Chess Not Checkers, Mark Miller
Chess Not Checkers, Mark Miller
List: $10.99 | Sale: $7.70
Club: $5.49

Chess Not Checkers
Elevate Your Leadership Game

Author: Mark Miller

Narrator: Joe Bronzi

Unabridged: 2 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 04/06/2015


Synopsis

The ever-increasing complexity we face requires a new way to think and work. To effectively lead an organization, bestselling author Mark Miller says, you have to play chess, not checkers. He shows how this mentality enables you to marshal all your available resources, including every employee, to strategically address challenges and opportunities.

In his latest business fable, top leadership author Mark Miller tells the story of newly appointed CEO Blake Brown, who takes over a company distressed by poor performance and low morale. Nothing Blake learned from his previous job seems to help him deal with the bigger, more complex problems he now faces. The game has changed. As his new mentor points out, Blake is playing a simple game of checkers when he should be playing chess.

Miller uses this metaphor to show how leaders can encourage deep, strategic thinking throughout an organization and utilize the unique abilities of each employee (bishops move differently than knights). He explains how to apply the "chess not checkers" mentality in four critical areas: leadership development, employee engagement, organizational alignment, and execution. This is an appealing, accessible guide to helping all leaders think ahead, plan their moves, and avoid getting checkmated by circumstances or competitors.

About Mark Miller

Mark Miller is a journalist, author, and podcaster with a national reputation as a top expert on retirement and aging-and he is at a point in life when he personally is asking himself many of the same questions facing millions of other older Americans. He contributes regularly to the New York Times "Retiring" column, which appears in the Sunday edition, where they are among the best-read personal finance stories in the paper. He also writes monthly national columns on retirement for Reuters, Morningstar, and Wealth Management magazine. Mark's website, RetirementRevised.com, publishes a newsletter and podcast that features interviews with authoritative experts in the field of retirement. His books include Jolt: Stories of Trauma and Transformation and The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security. He is the father of three young adult children who still periodically seek out advice from him or his wife of forty years, Anita Weinberg.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nick on July 26, 2015

A great, short book on leadership lessons told through the story of a new CEO. The mindset of envisioning a business as requiring chess strategy, not reactive checkers strategy is a powerful image. The main takeaways were: 1) Bet on Leadership - growing leaders grow the business 2) Act As One - alignm......more

Goodreads review by Mark on May 27, 2023

Absolutely loved this. Super easy to read and digest, with some profound leadership wisdom. Mark breaks the organizational leadership principles into 4 distinct components: 1. Bet on Leadership (Growing leaders grow organizations) 2. Act as One (Alignment multiples impact) 3. Win the Heart (Engageme......more

Goodreads review by Yasin on January 29, 2022

The Four Chess Moves that has Parallel to Business 1. Bet on Leadership: Growing leaders grow organizations • In a high-performance organization, one way to apply this idea is to proactively develop your leadership. The earlier in their career you invest in them, the better. You can’t wait until you n......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on February 26, 2021

This was a quick read and really interesting. But it will also be worth it to go back through to dig in to the principles and ideas presented, in order to better understand them and how to implement them. This book is also not just for those in formal leadership roles - it should be read by those who......more

Goodreads review by Jeremy on May 14, 2019

A good concise overview of organizational leadership. My only sticking point is the phrase "win the heart." I strongly believe our hearts, as the wellspring of life, are meant to be won by our Creator, shared with our fellow image-bearers, and ENGAGED in meaningful work. It's too easy for work to be......more