Dr. Chris Neck
Foreword
By
Christopher P. Neck, Ph.D.
David McCullough—that famous historian of our recent past—once remarked: "The only way to teach history, to write history, to bring people into the magic of transforming yourself into other times, is through the vehicle of the story. It isn't just a chronology. It's about people. History is human."
With these words in mind, Jordan Jensen's comprehensive work on Self-Action Leadership (SAL), built upon the foundation of his own, unique personal leadership history is truly an exceptional work, and for two distinct reasons.
First, Self-Action Leadership applies the method of teaching outlined by McCullough. There are many good definitions and explanations of self-leadership (forerunner of SAL) out there, but Jordan's work stands apart because he teaches us the concept through the vehicle of storytelling. And the wonderment of the story is that it is his own and it is true.
In the pages that follow, Jordan articulately chronicles his own self-leadership successes. In doing so, he does not withhold the painful details surrounding his countless struggles and failures preceding those successes. With unusual honesty and courageous self-disclosure, he opens our eyes to our own imperfect, yet determined humanity by providing a fascinating look into his own. In the process, he inspires us to acknowledge, confront, and transcend whatever adversity comes our way to eventually realize the full extent of our own potential. But he does not stop at sharing his story. He goes on to utilize his narrative as a foundation for expanding self-leadership theory by introducing his own, original theory and model—the Self-Action Leadership (SAL) Theory and Model.
Second, Jensen has accomplished a task that is very difficult for any author to achieve, and that is to produce a single text that is highly relevant to multiple audiences at the same time. Because of the universal applicability of basic self-leadership principles, his message is germane not only to persons struggling with OCD, depression, or other forms of mental illness, but to civic leaders, business professionals and workers of all kinds, educators, parents, students, and children—in short, to everyone. Indeed, I do believe that virtually anyone who reads this text will be able to take something away from it that will improve his or her life in a significant way. As an author myself, I am amazed at Jordan's achievement in writing one text that carries the potential to reach such a wide variety of people—and that is the beauty of it.
This book will do much more than just teach you about Self-Action Leadership. It will cause you to think deeply about how you are currently leading your life and how you could lead it more effectively. More importantly, Jensen's compelling story and courageous personal example, combined with his percipient ability to effectively teach the corresponding self-leadership principles, will inspire and motivate you to actually do something about what you will learn. In the process, it might even touch emotions in your heart that will move you to joy and tears. It takes a talented writer to do all of these things, so I know you'll enjoy reading this work. More importantly, I know you'll come away a wiser person with an increased motivation to get moving to realize your own Self-Action Leadership potential, an opportunity we can all take full advantage of, if only we will.
About Dr. Chris Neck
A forerunner of this text, Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence, which Neck also co-authored with Manz, was used by Jordan Jensen in a leadership class his freshman year of college. It served as Dr. JJ's formal introduction to self-leadership in academe.
Dr. Neck is currently an Associate Professor of Management at Arizona State University, where he held the title “University Master Teacher.” From 1994 to 2009, he was part of the Pamplin College of Business faculty at Virginia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in Management from Arizona State University and his MBA and bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University ~ Geaux Tigers! ~ in Baton Rouge.
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| Dr. JJ's college copy of Manz & Neck's seminal textbookon self-leadership |
- Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence
- Get a Kick Out of Life: Expect the Best of Your Body, Mind, and Soul at Any Age
- Fit To Lead: The Proven 8-week Solution for Shaping Up Your Body, Your Mind, and Your Career
- Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence
- The Wisdom of Solomon at Work
- For Team Members Only: Making Your Workplace Team Productive and Hassle-Free
- Medicine for the Mind: Healing Words to Help You Soar
- Management: A Balanced Approach to the 21st Century
- Entrepreneurship
- Organizational Behavior
- Introduction to Business
Dr. Neck’s research specialties include employee/executive fitness, self-leadership, leadership, group decision-making processes, and self-managing teams. He has over 150 publications in the form of books, chapters, and articles in academic journals. Some of the outlets in which Neck’s work has appeared include:
- Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
- The Journal of Organizational Behavior
- The Academy of Management Executive
- Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
- The Journal of Managerial Psychology
- Executive Excellence
- Human Relations
- Human Resource Development Quarterly
- Journal of Leadership Studies
- Educational Leadership
- The Commercial Law Journal.
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| Dr. JJ's copy of Neck and Manz's 5th Edition S-L textbook, which he used during his doctoral studies |
Dr. Neck was recently voted as a semi-finalist (top six out of 140 nominations) for the prestigious international 2020 Baylor University Cherry Award for Great Teaching. Neck was also the recipient of the 2007 Business Week Favorite Professor Award,” one of the approximately twenty professors from across the world receiving this award.
Chris has taught over 80,000 students during his career in higher education. He currently teaches a mega section of Management Principles to approximately 900 students at Arizona State University.
- Anavate Partners
- Mountainside Fitness
- GE/Toshiba
- Busch Gardens
- Clark Construction
- The United States Army
- Crestar
- American Family Insurance
- Sales and Marketing Executives International
- American Airlines
- American Electric Power
- W. L. Gore & Associates
- Dillard's Department Stores
- Prudential Life Insurance.
An avid runner, Chris has completed 12 official marathons and over 100 unofficial ones, including the New York, San Diego, and elite Boston. To-date, his longest continuous run is 48 miles.
Dr. Neck and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of a son and daughter.
For more information about Dr. Neck's work and consulting services, to to contact him personally, please visit his professional website at: www.chrisneck.com or his academic website at: https://search.asu.edu/profile/1382090.
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 352nd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 168th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 351 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
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