Suggested books for Company Level Leaders

[carl]

A book I forgot to mention that is direct, practical and good for discussion was written by Woody Hayes, the former Ohio State football coach. I read it long ago and forgot the name of it unfortunately.

It told of his first college football coaching experience at Denison. He took a program that wasn't established with a mixed group of players who were mostly WWII vets who hadn't been recruited. He tells how he formed them into a cohesive group, trained them and created a game strategy that took advantage of the men he had and the skills they happened to bring with them. It tells of personalities, group dynamics and imaginative thinking in making the best of what he had.

Hayes wasn't a polished author but he wrote the book all by himself and it was easy to read. He was an extremely insightful man when it came to leading and teaching young men. I was extremely impressed by this book when I read it. I just don't remember what the name of it was.

[jcustis]

Another longer book that very well illustrates how an organization recognized, thought about and solved a very difficult problem is The First Team by Lundstrom. The problem the Navy fighter squadrons had to solve was how to beat Zero fighters flown by brilliant pilots while flying an inferior airplane. It was a fascinating story.

I just read an interesting Amazon review of that book, and it sounds like exactly the good read you mention.