Leadership books are usually well worth avoiding but for some reason Redesigning Leadership by John Maeda caught my eye. It's short, beautifully designed and produced, and was sent to me by someone whose judgment I trust, so I gave it a whirl. It was a quick read, easily done in a flight or train journey, and very much worth it. There's none of the usual guff that afflicts the genre. Instead, clear crisp prose, a lot of common sense, and some points that were either new to me or worth reaffirming. Here are some of the ones I picked out – others would pick up different ideas, depending on their own background. Oh, and Maeda also tweets, and includes some of these as part of the books structure – he's @johnmaeda on Twitter.

Leading by walking around is valuable, to acquire information unavailable in any other way and to hear what concerns people.

The more important you are, the less likely people are to say what's on their mind, so you have to ask explicitly. Maeda asks at the start of meetings: “How am I doing?”

In complex organisations and environments, data visualisation is essential. Maeda recommends Processing, which I'd not come across before.

Not everybody has an analytical way of thinking (I know it's obvious, but I do and know I assume others are the same); visual approaches matter too, and “stories trump statistics”.

Transparency doesn't ensure clarity – people have to understand

Make sure there are relevant differences – in ways of thinking, experiences – in your team (this is very important – see Scott Page's terrific book, The Difference).

Free pizza is the best way to get people to come to meetings – and then they talk when they are there.

“Having a sufficiently big ego means you're comfortable enough not to have one at all.”

He also ends the book by thanking the reader, which is actually a strikingly effective courtesy, and one I must remember.