Summary: For this week's episode we are in conversation with Tommy Spaulding, president of the Spaulding Companies, LLC and author of "It's Not Just Who You Know" (Random House/Broadway Books) and world-renowned speaker on leadership. I have know Tommy for more than 15 years. We shared a common experience in 1993 as staff members for Up With People's Cast E. Since our travels together, Tommy has gone on to do incredible things: In 2000, he founded Leader's Challenge - which grew to become the largest high school civic and leadership program in Colorado; Serve as the youngest president and CEO of the world-renowned leadership organization, Up With People; Serve as chairman of East Carolina University's External Leadership Advisory Board and is the university's first "Leader in Residence"; Founder and president of the Spaulding Leadership Institute, a non-profit leadership development organization. Tommy is a genuine leader and someone who believe in the power and value of relationships. His book is inspiring and builds the case for creating and growing relationships that make a difference. About The New Book It’s impossible to build a successful organization or career in a silo. You need authentic relationships — human connections built on trust, generosity, and the authentic desire to put others first. Most leaders recognize the importance of this relational competence. But they don’t know how to translate its values into on-the-job actions and behaviors that generate measurable results. As a consequence, their organizations suffer from an undercurrent of cynicism, unhappiness, distrust, and under-performance. And their careers leave them unfulfilled. In It's Not Just Who You Know, leadership-development expert Tommy Spaulding provides a road-map for addressing these challenges. He shows how investing in the lives of others benefits not only the recipient but also the giver—enriching leaders’ lives as well as their companies’ bottom lines. In our “me-first” culture, the notion of putting others first may seem counter-intuitive or even “soft.” But relationships have become the coin of the realm in today’s economy. And no leader can afford to ignore them. It's Not Just Who You Know is a must-read for anyone seeking to build relational competence into their own lives and their organization’s culture. Get information on Tommy's book tour and schedule at www.tommyspaulding.com What's On Tommy Reading List Today Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together(Amazon Affiliate Link)
