Turning Points: Real-Life Stories of Families Searching for Their “True North”

Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North your truth is derived from your life story and only you can determine what it should be. Each day, as you are tested in the world, you yearn to look at At such moments, there is a voice inside which speaks and says, 'This is the real me.
Table of contents

If I've got nothing to hide and admit my faults before you can call them out, what are you going to do to me? Values We all have values that are important to us, as derived from our True North. Leadership principles are values translated into practice. When being a leader it is important that we let our values define how we act, not letting how we think a leaders should act define how we act. This makes a leader authentic and able to lead with purpose.

Sweet Spot The Sweet Spot can be viewed as a culmination of the lessons mentioned above. It is important to identify what makes us tick and use it as a basis for acting on our values. Once we do this, we can truly lead. Bill George uses Warren Buffet as an example.

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Being one of the most successful people in finance, one may think Charles Schwab is just in it for the money. It turns out, that's not true in the least. His sweet spot was helping others. He founded his company with the purpose of trying to end the "thieving" he saw rampant on Wall Street. He sought to make financial independence an achievable goal for even the average American through a variety of financial tools. By leading from his sweet spot he ended up wildly successful, likely much more successful than if he led from just the desire to make money.

Support Team As Bill George mentioned earlier, part of being authentic is exposing and talking about your vulnerabilities. From this follows the necessity of a support team. These are people who you can trust for honest feedback and will stick around you even and especially in times of failure. They will help you stay on the path of your True North. In this chapter he uses a host of different examples of how to take advantage of and where to find support teams. A good leader needs to have a well-rounded life.


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This includes making time for friends, family, exercises, personal time, and hobbies. Most of this should be obvious and going into the science behind why well-rounded people are actually more productive than pure workers isn't really necessary here.

Discover Your True North

Nonetheless, this is an important chapter that will illuminate how you may be able to live a happier and at the same time a more productive life. I to We This is one of the most important chapters in the book. Here, Bill George presents the idea of a servant leader. That is a leader that serves others in order to lead the group forward. In order to do this, a leader must make the transition from I to We. It should be a bit eye-opening to think: You have to realize, it's not all about you.

One may think that now that they are a leader whatever that means that it is finally about THEM; that now they are the important one. This couldn't be further from the truth. One shouldn't view leadership as a manifestation of power in one's self. Instead, one should view view leadership as a manifestation of power in one to help others achieve.

By thinking on the we level instead of the I level, one can truly become a great and influential leader. Purpose Bill George explains here that in order to lead an organization, we must have a strong idea of purpose. Purpose is the motivating force that binds people together to drive the organization toward common goals. It is important to have a clear and defined purpose, otherwise everyone is simply running in every direction. By having a purpose the transition from I to We can become a lot smoother. Global Leadership Here, Bill George talks about the value of being a global leader in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected.

Personally, it was difficult for me to find value in or apply any of these lessons since in order to be a global leader you need to be fairly far along in your journey. Nonetheless, exposure to this idea was very important and this section could be very important to others. Empowerment This the final section that brings the book full-circle.

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Once one has made this journey, it is important that we always focus on empowerment and creating other leaders. This is a critical aspect of going from I to We and becoming a servant leader. If leaders focus on empowering others, than those that follow them will do so happily and everyone will prosper in the end. All in all, a great read. The most important tip I have is to actually write down answers to the questions at the end of each chapter.

The self-reflection is very useful and will immediately result in the book becoming relevant to your daily life. I also highly recommend his book on authentic leadership by that title. Mar 06, Geoff rated it liked it Shelves: Likewise, if you're going to be in management, you might as well do it for a reason beyond wealth, short term stockholder value, and employee exploitation.


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While this book is a little too heavy on vague anecdotes and glittering generalities, it's at least consistent in its message that you shouldn't become a leader unless you have a well thought out moral code and a strong pu read for a work book club If you're going to read a business book, there are far worse and far more vapid bools to read.

While this book is a little too heavy on vague anecdotes and glittering generalities, it's at least consistent in its message that you shouldn't become a leader unless you have a well thought out moral code and a strong purpose and that you should try to work for an organization that is consistent with those morals and that purpose. May 28, Sara rated it liked it Shelves: Sigh, this book was supposed to change my life, according to my mentor.

But, despite its best attempts it's really written for men, and beyond that I find myself lacking the things this book takes as a given, and chock full of the things this book suggests that everyone is seeking. So, I'm not finding myself radically altered, but the points are well taken.

Mar 31, Osamah rated it liked it. Last year while at HBS we had a session with Thomas DeLong which I found very profound and powerful while many of the alpha males who were in the program with me thought it was just fluff. I finally got around to reading it now. I totally believe in the concepts in True North. It is important for a leader to be able to frame his life story and [3. It is important for a leader to be able to frame his life story and fine tune his self awareness, without which you will not be able to continually succeed neither in career or life. This book is a very good base to begin from.

The first step is to accept the need for change or improvement. I'm not sure reading through dozens of short stories from known global leaders is the way though. However, if you stick with the main concepts and use them as a foundation to conduct an impartial self-assessment of your life and career, it could be very helpful. One constant that comes up a lot in this book is the need for spirituality, be it religion or otherwise. If that's not your thing, don't let it stop you.

It's not overly emphasized but it comes back again and again because the author and many of the leaders he chose to include in the book hold religion and spirituality as an important part of their life and guiding values. The book is a very quick pages, but you'll probably have to read it another time and make notes if you're going to use it as a guide.

True North

Jun 07, Jo Miller rated it it was ok. Put your family first Except when you are goaded into taking a global role a world away from your spouse. This book was just not for me. Feb 07, Harley rated it it was amazing Shelves: An excellent book on leadership. Bill George has interviewed numerous leaders and allows them to speak for themselves in this book. This is a must read for those who are supervisors, managers and business leaders. Jan 02, Keith Madsen rated it it was amazing. I began reading this book because my daughter Kayla had read it as part of her Master's Degree work in human resources management.

As a retired pastor, I found it to be an excellent book which integrated business principles with spiritual awareness. George does well in establishing that a business leader who only focuses on the bottom line financially, will often fail. Rather the best leaders are those who work toward a higher purpose which integrates their own giftedness with providing a servic I began reading this book because my daughter Kayla had read it as part of her Master's Degree work in human resources management.

Rather the best leaders are those who work toward a higher purpose which integrates their own giftedness with providing a service to the world, a view which he terms "finding your True North". With all that is happening today politically, with many businesses seemingly only trying to serve their stockholders and increase already high profit margins, I found this view refreshing. I also found it heartening the number of business leaders whose stories were told, who are seeking to serve a purpose in this world beyond making money.

The author also speaks of the need for a greater global consciousness in business leaders, which includes learning about foreign cultures. So, it would seem that being a global business leader can actually dovetail nicely with being a Christian who believes in the multicultural aspect of the kingdom of God. May 09, Stefan Coburn rated it liked it. An interesting book covering a wide range of ideas on how to an "authentic leader". It discusses such topics as "understanding your past" to "how to become more self-aware".

It is full of stories of successful world leaders and anecdotes about successes and failures. It provides a number of thought-provoking questions and ideas to ponder. Simply stated True North is about gaining a grounded sense of direction in one's life and holding fast to critical personal principles. If you enjoy thinking a An interesting book covering a wide range of ideas on how to an "authentic leader".

If you enjoy thinking about strengths and weakness, ethics, priorities, empowerment, team dynamics, and leadership mantras It is a strange paradox to study leaders and preach that there is no one way to be a good leader. Perhaps some stories and accounts will resonate more than others. To me, the book was too fluffy. I like actionable ways to implement positive attitudes, behaviors, and processes. May 27, Rodica rated it really liked it. Overall, I believe this book is an excellent read if one is interested in authentic leadership.

By using real-life stories of many influential leaders, Bill George manages to illustrate the importance of self awareness and self reflection in different contexts. It is nearly impossible to become a true inspirational leader if one doesn't allocate enough time to understand oneself and the team one leads. The book is a good starting point to understand what it requires to identify ones True North.

Discover Your True North by Bill George

In Overall, I believe this book is an excellent read if one is interested in authentic leadership. In essence, it implies a lot of hard work. One needs to embark on a life time journey to learn and practice leadership principles which are universally known, but which are incorporated in a unique way to each of us. The only downside of the book is its structure. I think it is slightly boring and some ideas are presented in a lengthy manner. Feb 12, Jacob Thomas rated it it was ok.

Bill George is so full of shit that I had to wipe my hands off with toilet paper after I finished his book. He has to update this book periodically because so many of the "authentic leaders" he interviews are arrested for fraud. His "insights" are mostly applicable to living a life of unbelievably extreme privilege and wealth none of which he acknowledges even for a second , and the exceptions to this theme are universally people who've grown completely cynical about capitalism and left industry Bill George is so full of shit that I had to wipe my hands off with toilet paper after I finished his book.

His "insights" are mostly applicable to living a life of unbelievably extreme privilege and wealth none of which he acknowledges even for a second , and the exceptions to this theme are universally people who've grown completely cynical about capitalism and left industry entirely.

If I hadn't had to read this for a class, I wouldn't have finished it. Jun 12, Mary rated it liked it. The main thing I learned from this book is that I will never be a high-powered billionaire executive. I do like the concept of understanding yourself and your priorities and using that to navigate your career. That's much of what we focused on during my recent leadership training at work.

It's important to understand who you are and to stay grounded in that rather than getting caught up in doing what you think you need to do to get ahead. All that said, I think I'm going to stay The main thing I learned from this book is that I will never be a high-powered billionaire executive. All that said, I think I'm going to stay away from the business books for a while. Books are an escape from work. May 31, Becky rated it really liked it. How do you have a meaningful life?

It depends upon knowing who you are, and being intentional. Bill George walked you through exercises to look at lessons learned from your life, crucibles, and helps you look at your values, and strengths to find what your sweet spot is. The writing can be cumbersome - but the exercises and the journey are worth the read. Aug 29, Jty rated it liked it. Book is written for CEOs and leaders in a business sense.

I liked the connections made between a leader's personal story and her chosen leadership path. Leadership is defined as turning personal values and a real intrinsic desires into concrete actions and ways to help others. Everyone's path is different and there are many ways to do meaningful work.

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Aug 30, Megan Larson rated it it was ok. Had to read for class. Jan 11, Michael Altenburg rated it really liked it. Read it for class. They use a lot of libtatds for examples thou. Sep 12, Francheska Escalera rated it liked it. Has really good stories of succesful and non succesful leaders, a lot of rags to riches inspirational stories but it is sooooo repititive! Honestly this book could have been pages! Mar 17, Karen rated it it was amazing. Oct 01, Inga Springe rated it liked it. Too general and shallow. Jun 07, Igor Razumnyy rated it it was amazing.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This quote resonated with me the most: John Mackey Whole Foods Market founder. Dec 01, Primo Flores rated it really liked it Shelves: I recently got into management, about a year now, but read this about 6 months ago , the main difference from my previous jig is that there is no clear guide as to how to do your job well, and there is no on-boarding, it seems that becoming a manager creates an expectation that yeah, you can manage; So what did I do to ensure success on th Leadership non-fiction?!!!

I recently got into management, about a year now, but read this about 6 months ago , the main difference from my previous jig is that there is no clear guide as to how to do your job well, and there is no on-boarding, it seems that becoming a manager creates an expectation that yeah, you can manage; So what did I do to ensure success on this new role?

The concepts are good, but it is just not finished. The voices of the various characters are not clear which is important because each chapter is of a different voice. Once or twice the voice jumps from one character to the other mid chapter with no warning. It would be great if the author would go back, read each chapter separately, pretend to be that character, and do the rewrite from the perspective of that character. One person found this helpful. The author has crafted a layered and intriguing tale which can be enjoyed on many levels and will provoke thoughtful conversation among readers.

Ms Krill's fascinating look at "family" calls for a multi generational book group to share reactions and consider new ways of recognizing what family can mean. Like all well written novels this book will appeal to young adult readers as well as older folks who want to think into the future. I picked this book on the recommendation from Facebook.

Having gone through the struggles of fertility myself I found the idea of fertility and its many facets fascinating. Many times I asked myself if I could be as selfless as they were. A great read that makes you think after you have finished. Great story offering much food for thought, I would certainly promote. A good cross over story full of yea buts and what ifs. It's all about reaching individual potential. An enjoyable thought provoking read that has far broader appeal than it's targeted young adult audience.

Unique writing, very well done. Well worth the read. See all 16 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on May 5, Published on March 30, Published on March 23, Published on January 20, Published on January 19, Published on January 3, Published on December 26, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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