Resources: 12 Habits of Valuable Employees

Introduction

Books

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen

In Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Daniel G. Amen, M.D., makes the critical point that both healthy and unhealthy habits are contagious. He argues that people who practice good habits themselves will foster good habits in those around them.

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Scaling Up by Verne Harnish

For over a decade, Verne Harnish's Scaling Up has helped thousands of companies get aligned and grow.

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Learning Library from Growth Institute

Thought Leaders

Jim Collins

Jim Collins is the quintessential thought leader on how to make a company great.

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Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni is the pioneer of the organizational health movement and the author of critical books on teams.

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Bradfort Smart

Bradford Smart is an expert on how to hire the very best for your company.

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Part I: Will – Habits of Desire

Habit 1: Developing as a Leader

TEDTalk: How to Be a Great Leader video series

A must watch! Pick your favorite!

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Article: Why Read by Peter Drucker

This article from the Harvard Business Review explains the value Peter Drucker's readings can bring to your organization, particularly in the area of leadership. He read fiction books to develop savvier people skills

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Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership by George Kohlrieser

George Kohlrieser explains how releasing your followers from fear is the key to unleashing their potential.

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Topgrading by Bradfort Smart

Brad Smart is an expert on how to hire the very best for your company. In Topgrading, he says A-Players read on average 24 books per year: 12 to improve in their profession and 12 for fun.

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Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman

Liz Wiseman explains how some people amplify the results of the people around them by identifing and unlocking their innate talents.

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Marshall Goldsmith

Marshall has been called America's #1 executive coach. He suggests identifying a peer coach or accountability partner to challenge each other every day to be better leaders, team members, and family members.

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Habit 2: Aligning Vision

Video: Big Rocks with Stephen R. Covey

With the right perspective, you can achieve the big things on your to-do lists while managing the little things.

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Building Your Company’s Vision by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras

When they wrote this article on core values, Collins and Porras started a ubiquitous practice.

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Habit 3: Enabling Growth

Video: Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck

When you believe you can improve, you put in the time and effort necessary.

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Banish Sloppiness by Paul Akers

Paul Akers' book will help you evaluate a broken process and find the real source of the problems.

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Great by Choice by Jim Collins

Jim Collins is the quintessential thought leader on how to make a company great. This book offers important insights on how to reach your company's full potential.

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Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, 20th Anniversary Edition, by Verne Harnish

In this classic, Verne Harnish explains the fundamentals that produce real wealth for your company.

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Part II: Values – Habits of Character

Habit 4: Integrating Core Values and Purpose

Article: Defining Your Personal Core Values by Kevin Daum

You need to identify your personal core values to determine whether your core values are compatible with those of your company. Kevin's column details exactly how to define yours.

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Video: Core Values of Culture with Tony Hseih

As he built Zappos, Tony Hseih's number-one priority wasn't sales, it was company culture.

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Great by Choice by Jim Collins

Jim Collins is the quintessential thought leader on how to make a company great. This book offers important insights on how to reach your company's full potential.

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Habit 5: Managing Conflict

Video: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High with Joseph Grenny

Don't avoid crucial conversations. Watch Joseph Grenny's video and then schedule these important meetings.

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Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson

Kerry Patterson advises you concentrate on saying or writing your thoughts clearly and in a few short sentences. Also, avoid prefacing your comments with apologies or other caveats

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Forum: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders by Mo Fathelbab

Mo Fathelbab’s book Forum: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders provide you with a structure and rules for facilitating forms of peers.

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Just Listen by Mark Goulston

Mark Goulston outlines the listening skills useful in effective communication.

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Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni is the pioneer of the organizational health movement and the author of critical books on teams. This one is quintessential.

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Additional Resources on Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Find additional resources on Five Dysfunctions of a Team such as team assessment, pdf download on the model, etc.

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Video: Patrick Lencioni Talk at UMass Global

Enjoy this 40-minute fun and informative keynote video of Patrick Lencioni teaching the Five Dysfunction of a Team.

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Habit 6: Driving Excellence

Video: The Three “I” Philosophy for Extreme Leadership

(Scrub to the minute 5 marker) Influence, Impact, and Inspiration will make you a leader no matter your title in the company.

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7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book is one of the most influential business books of the 20th century.

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Additional Resrouces for 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Find additional resources on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, such as tips for managing time, becoming a better leader, and more.

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Part III: Results – Habits of Performance

Habit 7: Surfacing Issues

Video: The Importance and Value of the Checklist with Atul Gawanda

The simple, humble checklist can literally save lives.

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Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawanda

Wherever there is smoke, there is fire – drama – and that calls for a checklist!

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Article: The Problem with Saying “Don’t Bring Me Problems, Bring Me Solutions" by by Sabina Nawaz

How you identify problems is critically important to the process of solving them.

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Habit 8: Improving Process

Video: 4 Inspiring TEDTalks about Lean and Continuous Improvement

Think critically to simplify problems while unlocking creativity.

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The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eli Goldratt

Verne Harnish considers this the greatest business book ever written.

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Scaling Up by Verne Harnish

For 10 years, Verne Harnish's Scaling Up has helped thousands of companies get aligned and grow.

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Habit 9: Getting Things Done

Video: It’s All About Time: Connect Your Someday and Today with Jay Papasan

When you understand your true priority, it becomes much easier to eliminate the superfluous.

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Getting Things Done by David Allen

From getting your email inbox to zero each day to getting things out of your head and on paper so you don’t forget to do something, David details fundamental activities that will increase your personal productivity and simplify your job and life.

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Article: The Ivy Lee Method: The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, explains the value and the process of Lee's productivity method.

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Part IV: Skills – Habits of Influence

Habit 10: Fostering Communication

Video: The Art of Effective Communication with Marcus Alexander Velazquez

You can conserve time by communicating effectively.

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Stories That Stick by Kindra Hall

Telling stories is an excellent way to illustrate meaning. Stories That Stick offers specific, actionable steps readers can take to find, craft, and leverage the stories they already have and simply aren’t telling.

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Toastmasters

Toastmasters helps you practice public speaking, improve your communication, and build leadership skills.

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Habit 11: Inspiring Creativity

Video: Reigniting Creativity in Business with Alan Iny

Embracing doubt and introducing structure are excellent ways of inspiring creativity.

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Great by Choice by Jim Collins

Jim Collins is the quintessential thought leader on how to make a company great. This book offers important insights on how to reach your company's full potential.

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Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull

Ed Catmull, the co-founder of Pixar, explains his leadership and management philosophies and how they protect the creative process.

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Flawless Execution by James Murphy

Fighter pilot James Murphy’s book Flawless Execution explains the importance of structuring an after-action review like the military does after each mission.

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Habit 12: Effective Change

Video: How to Start a Movement with Derek Sivers

A classic, brief video on who is essential to starting a movement.

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Influence: The Science of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Dr. Robert Cialdini is perhaps the preeminent expert in the art of convincing. This book explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings.

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Article: Seven Principles of Persuasion with Robert Cialdini

Dr. Robert Cialdini is perhaps the preeminent expert in the art of convincing. These seven principles are universal guides to human behavior.

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Ari Weinzweig

When you need to effect change, follow the three-step process developed by the iconic Zingerman’s Deli CEO Ari Weinzweig.

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Books

Why Are There Snowblowers in Miami? by Steven Goldstein

In his book Why Are There Snowblowers in Miami?, Steven D. Goldstein explains how an obvious glitch in Sears’ distribution system went overlooked by hundreds of people for years—costing the company valuable resources

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HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Duarte

Win over a tough crowd with Nancy Duarte's guide to persuasive presentations.

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How to Be a Star at Work by Robert E. Kelley

When you study how star employees perform, you can become one, too.

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Impact Players: How to Take The Lead, Play Bigger and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman

Liz Wiseman explains why some people break through to make an impact while others get stuck going through the motions.

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Turnaround Artists by Ahad Ghadimi

Ahad Ghadimi gives a step-by-step process on creating great culture at work and improving the relationships in your life.

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Articles & Videos

The A.R.E. skills matter more than ever by Seth Godin

A.R.E = Agreeableness, Receptivity, and Enthusiasm.

Taking ownership and accountability is crucial for career planning and growth by Donald Haché

Employees who want to succeed must take ownership of their careers.

‘We absolutely have too many people’: Ford ready to wield the axe as U.S. economy slips into technical recession by Christiaan Hetzner

When companies are in trouble, only the valuable employees will remain.

27 Years Ago, Steve Jobs Said the Best Employees Focus on Content, Not Process. Research Shows He Was Right by Jeff Haden

Valuable employees focus on results.

How to lead a team, when you used to be their peer by Orianna Rosa Royle

Growing from peer to leader calls for some sacrifices, but it's an important transition for any emerging leader.

IKEA’s CEO says he only climbed from assistant to the C-suite by not pursuing a ‘shimmering’ title by Jane Thier

Valuable employees can rise from assistant to CEO! Worry less about your title and more about your output.

Create Value by Seth Godin

Creating value is not easy, but it is the source of resilience and security.

Video: The power of believing that you can improve by Carol Dweck

No matter your age, you can grow your brain's capacity to learn and solve problems.

Downloads

The HOSHIN Method Close the gap between strategy and execution with the HOSHIN Method.

Download the Contributorship Questionnaire by Dr. Barbara J. Kreisman

Companies

Atlassian core values - Verne's model

This is one of Verne Harnish's favorite core values examples.

Forums@Work

Learn how peer-to-peer forums can improve culture at your company.

Circl.es

Circl.es enables virtual human connection via storytelling and community gathering.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bestselling authors Verne Harnish, Kevin Daum, and Anne Mary Ciminelli surveyed hundreds of employers to uncover what sets adequate employees apart from truly valuable players. Through insightful stories and practical tips, you’ll learn the 12 key habits in four essential areas – Will, Values, Results, and Skills – that lead to amazing careers and fulfillment at work.

Discover within:

Clear examples contrasting adequate versus valuable performance
Simple daily practices to master essential workplace skills
Ways to apply the habits to benefit your team, department, and company
Bonus guidance for employers seeking to inspire value in their workforce

Whether you aspire to leadership or want recognition for your efforts, this book provides the mindset and methods for workplace excellence. Follow this step-by-step guide based on decades of coaching successful companies, and develop the qualities that define MVP employees.

Stand out by embracing the 12 habits of top performers. Transform your work, team, and career to new heights!