Monday Morning Mentoring

Everyone who wants a fulfilling career needs a mentor -- someone who has seen it all before, someone who can share hard-won experiences and teach valuable lessons. In this expanded and enhanced version of his best-selling book, Monday Morning Leadership, David Cottrell packs all of the wisdom of his wide-ranging business experience into this inspirational story. Cottrell introduces us to Jeff, a successful corporate manager who has hit a major wall. Jeff has been leading his team, quarter after quarter, to great sales and better profits for several years -- until now. The tricks that used to work wonders have lost their magic; Jeff is in a slump and is at a loss to find his way out of it. Overworked, stressed, and feeling that his personal and professional lives are at risk, Jeff reaches out to the father of a college buddy, a retired and tremendously accomplished former executive named Tony. Tony and Jeff agree to meet every Monday for ten weeks to work through Jeff's problems and get his career back on track. In the course of these intimate sessions, Jeff discovers the secrets of real leadership: "Until I accept total responsibility -- no matter what -- I will not be able to put plans in place to accomplish my goals." And, "My success is the result of making better choices and recovering quickly from poor choices." Tony leads Jeff through tough lessons in how to manage his people, how to manage his own time, how to manage his superiors, and how to escape from "management land." Most of all, Jeff learns that his success is intimately bound with the success of his people and that tolerating lackluster performance in himself and others on the team only leads to discontent from his most prized and productive employees. Through Jeff's mentoring sessions, the reader meets a character of integrity who dispenses homespun but effective wisdom. Spend time with Tony and Jeff at their Monday morning meetings, and you will find yourself on the road to becoming a better leader and being more successful at work.

David Cottrell, president and CEO of CornerStone Leadership Institute, is an internationally known leadership consultant, educator, and speaker. His twenty-five-plus years of business experience includes senior management positions with Xerox and FedEx, and his management expertise is reflected in twenty-five highly acclaimed books, including Monday Morning Mentoring and Monday Morning Choices. He has been a featured expert on public television and has presented his leadership message to more than 300,000 managers worldwide. He lives in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, with his wife, Karen.