliver his message. Unlike other business books I’ve read recently, Michael’s investment in a minimalist editorial strategy really shows. As one of his reviewers writes on the jacket blurb, this book “is a lightning strike of clarity and simplicity.”
For Whom
Michael believes great leaders can and should be found in all walks of life. He asserts that the principles and models outlined in Inspiring Excellence can benefit current and aspiring leaders in many roles, including:
- Principals, instructional leaders, PTA heads
- Preachers and spiritual guides
- Project managers, program managers, marketing managers
- Chief surgeons and heads of medical practices
- Police chiefs and first responders who must take charge of life-or-death situations and crises
- Public sector leaders, from town managers to mayors, government heads, elected representatives, etc.
- Coaches
- Innovators and pioneers
- And yes, of course, people who run business organizations of all sizes – and not just C-level executives
It’s a fast read: just right for a cross-country plane ride, so if you aspire to be a better leader, this book is for you.
Key Constructs
Inspiring Excellence focuses on the essential ingredients of leadership: the 4 fundamental leadership skills and the 4 most important functions of leaders. Michael devotes a chapter to each:
| Leadership Skills | Leadership Functions |
| Listening | Assembling talent |
| Storytelling | Reaching consensus |
| Negotiating | Making tough choices |
| Assessing people | Harnessing ambition |
His insights are based on his own experiences as a manager and then C-level executive within both privately held and public corporations (as well as leadership roles in a number of volunteer organizations and Board-level positions). Like the best self-improvement books on leadership, this one is authentic, practical and practicable — clearly grounded in real-world experience, rather than academic abstractions.
I won’t elaborate on the principles and models he describes – you really should buy a copy of this book. Instead I’ll close with a couple of my favorite quotes (of which there are many) from Inspiring Excellence:
Your ability to motivate and inspire is directly proportional to your ability to tell a good story.
And my personal favorite (reflecting my Apple “think different” values):
You have permission to be decidedly un-average. As a leader, no one expects you to be ordinary. In fact, they hope that you are extraordinary.
For more information about the author, Michael Schutzler, check out his professional website, www.BlueSevenPartners.com, or follow him on Twitter: @Schutzler.
