“Pathways to Greatness” Authors Speak and Sign at Paranormal Books & Curiosities
What Makes Greatness? is Focus of NJ Business Duo’s New Book.
A New Jersey business duo turned their eight-year obsession with answering a single question – What makes greatness? – and turned it into a book.
“Pathways to Greatness: 77 Inspirational Essays from the Greatness Project,” is available now through Great Insights Press (www.GreatInsightsPress.com, $16.95). The book is project of authors Scott Asalone and Jan Sparrow, co-owners of ASGMC, a management and professional development firm based in Trenton.
“Pathways to Greatness” shares anecdotes, theory and research into leaders who have achieved the top echelon of success in their fields, ranging from business to public service.
In fact, Asalone and Sparrow’s own interviews with dozens of leaders unearthed an extraordinary habit among the great ones: “The second-best in their fields—those who were successful, but hadn’t reached the pinnacle of leadership—had the philosophy that they knew all the answers,” said Asalone. “But we found the best in every field typically asked us to share with them what we discovered from our other interviews. They wanted to know what they could do better.” That’s just one of more than a dozen characteristics that “Pathways to Greatness” unearthed as it describes what it takes to be great.
Asalone and Sparrow, both Merrill Lynch executives before launching their own company, were inspired to research greatness after giving professional development seminars at a financial services company in Albany, shortly after the dot-com bubble had burst. Throughout the day’s sessions, each class of the company’s staff rejected the best business practices shared by Asalone and Sparrow, constantly saying, “That won’t work in Albany.” After a full day of nothing but resistance, the trainers began their final group session by announcing, “We know all of our ideas won’t work here in Albany…” But that group instantly challenged the trainers, saying they had plenty they could learn. Interestingly, that one group’s sales outpaced the rest of the company’s sales by 25%.
“That really got us thinking,” said Sparrow. “When all things are equal, what is it about some people who are so focused on becoming exceptional?”
In spite of Asalone and Sparrow’s personal research and the findings they culled from countless other studies, they don’t always agree. “One of our big disagreements is whether leaders are born vs. made,” said Sparrow, a former University of Denver educator. Sparrow leans toward nature, but Asalone disagrees. “A certain percentage of charisma is nature,” he said, “and a certain percentage is nurture.”
Meet the dynamic duo at Paranormal Books & Curiosities June 5, 2009 at 730 pm!
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