CEO Blog - Time Leadership

Would Apple have ever been created if Xerox had not rejected Steve Jobs’ idea for a personal computer? Probably not. John Travolta said no to Forrest Gump, and Gwenyth Paltrow told James Cameron that The Titanic, was not her cup of tea. Mistakes are made by everyone including by those who are successful and end up becoming great leaders in their industries. Making mistakes is just one principle and idea that Running the Gauntlet by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett with Jim Eber discusses. Running the Gauntlet is a personal recommendation by the former Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak, Jeffrey Hayzlett, on how company “change-agents” should strive to lead, drive change, and grow profits.

A term that Hayzlett often uses is “change-agent”. Hayzlett regards this person as the one who is reading the book and/or the person making an attempt to lead and change their business. Change-agents have a specific role in their business, and they are often those in power, for example a CEO, marketing officers, or project managers. The responsibilities of these change-agents are to inspire, lead by example, and walk the walk. Hayzlett provides brief chapters with a main idea stated at the beginning of each. Each chapter reviews a certain characteristic or action that is required of a change-agent. These actions range from taking customer service calls to providing presentations on how to beat the Goliath competitors in industry.

This book is in some sense in combination with Hayzlett’s first book called The Mirror Test, which goes through the various imperfections of many businesses and his solutions. In Running the Gauntlet, Hayzlett delves into the nature of modernity and recent technology. In order to keep up with competition where new technology is the driving force, a business must be on top of the tech industry. Change-agents must be current and up to date with new strategies on how to incorporate new technology in ways that will lead the business to the future.  He emphasizes that the mentality of a change-agent must be aggressive yet frugal, change processes then change the game, and inspire an entire staff to have a common goal and mission.

This book is direct, forceful, colloquial, and yet inspiring. Hayzlett duly performs in appealing to the reader through generic metaphors and elucidating examples. Hayzlett is a cowboy and military boy, literally, and uses many farm household and past battle strategy examples to drive home his message on building and revamping for the future. Hayzlett draws on his own personal and network’s experiences—“friend-sourcing”—to provide inspiring examples of how change-agents can truly propel a company or business to its peak performance in terms of revenue and profits.

The most compelling aspect of this book lies in the writing style and organization of the book. With brief chapters and direct, almost brutally honest, words of wisdom, Hayzlett appeals to the reader in a logical format. The chapter and his direction is easy to follow and engaging. The principles he discusses in the chapters is reinforced by personal examples that use those exact principles, which then helps the reader to believe in what Hayzlett recommends. It is interesting to note that the organization and preparation skills he discusses within the book is illuminated by the actual format of the book; he lays out a proper outline of what the book is about, provides bullet points to eliminate “fluff”, and reinforces recurring ideas throughout.

This book is for anyone who is currently in a position to lead and change, and for those who eventually wish to do so. The clear and straightforward nature of the book paired with the appendices of tips and bulleted principles makes this book a valuable asset for long-term purposes.