Week of 11/30/2008 - 00:00 to 12/06/2008 - 23:59

If you look at the Top 10 selling business books for October 2008, you will find that 6 of the 10 books listed relate to leadership in some way. The other 4 books deal with finance or investing, no doubt linked to the nation’s current economic situation.

Emotional Intelligence is described as the ability to identify, assess and manage the emotions of self and others.  As early as Darwin's research, he began to look at this non-cognitive intelligence as it related to survival and adaptation.  Interest in emotional intelligence has grown significantly since the 1990s, with research suggesting that good emotional understanding can lead to increased social effectiveness.

What are some of the characteristics of an individual with high emotional intelligence?

In this Amazing Leadership podcast, Roy interviews Jason Alba, CEO of JibberJobber.com.  Jason has also authored books on using LinkedIn and Facebook.  Roy and Jason talk about how you can use online tools, social media and personal branding in your job search.  You can buy Jason's books here.  Listen to podcast.

In my last post I used Clausewitz and Tim Ferris to communicate the idea of "focus".  By narrowing the point at which you direct your effort, you bring maximum effect and efficiency.  If you happen to narrow your focus on a competitor's weak spot, all the better.  I'm not here to talk strategy, so let's move on.

Using another military example to make the point,  Sparta's King Leonidas eliminated thousands at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. with a small, well trained and focused group.

Karl von Clausewitz, the Prussian general, and Tim Ferris, author of "The 4 Hour Work Week", are two completely different guys born in different eras.  Yet, both fully understand and appreciate the need for focus. 

The Wall Street Journal recently polled 100 CEOs of large companies what their top priorities were. After the obvious financial issues, the never ending concern over finding the right people to do what needs to get done was the top issue.  A new book, Who: A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, offers a solution to improve the odds of hiring the right people.