Debbie Laskey's Blog: FALL BACK TO READING SERIES 2025

During the fall season, I launched a repeat of my FALL BACK TO READING SERIES and invited a dozen thought leaders to answer six questions about reading, books, and marketing. Join me today for the final post in the series, and the series recap will appear on December 21st.

A repeat guest on my blog, today's featured series participant is Erika Andersen, a leadership expert and author who I've had the pleasure of knowing for nearly 15 years. Erika has appeared on my blog 13 times since 2011; and one of her posts for Forbes served as the inspiration for my Spring Leadership Series earlier this year. She is the founding partner of Proteus, where she and her colleagues support leaders at all levels to get ready and stay ready to meet the future. Erika advises senior executives and also shares her insights through her books, speaking engagements, and social media activities. In addition to her latest book, The New Old: Crafting Your Best Later Life; she is also the author of other best-selling leadership books including: Change from the Inside Out; Be Bad First; Leading So People Will Follow; Being Strategic (one of my all-time favorites!); and Growing Great Employees. Erika is also a popular leadership blogger at Forbes.com, and the creator and host of the Proteus Leader Show podcast.

QUESTION: Why did you choose the last book you read?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: I was looking for a new book to read in Spanish, and I was getting tired of Spanish translations of Regency romance novels. I remembered having read – and enjoyed – Jean Auel's books about prehistoric civilization in the 80's. I looked to see if they had been translated into Spanish, and Voilà: I'm reading El Clan del Oso Cavernario (Clan of the Cave Bear).

QUESTION: Have you ever chosen a book because you were drawn to the cover design? If yes, what was the book, and what attracted you to the cover?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: I've never chosen to read a book because of the cover design, but there are dozens of beautiful cover designs I've appreciated over the years. (And I've loved the process of co-creating all the cover designs of my own books.)

QUESTION: Have you ever chosen a book because of its title? If yes, what was the book, and what drew you to the title?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: The first book I ever chose based on its title was Peter Senge's "The Fifth Discipline." I was immediately wildly curious to find out the fifth discipline was, and why someone would write a whole book about it. That book made me understand that I was a systems thinker, and why that mattered.

The second one was Jim Collins' "Good to Great." Without reading anything but the title, I loved the idea of taking something – anything – that was already good and making it great. And then it turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time.

QUESTION: Have you ever finished reading a book, been disappointed by the ending, and thought you could have written a better ending? If yes, what was the book, and how would you have ended it?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: Oh, my goodness – many times. The first time was when I read Stephen King's "Cujo," many years ago. I couldn't believe how bleak the ending was – so I rewrote it in my mind. And when the movie came out, I noticed they changed the ending to make it more like my mentally re-written version. I bet the original downer ending tested badly.

QUESTION: Is there a social media account, a national book publisher, or book club you follow for reading recommendations?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: There are a number of cool older women I now follow on Substack, who write and recommend great books. I also like the algorithms on Amazon that tell me I might like stuff, based on what I've bought...they have a pretty good hit rate for me.

QUESTION: What book should everyone read, and why?

ERIKA ANDERSEN: Everyone should read something by Shakespeare at least once in their lives. A play, a sonnet, I don't care what. For me, he captures the human condition in a unique and timeless way, with words that dance and weave around your heart and mind. What better description of the undying power of true love than this?

Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

My gratitude to Erika for sharing her insights and for being a part of my fall back to reading series. I hope you've enjoyed this reading series and sampled some of the books shared. Swing by on December 21st for a series recap, and happy reading!

Debbie Laskey's Blog

Monday, December 15, 2025

FALL BACK TO READING SERIES 2025 – Featuring Erika Andersen

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