Leadership Lessons From A Vacuum Cleaner

Leadership-Lessons-From-A-Vacuum-Cleaner

Dr. Olexa presents everyday guidance and solutions to seemingly insurmountable issues in your business and personal life. She offers gems of leadership wisdom, all from her observations and keen insights gleaned from watching her robotic vacuum cleaner. “When you hit a wall, change direction, but never give up.” “Commit to your vision, even if you don’t know all that it entails.” “Success is not a straight line.” “Be ready to take on a new opportunity.” and “Recharge your batteries before you can’t make it back to the docking station.”

I really enjoyed Leadership Lessons from a Vacuum Cleaner by Stephanie Olexa. I wasn’t expecting to because, I’ll admit it, I found the premise to be kind of silly. Everybody knows what those little round Roomba robots are like- bumbling around, getting stuck, making little whirring noises when everything gets quiet. What on earth could that thing teach us about leadership! But, since I love reading most any kind of self help so I gave this a chance and it didn’t disappoint.

Stephanie brings her considerable experience to the table as chapter after chapter, she takes an observation about her Roomba and uses it to teach a leadership lesson or attribute that it would behoove the reader to cultivate.

Heidi W. - Goodreads

As a leadership coach, I was looking for some comic relief in reading this book. What I got was a thoughtful and easy-to-understand look at leadership. This book is an elegant and easy to read reminder of just what it takes to be a leader.

Margaret Cary - MD, MBA, MPH

As a raving fan of Ken Blanchard’s short books on leadership, I thought I could breeze through this in short order, grab some quick takeaways, and get on with the day. Not the case (in a good way). In just the first 10 pages, I was challenged to stop, reflect, and take inventory. By the end of chapter 2, some of the issues (and opportunities) of this transitional period in my life were coming into focus, and a plan for action was crystal clear.

If the vacuum cleaner thing strikes you as a gimmick, don’t be fooled. This book is deep, digestible, and valuable, and frankly the Roomba connection adds imagery that is worthwhile (in addition to compelling me to check out technology I previously assumed was more gadget than anything). Those of us who have been in leadership for awhile (or longer) have heard much of this before, but I’ve never seen it so organized and actionable.

Highly recommended.

Anonymous - Pennsylvania