Pam Bilbrey and Brian Jones have written a new book that is unquestionably highly relevant to all leaders… and to each and every person who is truly committed to greater personal and professional success (however they define success). Thoughtful reading, with a desire and willingness to take action and make personal, professional and organizational changes, will assist serious readers in contributing greater value to the people and organizations they serve. The book is titled, Ordinary Greatness: It’s Where You Least Expect It… Everywhere.
Patrick Lencioni, best selling author and world class consultant, wrote that Pam and Brian “provide a comprehensive and practical set of tools for excavating the hidden value and talent buried deep within our companies, hospitals, churches and schools. They provide a blueprint for us to go about changing the lives of people who work for us by helping them realize their potential and become the people they are meant to be. That is certainly one of the most worthwhile endeavors that any executive or manager can undertake.”
Bilbrey and Jones define Ordinary Greatness as follows:
“Superior and often unrecognized characteristics, qualities, skills, or effort found in a person who may be otherwise undistinguished; sometimes discovered in a response to unexpected circumstances.”
Each chapter is filled with clear, concise, practical and implementable advice, along with excellent stories and examples, taken directly from the author’s consultation with hundreds of companies throughout America. Specific chapters address:
- What is Ordinary Greatness?
- Ordinary Greatness Observed
- Why People Do Not See Ordinary Greatness
- How Leaders Open Their Eyes to Ordinary Greatness
- Characteristics of Ordinary Greatness
- Creating the Context for Ordinary Greatness
- Promoting Ordinary Greatness
- Cultivating the Potential for Ordinary Greatness
- Changing the Way You View the World
- Ordinary Greatness in Challenging Times
- Additional resources are found at the end of the book
There are literally hundreds of excellent Tips for Success throughout this book. In addition to the focus of each chapter, just a few quotations from the book include:
- The bottom line is that we, as leaders, are responsible for whether or not our staff brings its full commitment and effort to work every day.
- The leader’s role is to teach, coach, and inspire others to be the best they can be.
- Ensure everyone’s potential is fully realized, regardless of the position they hold in your organization.
- The best leaders practice self-development.
- There is no limit to our ability to succeed when we invest ourselves in the potential of those around us.
- You can’t manufacture excellence; you can only enable it.
- This is how cultures are changed—by leaders who pay the most attention to the positive greatness already in the company.
- Greatness is all around us. The lesson of this chapter is that it may not always be where we expect to see it. Discovering greatness in ordinary situations requires us to release patterns of thinking that limit possibilities.
- Organizations that successfully align themselves for greatness share four common characteristics: (1) clarity, (2) claim of ownership, (3) committed communication, and (4) connectivity via systems and processes.
Throughout the book, the authors challenge leaders “to be aware of the blinders, to be more open to the greatness all around them, and to go through each day ready to provide a spark that will become the light that illuminates and attracts ordinary greatness.”
The book is well worth the price, the read and the reread. Thoughtful reading, with a desire and willingness to take action and make personal, professional and organizational changes, will assist serious readers in contributing greater value to the people and organizations they serve. I guarantee it!
The authors are available for keynotes, retreats, seminars, and coaching/consulting services. You can contact them at www.ordinarygreatnessbook.com.
