Lead by Greatness

In CFO Bookshelf’s 250th episode, we feature a book that embodies the heart and soul of what this show stands for. The book is Lead by Greatness by our guest, David Lapin. David addresses eight vital leadership traits, defining a spiritual fingerprint and why it matters, the reason the Siberian prisoner perished, and what it means for both leaders and staff. He recommends that we read more fiction, sharing some of his favorite authors and titles.

Episode Highlights

1. The reason Mark brought up the movie Invictus and Mandela’s impact on David.
2. The two threads in David’s family tree.
3. The reason men and women of faith may have an unfair advantage as executive coaches.
4. Goodness vs. greatness. Which one is better?
5. “No matter what the cost,” in the context of the company’s soul and spirit.
6. The reason Mark has added a leader’s lack of decisiveness (a conative instinct) to David’s list of traits.
7. “I need help,” and a prisoner cannot untie themselves.
8. An overview of the Spiritual Fingerprint and how it maps our values.
9. The reason the Siberian prisoner died, and why we need to know.
10. “You don’t need to create a purpose, you need to discover it.”
11. David’s views on burnout, fatigue, and depletion.
12. Frankle vs. Maslow.
13. The reason the HP and Compaq merger didn’t go as planned.
14. The dark side of memories and the overfocus on numbers can lead to unintended consequences.
15. “You are here to enrich the world.”
16. Why readers underrate the value of fiction and good novels, and why they put too much focus on how-to books.
17. Lapin Consulting International.

David Lapin’s Favorite Reading Material

David is a prolific reader, and we could have spent hours talking about his books. During the interview, he narrowed his reading material to the following:

• Tolstoy
• Man’s Search for Meaning
• Autobiographies
• The Talmud

Selected Text From Lead by Greatness

Below are some of Mark’s favorite lines in the book. If you are part of a CEO peer group, he highly recommends reading this in the context of a book club setting, as the interaction with other business leaders will enhance the reading experience.

A company’s soul is its spirit, its personality, its culture, and the values by which it firmly stands, no matter what the cost. A company’s soul is the reason why its customers stay loyal to it, and why its best employees never leave.

Lead by Greatness

A great business leader satisfies people’s needs for the tangible things that make them feel secure, as well as their cravings for higher intangibles, like a sense of purpose, human dignity, and a feeling of being valued as an individual.

Lead by Greatness

At its core, leadership is less about how well we manage others than how well we manage ourselves. The quickest—and perhaps the only—way to change others is to change ourselves.

Lead by Greatness

You were born with all the intelligence you need to fulfill your inner purpose.

Lead by Greatness

The solution to every business challenge, outside of purely technical issues, lies at the root of people’s relationships with their work. Vast resources of human energy, innovation, and productivity wait to be liberated by managers willing to learn how to inspire employees with a passionate belief in their own dignity and the human value of the work they do.

Lead by Greatness

You are not here merely to make a living.You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply with greater vision with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world.

Lead by Greatness

IT IS BETTER for an organization not to espouse its values at all than to flaunt its values but fail to apply and practice them.

Lead by Greatness

Episode Pairings