PREPARE FOR IMPACT

Estis and Estis present a multi-step framework for success in this business guide.

In their nonfiction debut the authors lay out the “30 Steps to Successful Selling,” which they’ve espoused throughout their professional lives and have recently been adopted by billion-dollar organizations like the Dallas Cowboys as simply “30 Steps to Success.” The change in emphasis from business to the broader world suits the Estis brothers just fine: “While the list was built for sales, and some steps are sales oriented,” they write, “mastering them can lead to overall success for anyone, regardless of function.” Many of these 30 steps are the staple stuff of all business management books (noting the importance of time management and customer service, for example), but the authors further refine these steps into a concept they characterize as “human-centered leadership.” Its precepts include “Focus on Their Development”; “Go for Coffee”; “Practice Transparency”; “Create Safety”; “Build a Team Environment”; “Create Connection—Have Fun”; “Be Vulnerable”; “Have Tough Conversations”; and “Be Decisive.” Although these concepts are self-explanatory, the authors, after first providing an autobiographical chapter, proceed to explain them anyway, offering many anecdotes from their business experience and including bullet-pointed insets under the heading “Prepare for Impact.” The authors are far too comfortable rephrasing tired truisms as profound truths, writing “Stay in the learning lane,” “You must give people compelling reasons and evidence to buy into your ideas,” and “don’t miss deadlines.” But they bring a good deal of upbeat energy to their discussion of what makes a “servant leader”—someone who’s deeply connected to the people and the values of their team. The text repeatedly brings everything back to the original 30 steps, ultimately helping readers appreciate what the Dallas Cowboys saw in the approach.

An extremely familiar but engaging rehashing of the basics of people-focused sales leadership.