I’ll remove the mystery: It’s a powerpoint presentation about personal branding.  “From who am I, to Here’s who I AM.”  As much as this slide is basic without the accompanying presenter speaking on its points, there’s definitely a lot of great takeaways here.  I’ve always been an advocate of working on your personal image; i.e. your “brand”.  Being an expert at something is half the battle; without a clear statement about who you are and what you’re good at, your knowledge will be lost.

Take time out of your life to reflect on who you are, what you’re good at, and act consistently with it.  For example, if you think that commitment is something you would like to brand yourself as, then show commitment in everything you do.  Commit yourself to being on time, completing your work well, following through until you finish.

I’ve always felt that life is one big business pitch: it’s not about who has the best business idea; it’s about who can market their business idea the best.

If you ever want to be in business in some point in your career, then this book is a must read.  I already knew it would be good, having it recommended to me by my GPM, but I didn’t know how good it would be.  From the moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.

The point is, meetings are a waste of time, these days.  And they are – you could be doing something else, you’re just reporting your status, and frankly, no one really pays much attention.  But why are they like that and what can be done about it?  Patrick Lencioni uses a fable to powerfully illustrate a simple and effective solution to this problem that haunts Corporate America.

Upon reading this book, it should become clear to you why meetings are critical in a company.  There should be no doubt in your mind that successful companies have mastered the art of the meeting.  Just as the tennis player trains for the Grand Slam, the golfer trains for the PGA tour, the leader must train for the meeting.

The meeting is where the most important conversations must happen – and where all the decisions need to be made.  It is where people need to discuss, debate, and argue until there is a consensus made – similar to a jury trial.  People’s needs and thoughts must be heard to avoid redundancy, overlap, and to hear great ideas.

Patrick Lencioni is the founder and president of a management consulting firm that specializes in executive team development and organizational health.  He has worked with Fortune 500 companies – Microsoft being one of them.

In the end, it’s a fun and easy to read book that provides value.  What more can you ask for?