PRESS RELEASE: Power of Communication Begins 5th Year on USMC Commandant Reading List

New York, NY (Jan. 4, 2017) – The book, The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively by Helio Fred Garcia, is beginning its fifth year on the Professional Reading List of the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.

The Commandant’s Professional Reading List was launched in 1989 by then-Commandant Gen. Alfred Gray. The List consists of more than 150 books divided into 19 groups; ten of the groups are rank-specific, nine are in categories such as Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Counterinsurgency, and Aviation. The Power of Communication is one of eight books in the Leadership category.

“I have had the honor of teaching and consulting with Marines and of getting to know them for more than 25 years. In that time, I’ve been impressed with their commitment to training, teaching, and learning,” said Garcia. “The commitment of those at the top to reading, thinking, and reflecting just enhances my view of Marines. I think that would be the case even if my book wasn’t on the list. But it’s an added honor, privilege, and delight for me to know that I can continue to influence Marines and their way of thinking at a distance.”

The books on the Commandant’s Professional Reading List were selected as most pertinent to critical thinking and professional development at each rank. At minimum, three books per year are required to fulfill annual reading criteria for all active duty and reserve Marines, officers and enlisted. The Professional Categories section presents recommended reading for exploration of selected topics.

The Power of Communication is about how leaders can inspire, persuade, and earn the confidence of stakeholders. The books is written primarily for civilian business leaders, but it adapts the leadership principles of the Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication No. 1, Warfighting, as a conceptual framework to help leaders become habitually strategic.