A Summary and Analysis of The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon for Practicing and Aspiring Managers

Executive Summary

The Energy Bus is an inspiring book all about changing your life with positive energy. Throughout the book it gives you 10 rules to fuel your life, work, and team with positive energy. Jon Gordon’s 10 rules can apply to everyone in every situation. He writes this book in a way that makes you want to keep reading it by turning it into a story. Throughout the story, Gordon uses his 10 rules to fuel your life, work, and team with positive energy. It intertwines with the story and helps you understand it better. It’s a story that everyone can relate to and ends with hope and success. The book follows a man named George who felt like his life was falling apart right before his eyes. His marriage, he children, and his job were all at stake due to his undoubtedly negative energy. Just when George felt like everything was at its worst, he met Joy. Joy and the others on her energy bus helped George to change his life around and start fresh with positivity.

    The story starts off as a bad day for the main character George. He tries to take his daily ride to work to find that his tire on his car as well as his spare tire is flat. He is reluctant to ask his wife for a ride because she told him before that he needed to get it fixed. Of course he did not listen and now he was in a predicament. His wife told him that she has a busy schedule too and does not have time to take him to work so he will just have to walk the mile to the bus. She told him that his negative energy was bringing their family down. If he didn’t change she was going to leave him, even though she still loved him.  George was not a happy camper about this because he hasn’t ridden the bus since he was a kid. Because he has no other choice George walks to the bus stop. It was there he met the person that would change his life.

Joy was the most positive, cheerful bus driver George has ever met. She told him that everything happens for a reason, and you can choose to ignore it or learn from it. After work George learns that his car’s breaks actually could have gone out any second, and he too would have been flat like the tire. He has to wait two weeks for his car to get fixed, which means two more weeks on the bus with Joy.

    Joy’s positive energy begins to rub off on George and the next couple of days he was happy to see her when her bus pulled up at the bus stop. George works for a company that makes light bulbs called NRG and is working with the product team to launch their new product, the NRG-2000. His team is dysfunctional, unorganized, and unmotivated. George’s boss told him that if things don’t change with his work and negative attitude he would be fired. The launch of this product was his last chance. Joy and the other passengers on her energy bus told George there are 10 rules he needs to learn to turn his life around.

    The first rule is that you’re the driver of your bus. She told him not to feel like he didn’t have control over his own bus, he is the driver. She gave him a children’s book to read called Energy Bus that actually make sense to him. Joy gave George question about his life to answer, and for the first time in a while it felt good for George to think about what he wants for himself.

    Rule two is desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction. George needed to have focus to move his bus. Without focus nothing would get done in the world. She told him he needed to stop complaining because, “We’re winners, not whiners.”

    Rule three is to fuel your ride with positive energy. Negative energy will bring you down and with that you won’t get anywhere.  This also applied with his product team. He needed to get them on board with fueling their bus with positive energy.  Rule four is to invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead. Joy and the others on the bus encouraged George to hand out tickets to his employees to hop on his energy bus. It explained what his vision was and asked if they were on board with him.

    George was disappointed to find that three people he thought would be on board with him weren’t, and two people he thought would not be on board, were on board. Rule five is don’t waste your energy on those who don’t get on your bus. George had to fire two people from his team.  Rule six says to post a sign that says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on your bus. One of his members was an energy sucking vampire and that’s why he had to go. Rule seven is enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride. Joy was helping George radiate more positive energy which brought back two of his group members. Rule eight is to love your passengers. George was learning to love his most valuable team member he had like he should have been doing all along. He also needed to learn to show the love for his wife and children more.

    Rule nine is to drive with purpose. Without purpose there is nothing to drive for. Purpose is the ultimate fuel for your journey through life. The last rule, number 10, is to have fun and enjoy the ride. After George has learned all of the rules to fuel his life with positive energy it was time for him to lead his positively energized life. He and his team successfully launched the new NRG-2000 and were all able to keep their jobs. His wife and his children were happy to be his family again and everything was falling into place. With the 10 rules anyone can use them to help them turn their life around when they think it just can’t get any better.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Energy Bus

   
1.    Rule 1: You’re the Driver of Your Bus. In order to take your life where you want it to go, you need to be the controller of your bus. If you’re not the driver, you’ll always be at the whim of everyone else’s travel plans. You have the best seat and the best view of your life so it’s up to you. Of course you will seek advice and directions along the way, but always remember it is your trip.

2.    Rule 2: Desire, Vision, and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction. Without focus, nothing would get done. Buildings wouldn’t get built and paintings wouldn’t get painted without focus. Vision starts with your thoughts, what we think about we attract. What we put our energy and attention on starts to show up more in our life. Energy we project through our thoughts is energy we receive. Focus your energy on your vision and what you want.

3.    Rule 3: Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy. Having desire, vision, and focus will help you turn your bus in the right direction, and positive energy is needed to take you where you want to go. Throw out and discard all negative energy that comes your way and find the positives in the situations. You may be having a bad day at work or a lot to do, but be thankful you have a job to go to while many others do not. Always fuel your life with positive energy if you want to be successful.

4.    Rule 4: Invite People on Your Bus and Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead.  The more people you pick up along the way of your ride the more energy you create. You want to keep asking people to join, the worst they can say is no. It is important for people to build their team with positive people who support them in their vision. There’s no better way to get people on your bus than telling then telling them where you are going and asking them to get on.

5.    Rule 5: Don’t Waste Your Energy on Those Who Don’t Get on Your Bus. Some people are going to be on board with your vision and some people won’t. Don’t waste your energy trying to get those people on your bus. You can’t drive anyone else’s bus, you can only drive yours. The more energy you spend worrying about those who won’t get on your bus, the less energy you have to spend on the ones who are already on it. Everyone makes their own decisions.

6.    Rule 6: Post a Sign That Says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on Your Bus. You have to be a strong person and tell people there is no negativity allowed on your bus. Negativity will always bring people down, so you have to overcome it. You have to say this is where we are going and we need a positive team to get there and whoever is negative about it will be kicked off or left at the station. You can give people a chance to change and if they don’t they will be kicked off or they will ruin your ride.

7.    Rule 7: Enthusiasm Attracts More Passengers and Energizes Them During the Ride. When you get excited and enthusiastic about your life and work you bring a powerful divine energy to everything you do, and people notice. When you’re enthusiastic, people want to get on your bus. You get a reputation as someone people want to work for. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek work entheos, which means “inspired” or “filled with the divine.”  

8.    Rule 8: Love Your Passengers. Love is the answer for the team’s success. Enthusiasm is important, but love is the answer. You’ve got to become a love magnet by loving your employees, your customers, your company, and your family. You can give someone all the trophies or a raise, but eventually the gift is forgotten and what remains is the feeling of whether you love them. If you treat them like a number, then they’ll treat you like a number.

9.    Rule 9: Drive with Purpose. Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our journey through life. When people drive with purpose we don’t get tired or bored and our engines don’t burn out. There is no spirit in companies anymore because there’s no spirit in the people who work for these companies. You’re driving the bus, so you have to communicate your vision and purpose with your passengers. Once they are a part of this bigger purpose and vision they will work harder and longer for you. Purpose is what life is all about.

10.    Rule 10: Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride. We only have one life to live and ride, so we might as well enjoy it to the max. Too many people think they are going to live forever and spend their life accumulating things they can’t take with them when their bus ride is over. Too many people stress over too many meaningless things. Don’t go through life with regrets and live like you have nothing to lose. Just enjoy your ride.

Full Summary of The Energy Bus

    If you want to read a book filled with positive energy, then The Energy Bus is definitely the book to read. Jon Gordon’s The Energy Bus is all about how to use positivity to lead your life, work, and team to success. Throughout the book he writes about 10 rules to fuel your life, work, and team with positive energy. Gordon writes the book in a creative way that gets the readers interested in finding out what happens and what are all of the 10 rules. It is a story about a man named George, who is finding that is work, marriage, and overall life is falling apart due to his negativity about everything. George meets a woman coincidentally named Joy, who helps him learn the 10 rules to a more positive, successful life. Joy changes George’s view on things and his life forever.

Chapters 1- 3

It all started on a Monday morning, which always turned out bag for George.  He had a flat tire on his car and even though his wife told him to fix it a long time ago, a flat on is spare tire as well. He hated to have to ask his wife to bring him to work because he knew she was right. It was a day of an important meeting with his team at work and he couldn’t afford to be late. He is a team leader at the NRG Company. He asked his wife if she could bring him to work and she told him she couldn’t because she had a list of things to do today. His wife suggested he take the mile walk down the road to the bus stop. Even though taking the bus was the last thing he wanted to do, he walked down the road and up pulled bus #11.  He immediately got a cheery greeting from the friendliest person he’s ever seen. She was the bus driver and her name was Joy. He snapped at her that he is on the bus because he had a flat tire. Joy told George that everything happens for a reason. Every person we meet and every event in our life. You can choose to ignore it or ask what that reason is and try to learn from it. She called her bus the energy bus.

    When George went to pick up his car at the shop he had some good news and bad news. The good news was the since he had a flat tire and brought it to get fixed, the repairman found out that his breaks were bad. At any minute he could have been as flat at the tire. George just found this as an inconvenience because he would now have to ride the bus for two weeks until it was fixed.

    On his walk home he thought about his wife and kids. His wife recently told him that if his negative attitude didn’t change their marriage would be over. He was making their family miserable. He still loved her and he didn’t want to lose her and his children. He didn’t know how his life came to this because he was once a young, energetic man with a bright future. Now his life was filled with negativity.

Chapters 4-6

    The next morning George woke up wondering what would go wrong that day. His wife offered to bring him to work but he said no the bus wasn’t that bad, except for the driver. George thought about how his boss said that he couldn’t carry him anymore. He had not been performing like he used to. If George didn’t change his ways, he would be fired. That day on the bus Joy wasn’t there. In her place was a man who did not give him the friendly greeting Joy did the day before. It was a dull, no energy ride to work that day.

    On Wednesday George got to the bus stop early. He sat and thought about his coworkers on his team and how he should fire every one of them. They were an unorganized group full of conflict. Joy was there with another friendly greeting. George asked Joy how was it that she stayed so happy. Joy said that she loves him and she loves herself. How could she love him if she didn’t love herself? Joy showed George a sign that said, THE 10 RULES FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE. She said since they had 10 days together on the bus, he would learn all of her 10 rules.

Chapters 7-10

Rule 1: You’re the Driver of your Bus. Joy introduced Georg e to one of her passengers, Danny, and let him tell his story. He was a corporate zombie and walked around with no purpose in life. After riding on Joy’s Energy Bus he learned a new outlook on life and positivity. Danny was now the keeper of the rules on the energy bus. Marty pulled up a fact on his laptop that said, “More people die Monday morning at 9 A.M. than any other time.”  People would rather die than go to work. She said to always remember that you are the driver of your bus. If you’re not the driver then you’ll be at the whim of everyone else’s travel plans. You have to drive your bus in the direction you want your life to go. Joy gave George a list of three questions for him to answer and they would talk about it on the bus the next day.

    The next day George had his three answers to the questions Joy gave him. He told her about his vision for his personal life and work life. He wanted to be a great father and stay married to his wife. As for work, George was in charge of a product marketing team that was getting ready for a big launch for a new light bulb called the NRG-2000. This is his last chance to save his job. His team was unmotivated and frankly, a mess. He did not feel confident they had what it takes to get it together. Joy said rule #2 would help him on their way.

    Rule 2: Desire, Vision, and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction.  Without focus nothing would get done. Buildings wouldn’t get built and paintings wouldn’t get painted. Joy said each day she wanted George to focus on his vision for 10 minutes and see himself creating everything he wrote down for his answers.  She said it’s like the law of attraction. The more we focus on something, the more it shows up in our life. What we put our energy and attention on starts to show up more in our life. The energy we project though our thoughts is the energy we receive. She said it was important that he spends his time thinking about what he wants rather than what he doesn’t want.  In order to do so, he has to focus. Joy said that we live in an energy field of dreams and George felt instead he was building a big mess. Considering he wasn’t far away from his big product launch, George felt it was time for dreams.

Chapters 11-14

    Now George was on his bus with his vision, but he still needed work with the positivity part of it all. He didn’t feel like he has a lot to be positive about, everything seemed so much more negative. Joy said in order to change the situations he must first change his thoughts. Joy shows him the formula E + P = O. The E stands for events in your life, the P stands for perception, and the O stands for outcome. The P can also stand for positive energy.  Positive energy keeps the bus moving forward. That leads him to Rule 3: Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy. Desire, vision, and focus may turn your bus in the right direction, but positive energy is the fuel necessary to take you where you want to go. George wanted to know what to do with the negative energy he has. Joy said to take that negativity and throw it out and transform it into positive energy. When you’re complaining about work, be thankful you have a job when so many others do not. George needed to get his work team focused and fueled with positive energy as well. George went to work ready to feed the positive energy.

    That night George went into his children’s bedrooms and asked them to tell him their successes of the day. His children lit up with smiles and were happy to tell him their successes. He was happy that this would be a new nightly ritual for them. After he took a walk around the block with his dog and thought about his successes.  His boss told him that he noticed a change in him and he should keep it up.

    On Friday George got on the bus in a very good mood. Joy said that with all his positive energy flowing out it is time he shared it with his team. Rule 4: Invite People on Your Bus and Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead. Joy said that you want to ask people to get on your bus, the worst they can say is no. Your energy bus is always expanding so there is always room for more people. George knew there was too much for him to handle by himself so he needed to make sure he had some passengers on board with him. Joy introduced George to another passenger named Janice. Janice said that since it is so important to fill your team with positive people who support you she decided to make a website. The website sends e-bus ticket via e-mail to invite friends, co-workers, bosses, family, and whomever else to get on their bus. You can also print out tickets and hand them out personally. In the e-mail you could write a message explaining what your vision and goal is for the team. George decided to make e-bus tickets for his team members explaining where his vision and goal was going. He told them if they were ready to get on his bus to return the ticket with their name on it by 9A.M. Monday morning.  Joy also suggested he send an e-bus ticket for his wife explaining his vision for them and their family.

Chapters 15-18

That night he noticed a Time magazine on his nightstand with Abraham Lincoln on the cover. He thought about Abraham and all that he went through before becoming the President. He pulled out a book on Abraham Lincoln and noticed this quote, “I am not bound to win, I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light that I have.”

    On Monday morning George was very nervous, but excited because he would find out which of his team members was on or off of his bus. All of his team members except Michael, Jamie, and Jose’ agreed to be on his bus. The three that said they weren’t on his bus said that they thought his bus was going to crash and burn and they didn’t want any part of it. George was surprised that Jose’ would agree with them because he always thought he was one of his closest workers. George simply said, “Thank you.” Two other people, Tom and Larry fought about everything that meeting and got nothing done. George’s energy bus was lacking positive energy.

    On Tuesday George went on Joy’s energy bus feeling more negative energy. Having three team members disagree with him and having two members feuding all the time was taking a toll on his outlook. Negativity kills productivity in companies and we have to learn to overcome it. There will always be negativity with everything you do you just have to learn ways to deal with it. This lead to Rule 5: Don’t Waste Your Energy on Those Who Don’t Get on Your Bus. Joy said some people are going to get on your bus and some people won’t.  Don’t waste your energy on those who won’t. You can’t make other people decisions and drive their bus; you can only drive yours and make your decisions. If they got on your bus they might ruin your ride. If you waste your energy worrying about them, you won’t have energy for those who want to be on your bus.

    George wanted to know what he should do with the negative people on his team. Success and life are very important so you must surround yourself with a positive support team. The people who drain your energy are called energy vampires because they will suck the life out of you, your goals, and your vision. Rule 6: Post a Sign That Says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on Your Bus. Negativity should not be allowed and you need to be a strong leader to eliminate it. It may be tough, but it will be better for your team.  Let them know that if you don’t contribute positivity, then you’re off the bus.  George knew it was time to have a talk with his energy vampires.

Chapters 19-22

    Joy gave George a piece of advice before he got off the bus, “Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone’s and everyone’s negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone’s doubt.” George knew that’s why he was upset when some people didn’t get on his bus, because his positive energy wasn’t that powerful. Joy gave him an ugly black rock and told him to keep it in his pocket.

    George met with Larry and told him he needed to stop his negativity or he was off the bus. He agreed to George’s demands for positive energy. Tom, on the other hand did not. Tom went on a rant complaining and mouthing off to George which led George to fire him. He said he would now allow that talk. Jamie agreed to be on his bus but explained to him why she chose not to in the first place was because of his previous negativity. Jose’ walked in and told George that even though he had been working for him for a very long time, he didn’t feel appreciated. He said it was hard to get on his bus when George was never on his. George admitted that Jose’ was right and apologized. Now with his team on board they were ready to complete a successful presentation.

    After one of the most productive days at work George had a dream that night while he was asleep. He dreamt he was driving a bus full with his employees and his family. It was racing down a mountain towards a big hole about to crash and explode. All of a sudden an invisible hand lifted the bus to safety. Then he heard a whisper, “Trust that great things are happening.” As George was sitting on the bus on Wednesday morning he was looking at the rock Joy gave him, wondering what was it that was so special about it.

Chapters 23-27

    When he got on the bus he heard the passengers shouting, “I feel great. Yes. I feel great. Yes. I feel great. Yes.” Joy said they were all cheering because emotions can lift you up or bring you down. She says E-motion stands for energy in motion and your emotional state is all about how the energy is flowing through you. So instead of letting the negative emotions take over, you let the positive energy flow through. Joy told George she could tell he was a changed man but he has to be a changed leader. She said that he had no heart, and without that he won’t be a great leader. His heart had been cold, negative, and closed off for so long he forgot how to love others. A passenger, Marty, said that the heart’s electromagnetic field is 5,000 times more powerful than the brain. People can feel when you are sincere about your feelings. Your team craves positive leadership.

    CEO not only stands for chief executive officer, but also Chief Energy Officer. They wanted George to be the CEO of his product team. Rule 7: Enthusiasm Attracts More Passengers and Energizes Them During the Ride. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek word entheos, which means ‘inspired’ or ‘filled with divine.’ People are drawn to your enthusiasm and are willing to work harder for you. When you feel good, others around you feel good. People are always buying you and your energy no matter what you are selling. When you are excited people get excited with you and makes them want to stay on your bus. Negative people create negative cultures and positive people create positive corporate cultures.

    The next rule goes back to love. Rule 8: Love Your Passengers. Love is the answer for your team’s success. You must become a love magnet by loving your employees, your customers, your company, and your family. That is what Jose’ had wanted, to be loved by George. Your employees want to know you are concerned about their welfare and future. If you treat them like a number then they’ll treat you like a number. If you really love and care about them they’ll love you back by working hard for you, being loyal to you, and even teaching you as you teach them. Joy asked George if he had the rock. George took it out and joy poured water on it and asked George to wipe it off. As he wiped he started to see gold instead of an ugly, black rock. Like the rock, your team members may have a lot of dust on them, but the key is realizing that inside everyone is gold that wants to shine.  He left the bus with five ways to love your passengers: 1. Make time for them, 2. Listen to them, 3. Recognize them, 4. Serve them, and 5. Bring out the best in them.

Chapters 28-31

    He walked into work to find Michael, one of the ones who had quit, waiting for him. Michael said he wanted to be back on board his bus, and George happily accepted. The next day George was late for bus #11 with Joy, so he had to catch a later one. Disappointed he would get his 9th rule, he was happy to see that on his desk at work waiting for him was Rule 9: Drive with Purpose. Joy even left him a letter to explain rule nine. She said that purpose is the ultimate fuel to your journey through life. There’s no spirit in companies anymore because there’s no spirit in the people who work for these companies. When you fuel your life with purpose you find excitement and passion for things. Since you’re driving the bus you will need to share this purpose with your passengers. That day George and his team were driven and accomplished a lot to be ready for their presentation the next day.

    On the day of the big presentation his wife told him she noticed the remarkable change in George. She said she felt like he was the man she fell in love with all those years ago. He felt good and so did his team; he was ready to change his life. It was time for his last rule. Rule 10: Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride. Too many people stress over meaningless things. We only have one life and one ride, so we better make the best of it and have no regrets. You may not get everything you have on your list of things done, but enjoy everything else you have accomplished.

Chapters 32-34

    George and his team’s presentation for the NRG-2000 went great. The top executives of the company had expected a disaster and for it to be George’s last day of the company. He and his team were excited and ended it with hugs to each other. Even though he gave them the rest of the day off, no one wanted to leave so they could soak up all the positive energy.  That evening George picked up his car and the lady at the counters name was Joy. The next day George got back on bus #11 and told everyone his presentation went great. He even made them a new sign for the 10 rules for the ride of your life. He that even though his car was fixed, he was going to continue to take the bus to work every day. Thanks to the energy bus and the 10 rules to fuel your life, work, and team with positive energy, a man who thought nothing could get better, turned his life around.

The Video Lounge

This is a highlight video of Jon Gordon and success stores due to his books and advice. Even sports teams such as the Atlanta Falcons read his book and used his ideas for their team. Many companies, schools, and teams are benefiting from Jon Gordon’s positive strategies. Even fortune 500 companies are applying his strategies in their workplaces.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

• With business conditions today, what the author wrote is true because there is so much negativity in society. Companies, teams, and organizations need to learn how to turn negative energy into positive energy. They will find that they will be much more successful and have much more positive cultures with positive energy. I think Jon Gordon’s book will always be a book that teams can go to for advice.

• If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.    I think he should have written more about his family. The book is about your life, work, and teams and it seemed like he mainly focused on work and teams. For those who may want advice for their personal lives, it may have been nice to have a little more of that in the book.

2.    In the very back of the book the author makes an energy bus action plan. It confused me because there are 11 steps instead of 10. Some of the steps are the same as the 10 rules and some aren’t. While it may not confuse some readers, I think he could have used his 10 rules in the action plan instead of 11 new ones.

3.    I would have liked to hear a little more about Joy. She is sort of a mysterious character. While I know she has an ill parent and loves to driver her bus, I would have liked to know what led her there. Also, what caused her to have so much positivity?

• Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.    I always thought I was a positive person and tried to live my life like that, but reading this made me rethink myself. I know am realizing I find myself in situations where I am quick to be negative. Now I am going to stop and think positive before the negativity takes over.

2.    Positivity really is an important part in life in order to succeed. You can’t just get a good degree and a good job and expect to do well. If you are a negative person, just like George was, all of that can go down the drain. I don’t think some people realize how important it is to be positive so you can be successful.

3.    This made me think differently about working in teams. Team work projects are always the most difficult one because there are so many people with so many opinions and views. After reading this it made me realize how everyone just wants their opinions respected and heard. Even though you may have someone you do not like in your group, they may have something excellent to bring to the team.

• I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.    Every person that I meet I am going to make it a point to meet them in a positive, open mind. You never know what that person has been through or what they can do for you. I really think smiling and being positive will really get you a long way.

2.    If I have a career job that involves working in a team, I will be sure to take his team working strategies to good use. I will remember that to get respect I have to give respect. Loving my teammates will result in harder workers and a great outcome.

3.    I am going to try to enjoy my career like rule #10. I need to enjoy the fact that I have a job while others don’t, and enjoy whatever comes my way. I only have one life to live and I don’t want to spend it hating my job and others around me. If I am more positive in the workplace, hopefully I will get more positivity back.

• Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

www.leadership-tools.com says The Energy Bus does a masterful job of weaving together key principles to create a dynamic and entertaining read that will infuse you and your team with positive energy. One of the best rules mentioned includes Rule #5 – “Don’t waste your energy on those who don’t get on your bus”, and Rule #6 – “Post a sign that says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on your bus. In a nutshell, the story is fun and enlightening, it is a fast and enjoyable read, and the lessons taught in this book are powerful and memorable.

Linda H. Sherrer, President and CEO of Prudential Network Realty said “Gordon so inspired our sales professionals with his positive energy that they were asking for more. Now, here is his philosophy in a book we can read and quote – and we will!”

Tom Gegax, founder of Tires Plus and author of The Big Book of Small Business said “Given the challenges and adversity we face in business and life today, Jon Gordon provides a clear road map to navigate the negativity and pitfalls that too often sabotage individual and team success as he shines a light on the truths that define great leaders, great teams, and great energy. I especially loved the part about leading with purpose. I consider this a valuable book for anyone looking to bring out the best in themselves and their team.”

M.R. Jie said “As a member of the corporate world, I have many times been given the task of reading motivational “Go get ‘em” books and, therefore, when my boss gave me the task of reading The Energy Bus I approached it reluctantly, procrastinating until just before our team discussion. However, once I got started I couldn’t put it down until the end. In fact, throughout the experience I was so pumped I excitedly shared all the details with my husband.”
Hona Amer said “This is a great book for a leader in an organization/team or someone facing challenges at every turn. It is an easy read. The book reminds you that you are “driving your bus” and your attitude and decisions will affect the direction of your life. I would recommend this book. Enjoy!”

Bibliography

Amer, Hona.(June 5, 2011). Book Review: The Energy Bus. Retrieved from

http://liveoutlife.com/2011/06/05/book-review-the-energy-bus/

Gegax, Tom. The Energy Bus Reviews. Retrieved from

http://www.leadershipnow.com/LeaderShop/0470100281.html

Gordon, Jon. (2007). The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with

Positive Energy. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jie, M.R. Book Review: The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon. Retrieved from

http://mrjie.hubpages.com/hub/Book-Review–The-Energy-Bus-by-Jon-Gordon

Josh. (March 16, 2008). Book Review: The Energy Bus. Retrieved from

http://www.morethandodgeball.com/youth-ministry/book-review-the-energy-bus.html

The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy.

Retrieved from http://www.leadership-tools.com/the-energy-bus.html

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Analysis of The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon for Practicing and Aspiring Managers” please email Candace.cozzo@selu.edu or ccozzo88@gmail.com.

About the Publisher

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Management, can be viewed at http://wyldaboutmanagement.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding:

• management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• international foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).      

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