Commercial Integrator January 2023 - 40

FINAL THOUGHTS
An Integrator's Reading List
LAST FALL, during
CEDIA Expo, a bunch
of #avtweeps gathered
in the Omni Dallas Hotel's bar area, talking
shop. Luke Jordan, vice president and
co-steward of Fort Worth, Texas-based
Electro Acoustics, started discussing business
best practices with Steve Greenblatt,
president of Control Concepts, as well
as Brittany DiCesare, Control Concepts'
client success manager. It quickly became
clear that these industry leaders are voracious
readers - and I'm not talking about
James Patterson novels. Instead, they immerse
themselves in books that inculcate
ideas that help them run their businesses
better. These range from volumes about
how to manage a team most eff ectively, to
books about how to persevere in the face
of adversity, to treatises on how to sell
more eff ectively.
The gathered #avtweeps suggested
that Commercial Integrator present a
recurring feature sharing indispensable
book recommendations for business
owners and operators. I was immediately
enthusiastic about the idea, and CI starts
to bring it to fruition this month. What
follows are fi ve books that Jordan thinks
can help you grow not only as a business
owner but also as a person. The descriptions
provided are his own.
Nine Lies About Work,
by Marcus Buckingham
and Ashley
Goodall
Many of us tend to credit
universally accepted truths
about work and how people collaborate.
The problem is that people are typically
disengaged and frustrated at work. Nine
Lies About Work outlines the myths that
people buy into and analytically uncovers
the best ways to manage a team.
Grit, by Angela Duckworth
When faced with challenging circumstances,
some people
rise to the occasion while
others pull back and fail.
The diff erence, it turns out,
is grit - a measurable and
critical trait that can be
developed. Grit brings readers on a journey
of learning how having grit makes the
diff erence in the face of obstacles, as well
as how to become a grittier person.
How The Mighty Fall,
by Jim Collins
Companies achieve
success by doing things
the right way consistently
over time. However, this
success can easily lead to their downfall.
How The Mighty Fall covers the fi ve steps of
decline and eventual capitulation, how to
recognize which stage you're in and what
you can do to turn the ship around.
Radical Candor,
by Kim Scott
Managing people is oſt en
proclaimed to be more
diffi cult than managing the
work your organization
does. " Radical candor " means caring personally
for your people while challenging
them directly. Caring personally requires
managers to get to know the whole person
they manage - in the workplace and
outside of the offi ce - in order to develop
trust and create an engaging workplace.
Challenging directly leverages that trust
by clearly communicating areas of subpar
performance in an eff ort to help your people
know where they stand.
Extreme Ownership,
by Jocko Willink
and Leif Babin
The U.S. Navy SEALs are
recognized as some of the
highest-performing teams
in the world in the midst of the worst operCommercial
Integrator, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2165-9850), Vol.13 No.1, is published monthly by Emerald X, LLC., 100 Broadway, 14th
Clockwise from upper leſt : Tammy
Fuqua, Brittany DiCesare, Steve Greenblatt,
Dan Ferrisi, Luke Jordan and
Megan A. Dutta during CEDIA Expo.
ating environments. Retired SEALs Jocko
Willink and Leif Babin translate the guiding
principles learned in combat into the business
world, best characterized as owning
the outcome for your area of responsibility
and the mindset all team members need to
have to execute accordingly.
In future months, CI will present additional
book recommendations from recognized
industry leaders. As editor-in-chief
of the self-described " business handbook
for technology professionals, " I believe
it is this publication's highest calling to
inspire integrators to stretch beyond their
comfort zone and shake up their business
operations. I hope these titles help you do
exactly that.
If you would like to present book choices
of your own, please email me with your
list, providing a short blurb for each one.
Dan Ferrisi, Editor-in-Chief
dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com
@danferrisiedit
Floor, New York, New York 10005, 800-440-2139. Commercial
Integrator is a registered trademark of Emerald X, LLC. All reproduction, including photocopying, is prohibited without written permission. Postage Paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offi ces.
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40
Commercial Integrator JANUARY 2023
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