Team book report and presentation assignment (60 points)
Check out Dr. Laura Huang’s personal message video on iLearn under Week 8
In this assignment, you will focus on Dr. Laura Huang’s book titled Edge: Turning Adversity
into Advantage, discuss the content of this book and how relevant it is to your own
leadership development.
Your team will create a team book report (e.g., 4~5 pages single-spaced; 40 points) and a
team presentation (e.g., slides or outlines; 15~20 minutes; 20 points) related to your
book report. Ideally, meet in person or via video conference (e.g., Zoom, Google Hangout,
etc.) to form a “book club” to complete this assignment. Attach your team book report plus
presentation slides/outlines (preferably combine your team book report and presentation
slides/outlines in one file using .pdf or .docx or .doc format) using the designated link on
iLearn. The presentation is scheduled for Week 13 April 19th for Tuesday class and
April 20th for Wednesday classes. The write-up assignment is also due on the same
day. Only one person in the team needs to submit the assignment (i.e., one
submission per team).
According to Dr. Laura Huang, “Having an edge is about gaining an advantage, but it goes
beyond just advantage. It’s about recognizing that others will have their own perceptions
about us, right or wrong. When you recognize the power in those perceptions and learn to
use them in your favor, you create an edge” (p. 5). This book is organized by four concepts
(p. 8-10): Erich, Delight, Guide, and Effort.
To prepare your team book report and presentation, I expect you (as a team) to answer all
the following questions and write up paragraphs for each of these questions. (Note. These
are guideline/sample questions. However, you might find additional or other ways to relate
this book to your own leadership development. Your team has the flexibility to add extra
questions or comments).
1. Does the book cover any common mistakes you have observed and/or
experienced while working with and for others? What are these common mistakes
and your team’s related stories? Provide 3~4 examples.
2. What principles/insights (e.g., how to enrich, delight, guide, and reinforce your
edge using effort) do you learn about leaders/people from this book? How do these
principles/insights related to the leadership topics (e.g., leader development, styles,
behaviors, power, politics, networking, motivation, feedback, ethics, values, change, etc.)
and HBR review articles we have covered in class so far? Provide 3~4 examples.
3. What are some interesting tools or techniques or motivational statements
contained in the book that you find useful to improve your organizing, leading,
problem-solving, communicating, and initiating skills assessed by the CapsimInbox
simulation, and why? Provide 3~4 examples. Note. To answer this question, you need
to use the CapsimInbox simulation assessment score as a starting point to think about
what your teams’ weaknesses or developmental needs are as measured by the
simulation.
4. What are your team’s 3~4 key takeaways from the book that can help build
members’ leadership capabilities?
Team book report presentation: highlight, share, and discuss your team book report in
class.
Each team’s members are jointly responsible for presenting your book report. Your team
should present your answers based on the above four questions. You can use PowerPoint
slides or outlines or other creative ways to present your book report. You have the
flexibility to create your own deliverables. Bonus points will be given out to creativity.
A caution is warranted for style and effectiveness of your presentations. DO NOT SIMPLY
READ FROM NOTES, INDEX CARDS, OR POWERPOINT. In fact, if you use visual aids and if
you prepare well and rehearse prior to your presentation, there is no need for notes on
index cards or on paper, and you will be much more confident and relaxed in your
presentation. Believe me, those presentations in which team members simply read off their
materials are disastrous and boring. Also, have good eye contact with the entire class. You
are not making your presentation just to me but to the whole class as well. To study
excellent speakers, check out some of the videos at Ted.com.
Each team presentation should take approximately 15~20 minutes (maximum time limit
is 25 minutes strict).
The team book report should be typed using Times New Roman or Calibri 12-point font,
single-spaced, and 4~5 pages in length, PLUS graphs or other appendices. The team book
report should be sufficiently detailed to answer the above four questions who has no
familiarity with the Dr. Laura Huang’s book you read during the project. Writing quality
(e.g., spelling, grammar, structure, etc.) is very important.
The project will be graded according to the following criteria:
(1) Completeness: all requested information is included; all key questions are
addressed in a complete and accurate manner
(2) Depth of analysis: discussion of the common mistakes, insights, tools/techniques is
thorough; potential linkages between the content of the book and personal
leadership development are discussed, drawing on book text and lecture material as
appropriate to make these linkages
(3) Clarity and quality of structure and writing: layout and format of report is
professional; writing quality: spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure,
etc.
(4) Presentation: whether the presentation is organized and clear, well prepared and
smooth, engaging with great analyses.
