Summer reading for executives …

I once knew a guy — a very successful professional — who used to wear nicely polished dress shoes with casual shorts.

He was a nice guy, but he just didn’t know how to lighten up.

It’s summer time, and there’s many executives lounging around pools and throwing blankets down on a beach while half their minds are back in the office. They have a hard time unplugging and leaving the work at work.

So let’s make a deal: if you promise to find some time to truly play and relax on your off time this summer, I’ll reward you with a great recommendation for some “lighter” business reading that can greatly benefit you when you get back to the office.

Okay, since you’ve agreed here’s my recommendation: check out the books written by Patrick Lencioni. Lencioni is the president of The Table Group and spends his time consulting, writing, and speaking on leadership and organizational life. His books, from “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” “Silos, Politics and Turf Wars,” “Death By Meeting,” “The Five Temptations of a CEO” and others are all outstanding in content and quality of writing.

They are somewhat of a lighter read because Lencioni tends to focus on a single concept in his books, and his books are written as stories that deliver deep insights on business leadership and organizational life. They’re also smaller in size, easy to slip into a backpack with the sun block and snorkel (because surely you aren’t packing around a briefcase at the beach … right?).

Here’s a link to Lencioni’s book page http://bit.ly/VxNSS . Enjoy some good summer business reading … and some fun!

Scotty