Editor’s comment: The soft side of business is the most difficult for most people, including me. And yet, the two most successful companies I’ve been involved in demonstrated exactly what Lenioni describes in his book , The Advantage. He writes like a consultant, which is annoying at times, and yet the book’s point is crystal clear and should be read by every organizational leader, no matter what type of business they are involved in.

Favorite Excerpt: “The kind of trust that is necessary to build a great team is what I call ‘vulnerability-based trust’. This is what happens when members get to a point where they are completely comfortable being transparent, honest and naked with one another, where they can genuinely say and genuinely mean things like ‘I screwed up,’ ‘ I need your help,’’ Your idea is better than mine,’’ I wish I could learn to do that as well as you do,’ and even, ‘I’m sorry.’”