Most organizations produce mission statements and leadership styles that are loaded with corporate jargon and do little to explain who they are and where they are headed. In One Piece of Paper, Mike Figliuolo offers an alternative to empty jargon by showing leaders how to create short statements about who they are and what kind of leader they want to be. These statements, called maxims, should be short and memorable enough that one person can write them down on a single piece of paper. Armed with short, direct, and authentic statements of leadership style, managers can create relationships that are more authentic and lead to the success of their organizations.

Mike Figliuolo offers readers the following advice:

• By relying on corporate language and buzzwords, most organizations have a default leadership style that is superficial and inauthentic. By trying to follow styles that don’t resonate with who they are, leaders and managers can’t inspire confidence in the teams they lead.

• An authentic leadership style comes from exploring one’s own background and looking for situations that have a deep emotional trigger.

• Leaders are responsible for creating the vision of where an organization will go; managers are responsible for doing the daily work that gets the organization there.

• The trick to helping employees grow is to assign them tasks for which they are not yet capable. This challenge is a powerful way to keep them engaged.

• A truly authentic collection of leadership maxims will cover the entire life experience of a leader and reflect every aspect of who the leader is as an individual.

• Leaders must have direction in their own lives before they can begin to lead others.

• The best leaders map out a desired future state and then shape the world around them to make it happen.

Mike Figliuolo’s One Piece of Paper is a good resource for anyone recently assigned to a leadership position. People responsible for managing a team will find the book helpful in establishing their own leadership styles. Figliuolo challenges his readers to start from within and accept responsibility for their own behaviors and actions towards those they lead and those above them in the corporate chain of command. After readers establish who they are, they will be able to determine how they can successfully lead others in a way that is authentic. An extensive index and an appendix are included containing the list of maxims used by Figliuolo in each chapter. These maxims are intended as a guide for readers to create their own maxims. The book is meant to be read from cover to cover.