Professional Management

There are so many books, materials and resources out there for business, but which ones are the best ones?  I think that it would be fair to say that it really depends on your company, the culture that you are trying to promote and the status of the business itself.  I truly believe that no matter the state of the company, there is always room for improvements, strengthening and growth!

I must admit, I have never been an avid reader but especially in this past year, I have been finding myself hungry for such blogs, books, conversations and materials.  I would love the opportunity to share some of my favorite materials with you now:

Aileron  – Aileron is based out of the Dayton, OH area and offers several classes (in person and online) focusing on small business’ and work through what they call the DOC Model.  You can see the DOC model and learn more about it here. DOC stands for Direction, Operation and Control and each of those topics have subsections within.  SO much great information and Aileron itself just radiates with a wealth of knowledge and expertise.    I very much look forward to getting other future IDO Leaders out to Aileron for the experience as well.

“The Ideal Team Player” written by: Patrick Lencioni.  A small group at our office began this journey together earlier this year as a kick start/food for thought as we were about to enter a hiring season and work toward strengthening and developing our IDO site teams and more specifically, IDO as a whole.  In his book, Patrick discuss three key characteristic in finding the right people – humility, hunger and people smarts.  The model and further description can be found here.  This was a great resource in formulating and asking more in-depth questions as well as diving in to more meaningful conversations with potential new hires.  The information within has also been helpful within our existing teams, as well, in exploring potential future leaders that embody such characteristics.  I believe some of the copies of this book are floating around the office and I look forward to future conversations with more of my teammates!

Dr. Travis Bradberry – Coauthor EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 2.0 & President at TalentSmart.  Althought I have yet to read his book (it’s on my list!) I mainly follow him on LinkedIN and read a lot of his posts and articles.  His main focus, Emotional Intelligence and the power of positivity, is very refreshing and inspiring!

At IDO, we strive to be a Professionally Managed Company and hold ourselves accountable for the collective efforts of the team.  In focusing in on our values, we often encourage the team to ‘call each other out’ when another teammate is either ‘living’ or ‘not living’ those specific values that we all hold tight to and that shape our culture.

What initiatives and materials are you looking at for your business?

Written by Amanda Medlen