President's Message

Where do you turn for inspiration and new ideas about leadership? AAMSE’s New Medical Executives Institute this May will provide a great opportunity to inspire new association leaders, and the AAMSE Leadership Academy and Annual Conference are always packed with loads of inspiration and new ideas! And our relationships with our colleagues, AAMSE peers and members can provide daily inspiration.

Other tried and true sources are books, audios, and videos. A few years ago, Texas Medical Association created the TMA Leadership Bookclub that meets monthly to discuss a wide range of books on leadership, innovation and creative thinking. Lunch is provided, we take turns facilitating, and we get a very good cross section of staff, from the newest hire to Rocky Wilcox, JD, CAE, TMA General Counsel! I would like to take this opportunity to share a few of my personal favorites – books I keep close at hand to inspire and delight!

1. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t, by Jim Collins. This book started it all – it is one of our CEO’s (Lou Goodman) favorites and a model for how we approach our vision and mission at TMA. It was a natural first choice to kick off the TMA Leadership Bookclub three years ago.
2. Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton. All of my division directors and most of their staff have completed the online evaluation tool to find our top five strengths. You will be amazed and delighted to identify your top strengths and see how focusing on strengths instead of “fixing” weaknesses makes all the difference in performance.
3. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, by Garr Reynolds. This is a visually beautiful book with some simple and elegant ideas about presentations. You will want to buy a copy and keep on hand just to remind you how less is more and how to create compelling visuals to help you illustrate your points.
4. The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, by Dan Roam. We had fun with this one. After we discussed the book, each participant “told a story” on a whiteboard, using visuals (drawings, flowcharts, timelines) learned from the book. We illustrated everything from a recipe for stuffed calamari to how TMA works with the media to an explanation of the difference between second cousins and first cousins, once removed. People learn by doing, and applying the lessons learned from this book uncovered some simple ways to get ideas across. BONUS: Dan Roam has a killer Web site – you have to check it out!
5. The New Recruit, by Sarah L. Sladek. This is a tiny book packed with some great information about appealing to younger members. We had an opportunity to invite Ms. Sladek to TMA to talk to our county medical society and specialty medical society executives about recruiting young members. She is an excellent speaker, for those of you who are looking for potential membership recruitment and retention presentations. This book should be on every medical society execs desk!

Other TMA Leadership Bookclub favorites include:

• It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking with the Stakes are High, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Steven R. Covey.
• The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their Employees, Retain Talent, and Drive Performance, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
• Blink, the Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell. We have also read/discussed Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and will take on Outliers: The Story of Success this year.

There are many more, of course; but space is limited, so I tried to keep it short and sweet.

Creating a staff bookclub has been a great way for cross-divisional information sharing. Every book discussion turns to how we see these ideas implemented at work – or how they could be better implemented. Many have integrated these ideas into their management style to the benefit of their respective teams and duties. Why not consider starting a leadership bookclub at your association? If you are a small society, even two or three people can benefit from sharing their perspectives on books. It is fun, it is engaging, and it stimulates creative thinking.

If you would be interested in participating in an AAMSE virtual book club to discuss any of the books listed above, or another one of the group’s choosing, or if you are interested in leading a discussion, please let me know! I would also love to hear about your favorite books on leadership, innovation and creative thinking. Drop me an email.

Connie S. Minogue, CAE
Vice President of Marketing
Texas Medical Association
AAMSE President 2009-10

Upcoming Events
New Medical Executives Institute - May 10 - 12, Chicago, IL
Futures Conference (CEOs Only)   - May 24 - 25, Austin, TX
AAMSE Annual Conference - July 21 - 24, Seattle, WA