Thirteen is my lucky number. I’m dead serious. Last year it was Friday the 13^th and I offered up my top 13 books of 2012. This year I’ve decided to update the list. Here is my 2013 collection of 13 books that I believe every business leader would benefit from reading. Enjoy!

Inside the Performance Chain: An interview with Steve Milligan, President of Western Digital Corporation

About Steve: This interview was conducted while Steve was the CEO of HGST. He had been at HGST since September of 2007, entering as the CFO. “Being in the hard drive business requires innovation and rapid execution. It is that combination that is interesting and very challenging.” This year after the merger of HGST with Western Digital, Steve became the CEO of Western Digital.

Inside the Performance Chain: An interview with San Diego Zoo's John Dunlap

A few months ago, I had the pleasure to sit down with John to interview him for my book, ROAR: Strengthening business performance through speed, predictability, flexibility, and leverage. What I learned about John, as well as the performance chain and customer experience the Zoo delivers, was so inspiring. Following is a short excerpt of that interview, and I really encourage you to check out the full story by picking up or downloading a copy of ROAR.

Giving thanks for performance problems

In the United States we are in the season of giving thanks.

Today I want to suggest giving thanks for performance problems. Seriously? Did she just say that?

Yes, I did.

An interview with Thought Grenades' Robert Thompson

I recently had the chance to speak on-air with Robert Thompson, the host of Thought Grenades. We talked about ROAR, the four lenses and their respective animals, and how to align customer experience to business performance.

About Chris

Pragmatic optimist with over 20 years of leading meaningful change. Sees every performance chain through lenses of speed, predictability, flexibility and leverage. Gets excited when smart decisions align with what customers value and generate stronger business performance. More about Chris.

Network with Chris and listen to an esteemed panel speak.

Thursday, April 25, 2013
5:30 PM Networking happy hour
6:15 PM Panel discussion
Target Performance Hall at Open Book (2^nd Floor) 1011 Washington Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55415

To learn more or purchase tickets, click here.

ROAR

"ROAR does an excellent job of making complex business models easy to understand and accessible. Through the skillful use of metaphors, Mahai breathes life into business concepts that tend to be very dry. I would recommend ROAR for any organization looking for innovative ways to engage in understanding and implementing best business practices." - John Foley, author of "Balanced Brand"