Book Description
In this, his first major book, Mark Steyn--probably the most widely read, and wittiest, columnist in the English-speaking world--takes on the great poison of the twenty-first century: the anti-Americanism that fuels both Old Europe and radical Islam. America, Steyn argues, will have to stand alone. The world will be divided between America and the rest; and for our sake America had better win.
Customer Reviews:
Excelent book. Really crunches the numbers like no other book........2007-10-05
This book really lays out the problems with hard numbers and facts in a way I have never seen and is easy to understand. I recomend this book to anyone who is worried about the muslim issue. People in Europe better read it asap!
America Alone is Excellent.......2007-10-04
This book gives a lot of attention to fertility rates in Europe, Scandanavia and the United States. Many other good observations and opinions are included as well. It will give you some insights into what may occur in various countries in the future vis-a-vis the Muslims and non Muslims.
What a sad worldview.......2007-10-01
I can't even begin to describe the serious flaws in this book...
But I gave it one star instead of zero because, if you want to study logic and how to detect subtly and not so subtly flawed arguments, buy this book.
What's sad is he's done actual research (but distorts everything to fit his way of thinking), and some muslims, like some christians, some jews, some whatever, really are dangerous and want to hurt America, but he makes his side of the controversy look like a bunch of, what's a nice word... 'baffoons'.
I think he seriously believes the things he writes in his book, which means he's stressing himselfand others out for nothing, and ultimately, pushing away the moderates that might listen to a more logical argument against religious extremism
Excellent.......2007-09-21
With the many positive reviews already posted, there isn't much more for me to say, so I will just say, "Read a few of the reviews, then, most definitely, read this book."
great wake up!!!!!!!.......2007-09-20
This a wake up to the world. Got to hang in through the beginning, but after that try to get all the details.
Book Description
Whether challenged with taking on a startup, turning a business around, or inheriting a high-performing unit, a new leader's success or failure is determined within the first 90 days on the job.
In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one's career. The First 90 Days provides a framework for transition acceleration that will help leaders diagnose their situations, craft winning transition strategies, and take charge quickly.
Practical examples illustrate how to learn about new organizations, build teams, create coalitions, secure early wins, and lay the foundation for longer-term success. In addition, Watkins provides strategies for avoiding the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter, and shows how individuals can protect themselves-emotionally as well as professionally-during what is often an intense and vulnerable period.
Concise and actionable, this is the survival guide no new leader should be without.
"Few companies develop a systematic 'on-boarding' process for their new leaders, even though this is a critical function with major organizational implications. Michael Watkins's The First 90 Days provides a powerful framework and strategies that will enable new leaders to take charge quickly. It is an invaluable tool for that most vulnerable time-the transition."
-Goli Darabi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Leadership & Succession Management, Fidelity Investments
"Every job-private- or public-sector, civilian or military-has its breakeven point, and everyone can accelerate their learning. Read this book at least twice: once before your next transition-before getting caught up in the whirl and blur of new faces, names, acronyms, and issues; then read it again after you've settled in, and consider how to accelerate transitions for your next new boss and for those who come to work for you."
-Colonel Eli Alford, U.S. Army
"Watkins provides an excellent road map, telling us what all new leaders need to know and do to accelerate their learning and success in a new role. The First 90 Days should be incorporated into every company's leadership development strategy, so that anyone making a transition in an organization can get up to speed quicker and smarter."
-Suzanne M. Danielle, Director of Global Leadership Development, Aventis
"Michael Watkins has nailed a huge corporate problem and provided the solution in one fell swoop. The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. Watkins's timing with The First 90 Days is impeccable."
-Gordon Curtis, Principal, Curtis Consulting
"The First 90 Days is a must-read for entrepreneurs. Anyone who's been the CEO of a start-up or early-stage company knows that you go through many 90-day leadership transitions in the course of a company's formative years. In this groundbreaking book, Michael Watkins provides crucial insights, as well as a toolkit of techniques, to enable you to accelerate through these transitions successfully."
-Mike Kinkead, President and CEO, timeBLASTER Corporation, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder and Trustee, Massachusetts Software Council
Customer Reviews:
Good way to get prepared.......2007-07-04
It just makes sense, and is very thorough. Many things I would not have thought about, or gotten around to thinking about - we live in such a fast paced world that it would have been a challenge to do. Luckily, I had a cross country trip, so this gave me the time to read this book and compile my "list" of notes and apply them to my upcoming job change. Bottom line - many good new perspectives that I simply would not have thought of. Highly recommended.
Practical and Actionable. It is an excellent book on the subject of management transitions........2007-06-22
As a human resources professional, I have seen a great deal of management transition. Many succeed but some do not. Unfortunately for our people and our organizations those that do not leave a stream of damage in their wake.
Recently I wrote a review about Scott Eblin's, "The Next Level" and I called it a real disappointment. This book is not and it is a far more actionable and practical approach to managing transitions.
One of the reasons this book is so practical is that each section not only provides you with clear direction but each section also ends with an action checklist. This make creating a 90-day transition plan doable and improves your prospects for success.
Lastly, the steps from this book create a framework that a company can use to create a "transition strategy" for all its new and upwardly moving managers. This alone will enable a firm to increase their odds that a new hire or promotion will be in the "win" column.
*****First 90 Days.......2007-06-10
I only ordered this for a superior and he is VERY VERY happy with the book...he asked for it by name so we ordered three copies! Thank you for the great service you provide.
A Must Read.......2007-05-30
Great book for all business leaders who are advancing to a new role or coming from the outside into an organization. Simple, easy to read with pertinent lessons for a successful transition.
Some great tips, but often not well developed or organized.......2007-05-28
We bought this book along with the "New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan" and read them side by side.
Pro:
-"STaRS" concept is excellent. Start-ups, Turnarounds, Realignments and Sustaining success are all different scenarios that you might be thrown into, and the environment you join directly affects what you need to do.
-Checklists are helpful, when available, to boil thoughts down to the most essential elements
-There are many good tips interspersed throughout the book that are good reminders of the basics you need to adhere to in order to be successful
-Breaks the "sink or swim mindset" often associated with starting a new position
Con:
-Does not really address the time opportunity BEFORE you start a job and in my experience is a major lost opportunity that I've been able to surprise and delight. Set up pre-meetings, arranging for email/phone and a place to sit, etc. as a chance to listen and learn without the pressure to perform. Any items that can/should be done ahead of time appear to me as afterthoughts, underdeveloped, and often out of sequence in this text.
-Would not serve as a handy reference... better chapter summaries and a stronger introduction with time lines and meaty chapter outline would have been helpful both now and in the future
-I think that many good concepts like "STaRS" were underdeveloped or under leveraged... I sense more detail that was perhaps omitted
-To me, many of the illustrations were filler and did not offer additional information
-Sometimes poor or awkward word choice or idea sequence (e.g. rather than "Promote Yourself" why not just call it "Prepare Yourself" as this is what you are really saying, so why not just say it that way?)
-Real life examples were unnecessarily detailed, consuming time and space that I think could be better used by the author as he's clearly brilliant and has some great observations
-I think that the scope is too narrow, picks up after you've started the job (day 1) and neglects the opportunity (and chaos) beforehand of the interview, moving, doing "pre-work" to get your basics at work set-up
Bottom line: While there were some interesting moments, I was disappointed. The book does offer several cautionary tales of CEOs who crashed and burned, and if nothing else serves as both warning and motivation to be smarter about your transition.
Amazon.com
Why do some people consistently inspire others to follow their lead? According to John C. Maxwell, author of 24 books and a regular speaker on the topic, it's the "character qualities" they possess. In The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Maxwell identifies these top traits as character, charisma, commitment, communication, competence, courage, discernment, focus, generosity, initiative, listening, passion, positive attitude, problem-solving, relationships, responsibility, security, self-discipline, servanthood, teachability, and vision--and then defines them in ways that readers can absorb and utilize. Each is covered in a separate chapter opening with a high-concept definition and continuing with relevant anecdotes, details on its meaning, suggestions for further reflection, and exercises for improvement. For example, in the section on vision ("You can seize only what you can see"), Maxwell describes how Walt Disney initially developed the theme-park concept after accompanying his daughters to a fun-filled but rather shabby amusement park. He then analyzes how Disney's resultant projects drew on his personal history while meeting other's needs, and explains how readers must "listen to several voices" to develop successful foresight in a similar way. Finally, Maxwell suggests methods to articulate these visions and measure their implementation. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
In the tradition of his CBA bestseller The 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership and his sell-out seminars, author John C. Maxwell now provides a concise, accessible leadership book that helps readers become more effective leaders from the inside out. Daily readings highlight twenty-one essential leadership qualities and include "Reflecting On It" and "Bringing It Home" sections which help readers integrate and apply each day's material.
Customer Reviews:
Easy Reading.......2007-06-28
If you are looking to define those special charateristics that are displayed by great leaders, this book covers 21 impactful leader qualities. The book is "easy reading" and makes a good gift for a new leader.
A Book for Leaders.......2007-05-13
This book helps to refresh and install new ideas which will help you become a better leader.
Abstract puff piece.......2007-05-07
Maxwell might have written the book on Leadership, but this isn't it.
This is a little book -- 156 undersized pages -- containing little information.
It's full of platitudes. "Refocus your attention." "Live your message." "Commitment starts in the heart."
Duh! How is anyone supposed to put these abstract ideas into practice?
The only way to understand leadership is to hear stories about effective leaders. About how, for example, they continued communicating during times of crisis when others would have not communicated. About how they worked overtime to fix their companies and inspired others in their organization. About how during wartime they welcomed input from any source and found a unique person with a unique perspective that allowed them to redraw their war plans and win.
But the only anecdotes in this book come at the start of each of the 21 brief chapters on a quality (like communication or dedication) that a leader needs. The other 80% of each chapter is a bunch of abstract rules like Communicate! Show Dedication! Passion Increases Your Willpower! This is all motherhood and apple pie. Only more abstract. And it's impossible to absorb or remember what Maxwell is talking about because he's just listing things you should do to be a leader.
Tell me one good story about a great leader like Winston Churchill, FDR, or JFK, and it would be worth another hundred pages of Maxwell's abstract thought.
The only reason I give this any stars is that I sense Maxwell has more to say and knows his stuff. But he's certainly not strutting it in this book. Try something else by Maxwell. Not this book, for this reader.
This is the kind of book I would purchase for a gift grab bag at the office. It won't offend anyone, but it won't change anyone either.
Good 'beginner's leadership book' --- didnt excite me;-(.......2007-04-21
This is the first leadership book I read. I like the way the author validates each of the 21 qualities of a leader by providing real-life stories of leaders.
Pros: short, easy-to-read, concise
Cons: not much substance, some of the exercises for the reader are far-fetched
Overall, a good read for a beginner to novice 'leadership' book reader.
Short and Sweet: an unbeatable combination.......2007-04-01
As a professor in Business and Management, this book is an often chosen title in my management and leadership courses. Perhaps initially because it is small, but all students inevitably end up commenting that they really appreciated the contents and learned a lot from it.
Leadership qualities are interesting phenomena, which can be replenished to an infinite degree. However, John Maxwell managed to highlight those qualities that are truly crucial toward leadership that will appeal to all categories of followers.
Encouraged by this book and many others, I published "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere." Readers who liked John Maxwell's works, and who want to remain informed of appropriate leadership in a time where globalization has become a part of our everyday life and has ignited increasing interdependency, multiplicity of mindsets and approaches, and multi-faceted workplaces, should take a look at this book.
"The Awakened Leader" presents a meta-leadership approach, which will guide you toward implementing the appropriate leadership style once you've assessed the situation, the followers, and the environment at hand. It is based on flexibility through open-mindedness, or wakefulness. And it completes the perspectives that Maxwell and other great leadership authors have presented us in the past decade: successful leadership of the self and others, based on proven trends of the past, the now, and the future.
Book Description
In the years following the publication of Patrick Lencioni’s best-seller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, fans have been clamoring for more information on how to implement the ideas outlined in the book. In Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni offers more specific, practical guidance for overcoming the Five Dysfunctions—using tools, exercises, assessments, and real-world examples. He examines questions that all teams must ask themselves: Are we really a team? How are we currently performing? Are we prepared to invest the time and energy required to be a great team? Written concisely and to the point, this guide gives leaders, line managers, and consultants alike the tools they need to get their teams up and running quickly and effectively.
Download Description
"In the years following the publication of Patrick Lencioni’s best-seller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, fans have been clamoring for more information on how to implement the ideas outlined in the book. In Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni offers more specific, practical guidance for overcoming the Five Dysfunctions—using tools, exercises, assessments, and real-world examples. He examines questions that all teams must ask themselves: Are we really a team? How are we currently performing? Are we prepared to invest the time and energy required to be a great team? Written concisely and to the point, this guide gives leaders, line managers, and consultants alike the tools they need to get their teams up and running quickly and effectively. "
Customer Reviews:
managementtrainer.......2007-09-24
This field guide is execellent. It is practical and helpful. Improving teamwork is difficult, to say the least, especially for highly dysfunctional teams. Patrick Lencioni's book is essential to working through these challenges.
Easy to use and very helpful.......2007-08-13
This field guide is extremely useful for working with teams - from dysfunctional teams to those that are running smoothly. The exercises are practical and get to the heart of team dysfunctions.
I am a pastor who also works in the corporate world. I will use the ideas and exercises in this book with teams in the office and in the church.
Outstanding Complement to The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.......2007-07-21
Teamwork really is the one sustainable advantage that a group or company can have. Patrick Lencioni has put together a prescriptive method of bringing a group of people together to form a team. He walks through a step by step approach of breaking down the levels of teamwork in a narrative format in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable which really builds the case for why you would want to follow this method. In this book, he all but builds your team for you. It'll be imperative that you can foster the right levels of communication and potentially have someone with you to help as you rebuild your team; however, this method does give critical insight into how groups of people become a team.
Great toolkit and field guide.......2007-07-05
This is a very useful book that has lots of gold nuggets for team training facilitators. Well worth the money and then some.
Guy Plano, Texas
got it for work.......2007-06-27
Leaders are using it in team development and finding it helpful. Good as an HR Professional to guide the manager in how to develop the team.
Book Description
In his nearly thirty years of teaching leadership, John Maxwell has encountered this question again and again:
How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss? It's a valid question that Maxwell answers in
The 360 Degree Leader voted best business book of the year by Soundview Executive Book Summary subscribers, and 2006 recipient of their Harold Longman Award. In this award-winning book, Maxwell asserts that you don't have to be the
main leader to make significant impact in your organization. Good leaders are not only capable of leading their followers but are also adept at leading their superiors and their peers. Debunking myths and shedding light on the challenges, John Maxwell offers specific principles for Leading Down, Leading Up, and Leading Across. 360-Degree Leaders can lead effectively, regardless of their position in an organization. By applying Maxwell's principles, you will expand your influence and ultimately be a more valuable team member.
Customer Reviews:
Leadership 360.......2007-08-09
John Maxwell does it again. He bring perspective to you and your environment wherever you may be in the orgnaization and helps you look at yourself in a different light.
Everyday Practicality.......2007-08-06
Once again John Maxwell gives us sound advice on how to be more effective and he does it in ways that we can actually accomplish.
I like the fact that he gives us tasks and subtasks that allow us to meet each goal and become effective from where ever we may be in the company. Everyone has the potential to influence others if they can only find the right way to do it.
Maxwell believes that leading can occur from most anywhere and he gives practical ways to do just that. The thing that holds many people back is that they often feel that because they don't have any direct reports or because they are not in middle management or above that they can't lead and have influence. Maxwell refutes that myth and shows us how to lead up, down and across. These 3 directions will touch everyone and improve their ability to lead.
The book is broken into sections that covers each of the leadership directions and each direction is filled with tips and advice. The book isn't too long and is never boring. It it worth reading again and again to make sure that you are staying on track with your leadership goals and growth.
Required Reading for Today's Leaders.......2007-07-07
Another great book by leadership guru, J. Maxwell. This is an excellent book on leadership and contains many good ideas that anyone can apply from anywhere in their organization.
OK.......2007-06-20
This book has a lot of usefull information in it however at times I felt myself getting a little bored. The writer used to be a pastor and refers back to that a lot. Although I know he is trying to use real world examples I feel as though I have no relation with that genre of life. All in all, it's a good book and I learned a lot but I wish it was a little more interesting and more importantly exciting!!!
Developing middle-managers.......2007-06-13
This is a very good book to develop middle managers in an organization. John Maxwell points out how those in the middle can have a great leadership influence and shouldn't wait until they make it to the top to sharpen their skills. The book is easy to read and full of insightful quotes and stories.
Book Description
Drawing from John Maxwell's bestsellers Developing the Leader Within You, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and Becoming a Person of Influence, Leadership 101 explores the timeless principles that have become Dr. Maxwell's trademark style. In a concise, straightforward style, Maxwell focuses on essential and time-tested qualities necessary for true leadership -influence, integrity, attitude, vision, problem-solving, and self-discipline -and guides readers through practical steps to develop true leadership in their lives and the lives of others.
Customer Reviews:
What Everyone Needs to Know.......2007-08-23
Very informative book. I'm making my way through the entire 101 series from John.
Leadership 101 by John C Maxwell.......2007-05-29
Leadership could a very vague concept. The book explains leadership in a way that provides a clear understanding of the concept of leadership and allows readers to take steps to improve the leadership skills. I have read the book 6+ times and have given out 7 copies to people in my workplace. It is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to be a leader.
YOU ONLY NEED TWO BOOKS!!.......2007-05-25
IN THE PAST 3 YEARS ONLY TWO BOOKS ABOUT LEADERSHIP HAVE BEEN GOOD:
1. Leadership: Past, Present & Future by Carlos M. Rivera
2. Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know
You will agree with me 100%
A great Asset If You Want To Enhance Your Leadership Skills.......2007-04-01
Leadership 101 is a popular book, particularly in college presentations on leadership. I personally bought this book after a student gave a splendid presentation on the valuable contents of this book.
Setting priorities, casting a vision, and realizing the power of influence are only a few of the crucial topics Maxwell addresses in this "little-big" book.
Encouraged by several of Maxwell's books, as well as many others, I went ahead and studied leadership for several years, conducted over 100 interviews, and finally published "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere."
Readers who liked John Maxwell's works, and who want to remain informed of appropriate leadership in a time where globalization has become a part of our everyday life and has ignited increasing interdependency, multiplicity of mindsets and approaches, and multi-faceted workplaces, should take a look at this book.
"The Awakened Leader" presents a meta-leadership approach, which will guide you toward implementing the appropriate leadership style once you've assessed the situation, the followers, and the environment at hand. It is based on flexibility through open-mindedness, or wakefulness. And it completes the perspectives that Maxwell and other great leadership authors have presented us in the past decade: successful leadership of the self and others, based on proven trends of the past, the now, and the future.
Great Book.......2007-03-28
I was first introduced to this work at a training program three years ago. Since then, I have given it to every one of my developing leaders in their training programs.
Book Description
Too many companies are managed not by leaders, but by mere role players and faceless bureaucrats. What does it take to be a real leader—one who is confident in who they are and what they stand for and who truly inspires people to achieve extraordinary results?
In this lively and practical book, Goffee and Jones draw from extensive research to reveal how to hone and deploy one’s unique leadership assets while managing the inherent tensions at the heart of successful leadership.
Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? will forever change how we view, develop and practice the art of leadership, wherever we live and work.
Download Description
This is an enhanced edition of the HBR article R00506, originally published in September/October 2000. HBR OnPoint articles save you time by enhancing an original Harvard Business Review article with an overview that draws out the main points and an annotated bibliography that points you to related resources. This enables you to scan, absorb, and share the management insights with others. We all know that leaders need vision and energy, but after an exhaustive review of the most influential theories on leadership--as well as workshops with thousands of leaders and aspiring leaders--the authors learned that great leaders also share four unexpected qualities: 1) They selectively reveal their weaknesses; 2) They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course of their actions; 3) They manage employees with "tough empathy"; and 4) They capitalize on their differences. All four qualities are necessary for inspirational leadership, but they cannot be used mechanically; they must be mixed and matched to meet the demands of particular situations. Most important, however, is that the qualities encourage authenticity among leaders. To be a true leader, the authors advise, "Be yourself--more--with skill."
Customer Reviews:
Philosophical take on authentic leadership.......2006-11-23
Authors Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones provide a welcome balance to the many books advising that leadership is a matter of adopting this or that characteristic or technique. They emphasize the situational nature of leadership, the extent to which it depends on followers in a particular organizational context. They infer some basic principles for authenticity and leadership from what seems to be a solid body of empirical observation and interviews, including generally pointed, well-chosen anecdotes showing good leaders in action. We recommend this thoughtful book, which offers an insight that few books on leadership dare to voice. The authors unabashedly assert that even great leadership may not lead to good business results. They further state that an excessive emphasis on results is one of the great obstacles standing in the way of authentic, moral leadership.
No photocopy for leadership success.......2006-04-13
Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones' WHY SHOULD ANYONE BE LED BY YOU? WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN AUTHENTIC LEADER tells why simply copying leadership strategies isn't a guarantee of success - and how authentic leadership resides in individuals who display their authenticity to others. Examples throughout illustrate over twenty-five years of joint experience between the authors who use their research, consulting experience and leadership skills to argue for the merits of authentic leadership and how to achieve it.
Interesting book.......2006-03-31
This book is well-written. It is easy to read and keeps your interest in general, although it is sometimes a little repetitious and slow. I guess the author repeats the point to make sure you get it.
Some of the author's ideas are new and thought-provoking, but you have to wade through some material which sounds like every other book on this topic, as well. In any case, if you are patient you will take away some neat new ideas that you will find yourself using and referring to.
I like the examples and anecdotes he/she uses to illustrate his/her points - they are really interesting and I have found myself using the examples and referring to them in everyday conversations with people, which is great. I only wish that there were some more examples because it is not always easy to see the point when no example is offered.
The four qualities of inspirational leaders.......2001-10-15
Gareth Jones is director of Human Resources and Internal Communications at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and a former Professor of Organizational Development at Henley Management College in Oxfordshire, England. Robert Goffee is Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School. They are the founding partners of Creative Management Associates, an organizational consulting firm in London, England. This article, published in Harvard Business Review's September-October 2000 issue, discusses the research of the authors into leadership (as academics, consultants, and executives).
The authors argue that inspirational leaders share four shared (unexpected) qualities: Leaders show and reveal their weaknesses, rely heavily on intuition and associated timing, manage with tough empathy (passionately and realistically), and reveal (and capitalize on) their differences. Goffee and Jones discuss each of these qualities in detail, explaining why these qualities are so important and how leaders show them. There is a short history of leadership and a discussion of some popular myths about leadership: 'Everyone can be a leader', 'leaders deliver business results', 'people who get to the top are leaders', and 'leaders are great coaches'. In addition, there is a short discussion on female leadership, whereby the authors' advice is that female leaders should stay true to themselves. The final conclusion of the article is that the four discussed qualities cannot be used mechanically. Their advice to executives is: "Be yourselves - more - with skill."
This article is much in line with the latest thinking in leadership: Emotional intelligence (EQ/EI) is as important, or even more important, than traditional intelligence (IQ). I see big relations with the Harvard Business Review-articles by Daniel Goleman (What Makes a Leader?, 1998) and Jim Collins (Level 5 Leadership, 2001), which also emphasize the softer, emotional side of leadership. I did like this article and would recommend it to people moving into management and MBA-students. My main complaint is that the conclusion of this article is somewhat too simple. The article is written in simple English. Please note that this article runs on Acrobat eBook Reader software and is not a .pdf-file.
Amazon.com
Few of us are natural-born leaders, according to John C. Maxwell, author of Developing the Leader Within You. Fortunately though, "the traits that are the raw material of leadership can be acquired," he promises. "Link them up with desire and nothing can keep you from becoming a leader. This book will supply the leadership principles. You must supply the desire." True to his words, Maxwell offers a detailed and inspiring primer on becoming a leader. Even the Table of Contents reads like a motivational poster.
Maxwell (The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader), who is the founder of INJOY, a Christian-based leadership program, debunks the myth that strong leaders must have big egos and spend all their time harnessing personal power. Instead, he elevates leadership to a spiritual act of service: "The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." Maxwell relies on real-life anecdotes, short paragraphs, charts, and numerous lists to make his wisdom accessible. As a result, his writing often seems simplistic, with a self-help tone. Nonetheless, in teaching readers how to bring out the best in themselves as well as others, Maxwell offers a worthwhile life lesson that extends far beyond the workplace. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
In this repackaged bestseller John Maxwell examines the differences between leadership styles, outlines principles for inspiring, motivating, and influencing others. These principles can be used in any organization to foster integrity and self-discipline and bring a positive change.
Developing the Leader Within You also allows readers to examine how to be effective in the highest calling of leadership by understanding the five characteristics that set "leader managers" apart from "run-of-the-mill managers."
In this John Maxwell classic, he shows readers how to develop the vision, value, influence, and motivation required of successful leaders.
Customer Reviews:
GREAT!!!.......2007-09-26
This book is so heplful for you becoming a leader with the biblical foundations I recomend this book for all people all ages looking to become a more Godly centered leader that the corportations will not teach you integrity and how to learn the Godly skills to lead like this book does!
Not just for business managers.......2007-08-04
This is one of the best books to read if you really want to learn how to be a leader in any walk of life. its not just for business. I used it in my personaly life. It works in all things it says and I highly recommend it.
Inspirational Book.......2007-06-30
I bought this book before starting my first job that would involve managing other people. I flipped through a few pages of it at the book store and was really impressed with how it was laid out. The book is organized into ten different attributes of leadership. Each chapter covers a thorough description and examples of the attribute. It also offers great ways to be effective in each area. I loved the anecdotal stories and poems that were included too. I finished this book in about two days and felt really inspired to go out and put it into action.
Many people can benefit from this book.......2007-04-16
I read John Maxwell's Developing the Leader Within You as part of an assignment for a small group communication class. The book I chose to read for this assignment had to be of some interest to my career, and I chose this particular read because I figured that any person - no matter what profession - can benefit from leadership training. However, what I appreciated most about the book was that its principles can be applied to almost any situation in which a person wants to improve his or her overall effectiveness. The lessons taught in the text are good advice not just for becoming a better leader, but for everyday life as well. Even if you are at a point in your career where you are primarily a follower, you can still benefit from Maxwell's teachings and observations.
An example of a topic Maxwell covers that applies to most of us is prioritizing responsibilities and tasks. We all have duties and obligations that will continue to pile up unless we know which projects to take on and how to approach them. According to Maxwell, 20% of our priorities will give us 80% of our production. Therefore, our time and energy are best used if we channel them to our top priorities. Maxwell says that we can learn to prioritize by asking ourselves what is required of us (what we can do that no one else can), what gives us the greatest return for our effort, and what we find most rewarding.
I did enjoy many of the quotes from well-known individuals that Maxwell included in the text. My favorite was, "The water does not flow unless the faucet is turned on" (Louis L'Amour). Many of these quotes can be applied to everyday life, and not just leadership situations. Sometimes, however, I did feel that Maxwell threw in quotes "just for kicks" when they were not totally necessary. If he had elaborated on his points in his own words instead of someone else's, those points would have been stronger and clearer. Another irritation I experienced while reading the book was its occasional use of sexist language, both in the quotes Maxwell chose to incorporate and in his own words. Moreover, most, if not all, of the individuals he highlighted as displaying successful leadership were men. The only times he mentioned women's contributions were in reference to his wife, his personal assistant, or a woman who worked for him. In future books, Maxwell needs to focus on the sound leadership abilities of women as well as men.
In short, I would recommend this book if you want to improve your self-discipline, organizational skills, or people skills, even if you are not currently in a leadership position. Whether Maxwell realizes it or not, this book can be helpful to more people than just those who lead by profession.
Leaders, Read This One!.......2007-04-04
Dr. Maxwell gives the fundamentals of leadership. As a leader in leadership, you need to know the fundamentals. Maybe you have been leading naturally, that is good, but how about refining your skills. Take this book and eat it!
Book Description
In this provocative book, leadership experts and authors of the best-selling The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner take on a unique challenge and explore the question of leadership and legacy. Kouzes and Posner examine in twenty-two chapters the critical questions all leaders must ask themselves in order to leave a lasting impact. These powerful essays are grouped into four categories: Significance, Relationships, Aspirations, and Courage. In each essay the authors consider a thorny and often ambiguous issue with which today’s leaders must grapple issues—such as how leaders serve and sacrifice, why leaders need loving critics, why leaders should want to be liked, why leaders can't take trust for granted, why it’s not just the leader’s vision, why failure is always an option, why it takes courage to “make a life,” how to liberate the leader in everyone, and ultimately, how the legacy you leave is the life you lead.
Customer Reviews:
This book offers both a window and a mirror........2007-08-30
In twenty-one separate but related essays that comprise this volume, James Kouzes and Barry Posner share their thoughts about the positive and enduring impact that an effective leader can have. The nature and extent of each effective leader's legacy, of course, varies from one to another. While reading the Introduction and then the first few chapters, I began to think about great leaders throughout history such as Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Mohandas Gandhi. Obviously, there are differences between and among them and other great leaders in terms of when and where they lived, the circumstances in which they were born and raised, and the challenges they faced. However, all of them had a vision of what ought to be as well as an absolute faith that it could be fulfilled, they attracted the support of others who shared their vision and their faith, and they possessed what Bill George characterizes as "authenticity."
Also as I read this book, I thought about the film It's a Wonderful Life in which George Bailey (portrayed by James Stewart) is given the opportunity to know what would have happened, and not have happened, had he not lived. He eventually realizes that the quality and value of his own life are best measured by the quality and value he gives to the lives of others. That is his "legacy," the core concept that Kouzes and Posner rigorously examine throughout their book. A simple idea? Yes and no. We are well-advised to remember Oliver Wendell Holmes' assertion, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."
Kouzes and Posner are persistent empiricists and diehard pragmatists. They devote almost all of their attention in this book - as they do in their previously published classic, The Leadership Challenge - to the practice of effective leadership. Their observations and insights are based on decades of research that included hundreds of interviews and responses to surveys from thousands of leaders within all manner of organizations throughout the world. What they learned is what they share in their two books, this one and the aforementioned The Leadership Challenge.
Here are two brief composite excerpts that, I hope, suggest the thrust and flavor of their thinking:
Not a week goes by "that we don't hear someone in an executive role say something to this effect: `I don't care if people like me. I just want them to respect me." Get real! This statement is utter nonsense - contrary to everything we know about leadership...people perform significantly more effectively when their leaders treat them with dignity and respect, listen to them, support them, recognize, make them feel important, build their skills, and show confidence in them. Likeability is a major factor in being successful in just about every endeavor in life."
"You can leave a lasting legacy only if you can imagine a brighter future, and the capacity to imagine exciting future possibilities is the defining competence of leaders. Today's leaders have to be concerned about tomorrow's world and those who will inherit it. They are the custodians of the future, and it's their job to make sure that they leave their organizations in better shape than they found them. We've surveyed thousands of people on what they want in leaders, and their tell us that being forward-thinking is second only to honesty as their most admired leader quality...Get everyone involved in asking, What's next?...Another crucial question is, What's better? What's better than what you're now doing or anticipate doing in the foreseeable future?...It's imperative that we spend less time on daily operations and more time on future possibilities."
If you think these remarks are simplistic, please read the Holmes quotation.
I wholly agree with James Kouzes and Barry Posner that, ultimately, a leader's "legacy" should be determined by the nature and extent of her or his positive and enduring impact on the lives of those with whom they have been associated as well as those with whom there may be only a brief and single encounter. "You just never know whose life you might touch. You just never know what change you might initiate and what impact you might have. You just never know when that critical moment might come. What you do know is that you can make a difference. You can leave the world better than you found it."
To those who read this commentary, I suggest asking the same question I ask myself each day: "What will my legacy be?"
Handy tips on becoming a successful leader .......2007-05-24
This easy-to-read, well-organized inspirational book shows you in 21 short chapters what it takes to become a leader. The essays are concise and transparent, and the numerous examples will inspire anyone who needs a boost in leadership energy. Some material is repeated, basic or familiar, but the book offers a great deal of wisdom about motivational leadership and making your mark. If you'd like a short but solid manual on leadership issues to read on the airplane or over the weekend, we recommend tossing this into your carry-on or briefcase.
The Best yet !.......2007-01-31
Stretching back to the 80's, I seen and heard nearly the full gamut of Kouzes and Posner's contributions. This book strikes a uniquely authentic chord. By itself, the section on Courage is worth the price of the whole book. It is a work that captures both the emotion and practicality of leadership. Not an easy task!
A must read!.......2007-01-25
My boss gave me this book to read for a group of college students that I am advising. I thought it was an "academic" book that wouldn't hold my attention. How wrong was I!!!!!!!!!!
This book is a must read for anyone desiring to get a grasp on their leadership philosophy. A lot of the principles outlined in the book are not foreign, but are finally articulated in a way that everyone can understand. I had several 'aha' moments. Or moments where I thought, "I do that"!
The book was confirming and affirming. I plan to read some other works by them.
A Leaders Legacy.......2007-01-15
Great and simple for those of us who are serious yet just beginning!
Book Description
In his inspiring new book, You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader, Mark Sanborn, the author of the national bestseller The Fred Factor, shows how each of us can be a leader in our daily lives and make a positive difference, whatever our title or position.
Through the stories of a number of unsung heroes, Sanborn reveals the keys each one of us can use to improve our organizations and enhance our careers.
Genuine leadership – leadership with a “little l”, as he puts it, is not conferred by a title, or limited to the executive suite. Rather, it is shown through our everyday actions and the way we influence the lives of those around us. Among the qualities that genuine leaders share:
• Acting with purpose rather than getting bogged down by mindless activity
• Caring about and listening to others
• Looking for ways to encourage the contributions and development of others rather than focusing solely on personal achievements
• Creating a legacy of accomplishment and contribution in everything they do
As readers across the country discovered in The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn has an unparalleled ability to explain fundamental business and leadership truths through simple stories and anecdotes. You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader offers an inspiring message to anyone who wants to take control of their life and make a positive difference.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best books ever written on leadership.......2007-09-25
This books definitely defies the myth that true leaders are born leaders. The author uses examples of stories and excellent quotes to explain principles of leadership in a very efficient manner. I am quite sure that I can be a true leader if I follow the advice given by Mark Sanborn in his book. In addition, the book is concise and straight to the point which makes it quite appealing to the reader. Overall, this book is a must to the collection of a true leader.
Great Little Book.......2007-08-06
I recently started a new job and was looking for a book to build a two-day leadership offsite around. I found this little gem in an airport bookstore, read it on the plane, and knew it was the one. The contents perfectly mesh with my theory of leadership and the types of behaviors I expect. It's a fast read, and is practical and inspirational without being sappy.
I bought a copy (via Amazon, of course!) for my each of my management staff and used the 6 leadership principles as the framework for the first day of the offsite. It was a huge hit. I have since bought copies for every employee in the group, as they all expressed interest. We are having a group meeting in a few months (we are in several locations) and a review and discussion session centered around this book will be a must on the agenda!
Good treatment of leadership ideas.......2007-07-22
While there's nothing particularly new in this book, Sanborn does a good job of making leadership something personal. A great book to get for employees.
You Don't Need A Title To Be A Leader.......2007-06-11
A well written book. Easy to read and very positive and energizing. Will be a treasure for my family.
Nothing revolutionary, easy read.......2007-05-25
I read a lot of new-age business books and I have to admit that I came away kind of disappointed with this book. Its an easy read just like Fred Factor, but most of the advice in the book seems like common knowledge and things you should do anyways. I don't fee that there is anything revolutionary with its content.
Books:
- Analysis of Financial Time Series, 2nd Edition (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)
- Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
- Best Practices in Customer Service
- Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management
- Budgeting á la Carte: Essential Tools for Harried Business Managers (Finance Fundamentals for Nonfinancial Managers Series)
- Business and Administrative Communication
- Business Law, Fifth Edition
- Choice and Consequence
- Cost Accounting (12th Edition) (Charles T Horngren Series in Accounting)
- Cost Accounting (12th Edition) (Charles T Horngren Series in Accounting)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Now, Discover Your Strengths
- Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations
- Adventures in Social Research: Data Analysis Using SPSS 11.0/11.5 for Windows
- Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Get Radio Babies, Boomers, Gen Xers, And Gen Yers to Work Togeth
- Digital Audio Essentials
- East Side Story: A Novel
- Creole Made Easy
- Contabilidad Financiera Para Directivos
- Anti-Capitalism: A Marxist Introduction
- Circus of the Grand Design
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years
While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades) (Politically Incorrect Guides)
Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
