Alan Maites of Robinson & Maites, Chicago reads Patrick Lencioni (The 5 Temptations of a CEO, The 4 Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive), and found Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith and Good to Great by Jim Collins to be particularly inspiring. Tom Sullivan at Princeton Partners, New Jersey recommends The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell - "good basic reminders to practice in an agency setting."

The management principles about people and simplicity in Good to Great also get high praise from John Ketchum at Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy, Charlotte. And he recommends Business - The Ultimate Resource, a huge reference book that is a tremendous value even at 60 bucks with over 2000 pages of excellent best-practice articles on almost every management subject.

Jim Schnurbusch holds the reins at The Hughes Group, St. Louis but could probably also handle the yoke of a B-24 since he recently finished Stephen Ambrose's The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany. "It relates well to our agency business: you never really know what you'll encounter; persistence leads to success; have a specific mission and do it well; and focus, focus, focus." He also recommends Emotional Branding by Marc Gobe. "A terrific book about the role of emotion in a brand's success."

Other recommendations: Gail Krieger of Krieger Associates, a DRTV media management firm near Philadelphia, suggests Bobos in Paradise, Culture Matters, and Who Moved My Cheese. Howard Tripp, Tripp Advertising, Minneapolis says Secrets of the Vine helped him realize "...my agency is not who I am nor what is most important for me to be successful at. Very challenging and inspiring at the same time." Carolyne Smith, of PPO&S, Harrisburg says the book she returns to time after time is Creative Management by Bill Marsteller. Her latest 'ah-ha' book is American Attitudes: Who Thinks What About The Issues That Shape Our Lives. And Leonard Cohen of media agency Kelly Scott & Madison, Chicago tells us Leadership A-to-Z by James O'Toole gave him loads of insights into how he can better lead his company.

That's what's interesting about these recommendations - most of them inspire better management and leadership. These agency principals know it's essential not just to work IN their agencies, but to work ON them (and themselves) too.
 

"An effective new business program, like most communication efforts, is a process, not a project. Projects start and stop, processes are continuous strategically conceived actions designed to achieve specific goals. Just like we tell our clients: Don't expect to move product with just one ad now and then. You need frequency, a campaign. There are several ways to make your new business program a strategic process. Here are some dos and don'ts:" Click here to visit our articles section.

Other articles you might want to scan: The Agency CEO's Job Description, Who Needs Conference Reports?, and How to Keep Your Clients Happy. All available at Articles on our website.

Happy idea harvesting!