Confidence – Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Nov. 2005 – I’ve read some reader reviews on Amazon that talk about the repetition and reduncancy that some people found in this book. While there is some repetition, I didn’t feel that it in any way took away from the overall value of the book. Subtitled “How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin and End” this book really looks closely at teamwork and leadership. I thought it was a real page turner.

The author’s studies of sports teams from the high school to the professional level was really interesting and a great illustrator of her points about winning and losing streaks. But as you move through the book, her research at the BBC and her profile of Nelson Mandela add an interesting depth to her theories that go beyond the sports analogy. It’s very inspiring. The relationships she forged with the people who appear in this book provide stories and insights most of us would never have knowledge of otherwise. She truly got inside these teams and companies in order to better tell their stories. The chapters that include the struggles of both the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots made their appearance at last year’s Superbowl all the more significant for having understood what it took for those teams to get there.

It’s a very engaging read that has a lot of relevance to how companies need to look at the concept of winning.