SelectBooks Publishing

New York , NY -- What makes a great leader? This is the subject of countless books and studies; some insightful and some not so much so. One customary approach to this topic has been to create a portrait of some notable personage and analyze his or her features. Needless to say, while many of us draw inspiration from the words and deeds of such gigantic figures as Martin Luther King or John F. Kennedy or Jack Welch, each of them had personal nuances in their leadership approach. A great leader follows a personal calling to a specific mission and no two are ever the same. While most will agree that the Mona Lisa is a great painting, few would recommend that it needs to be painted again. Like great pieces of art, great leaders are unique expressions culled from the same raw material that makes up the average person. And while there is nothing wrong with looking up to another person as a role model, each of us must learn to fin d a fin e-tuned personal vision if one wants to demonstrate true leadership.

Using this metaphor between the artist and the leader, The Power to Lead: Lessons in Creating Your Unique Masterpiece (SelectBooks, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59079-191-2, $21.95) discusses both the art of leadership and its structural elements which, like a masterwork in the gallery, often go unnoticed to the casual viewer. Never wavering from this observation, The Power to Lead turns its critical eye on the reader rather than describing the exploits of some canonized notable. This book acts much like a looking glass and asks you to ask yourself some important questions before embarking on the leadership path, and many more along the way. Most importantly, it asks if you are truly cut out for this line of work. Just as someone with a “tin ear” won’t make it very far as a concert pianist, the distinguished leader will demonstrate a high aptitude with certain core skills early on. Authors Gregg Thompson and Bruna Martinuzzi do not shy away from explicitly stating that the role of leadership is not for everyone.

Leadership may not be a mantle which can be donned by everyone, but The Power to Lead is one of the first books that anyone who harbors such ambitions should read, and one which should be continually consulted as he or she progresses. Discussion of such fundamentals might be something of a departure for coaching and leadership pundit, Gregg Thompson. Gregg Thompson is a well respected author and lecturer as well as President of Bluepoint Leadership Development. While much of Thompson’s past writings and lectures, The Leadership Experience (SelectBooks, 2008) for example, have focused on more academic subject matter for the advanced student; The Power to Lead is a discussion of fundamentals. And the participation of such a profound thinker in the production of a basic primer is much welcome and long overdue. Thompson’s insights do in fact lend this title a complexity which allows it to bridge the gap between an introductory guide for the novice and a lifelong reference.

Bruna Martinuzzi’s contribution to this book is equally profound. As a recognized expert in the fields of leadership and emotional intelligence, she brings to the table a keen understanding of the psychological requirements of leadership. Ms. Martinuzzi is the founder and president of Clarion Enterprises Ltd., a training and coaching firm specializing in leadership and personal effectiveness programs, and author of The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow (Six Seconds Press, 2009) She is a strong believer in the concept that self-awareness precedes self-management and she assists leaders in enhancing their self-awareness as the stepping stone for achieving their personal best. The Power to Lead underscores this approach by referencing numerous case studies and clinical research to quantify its assertions.

In addition to clinical research The Power to Lead provides exercises and self-assessment tools at the end of each chapter to help gauge the reader’s progress. Moreover, many of the chapters include interviews with key individuals practicing their leadership skills “in the trenches”. Such individuals as Willard (Dub) Hay of Starbucks Coffee; Marsha Royer of Schweitzer Engineering; Karin Kirkpatrick from the University of British Columbia; John Sage of Pura Vida Coffee and many others all share insights and war stories from their personal experiences, invaluable information from a collection of people who have already been around the block a few times. These stories give the lessons in The Power to Lead the dynamism of ‘theory in practice’; these success stories have employed the same wisdom found in this volume to overcome some difficult obstacles.

It is no great surprise that Michael Foster, Chairman, Human Capital Institute, said “This book inspires and delivers an elegant and intuitive roadmap to the ambition, optimism, passion, and courage great leaders exemplify.” and Jim Wiggett, Founder and President of the Jackson Hole Group, and former EVP of Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and Charles Schwab Corporation called The Power to Lead , “…a ‘must read’ for all leaders…” A statement from SelectBooks publisher, Kenzi Sugihara, refers to The Power to Lead as “…an important contribution to the genre of leadership literature. This title can only help to solidify SelectBooks and our ‘Bluepoint Leadership Series’ position as primary voices in the field. Bravo Gregg and Bruna.”

Contact: Kenichi Sugihara

Phone: (212) 206-1997

Email: kenichi@selectbooks.com

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