Leader

Joyce Meyer is obviously a gifted leader that has some valuable insight to share to other aspiring leaders. However, this book fell short of its potential as a vehicle through which she could share this knowledge. I have three major gripes with the book that hounded me throughout the time I read it:

1) The book is basically a never-ending list of do's and don'ts, with chapter divisions thrown in for different categories of do's and don'ts. Which is fine for a journal or manual, but gets a bit tiresome for a full-blown book.

2) She is quite repetitive with some of her points and examples and could have expressed her points more succinctly for more impact. It seemed like she had a goal for how many pages she was going to fill, and so she devoted entire chapters to categories that were only slight variants to other chapters.

3) This book is basically a diary of her experiences. Which is fine if the book is intended to be an autobiography, but I did not get that impression from reading the jacket cover. I felt like she could have expressed the same ideas and used a wider variety of sources to back up her ideas, rather than almost soley her personal experience.

All in all, I did learn from the book. It is still a useful tool and is definitely based on Scripture. My gripe is more of a stylistic one than of content.

This is an outstanding book for upcoming leaders as well as those with current leadership responsibilities who want to be more effective in ministry and in secular business. Joyce offers practical advice from the Word and the school of hard knocks. It is a must read!

I really enjoyed reading this book and revisiting scriptures that the author uses to support this book. The leadership tests described in the book gave me great insight into examining my cause and my role as a leader. Joyce Meyer provided great personal examples of what she has experienced as a Leader. I would definitely recommend this book for Ministry leaders. I have plans to read this book again. I have also shared what I have read with members of the ministry in which I serve.

As a side note. I once saw this book at a store. There were at least 10 or more copies. I went back a short time later and they were all gone.

I have been a fan of the Capitol Steps for several years now. Their performances are extremely hilarious as they keep the audience laughing by wearing silly costumes, immitating politicians, and singing songs. This book tells the story of how the Capitol Steps came to be, which is somewhat interesting. It also has portions of the lyrics to their songs, but somehow they just aren't all that funny on the printed page. The book includes numerous photographs, but strangely, not one of them actually shows the Capitol Steps!

The CD that comes with it contains some of the Capitol Steps' all time classics tunes. If you don't already own the albums, this can be funny to listen to. The title is a bit misleading, though. The CD is titled "Sixteen Scandals", but it is NOT the same as the CD that the Capitol Steps released in 1997 under the same name.

This was a rather frightening, yet hysterical, trip down memory lane. So much has happened in American politics over the past 20 years. What a blessing it is to have the Capitol Steps around as the bards recording the inane antics of our elected representatives. To prove how great this book is, I've bought three copies of it - one for me and two for other friends. They are phenomenal. Here's to 20 more years of political satire!

I've been a fan of the Capitol Steps for years, having listened to them on NPR. This book takes you through their humble beginnings when they were mere Congressional Staffers worried about being fired for making fun of their bosses and through their successes of making fun of 4 Presidents. The accompanying CD is a stitch too, and well worth the money! I recommend it!

The Will to Lead greatest benefit is that it is a first person account of a proven business leader in a dynamic business. What is surprising about the book is that it is very non-consulting-ease even through the author is a former Managing Partner from McKinsey & Co. The first person account and stories contain mulitple nuggets of what it takes to be a real leader. You may have to wade through a few stories that seem a bit self serving of the author. However, these are only the recollections of a lifetime of leadership so they are certainly allowable. Other books on leadership (Kotter et al) provide a more scientific view, however Bower's been there and this is what its like approach gives the book credibility and value

Too many book talk about leadership with hyperbole and abstraction. They view leadership as a set of mechanical traits that one can possess, or they perform hero worship by telling stories about various leaders. This book does neither.

Bower provides the right amount of stories as well as his views on what it takes to lead. The books conversational style and well thoughtout ideas make it well worth the time. This work causes introspection that is more valuable and more action oriented than the other tomes on leadership, self help, etc.

If all managers and bosses could read this book the world would be a better place. Marvin Bower has a simple and engaging style of writing that sets him apart from other business writers. I highly recommend this book for those looking for insight regarding their management styles.

I was given this book to read as part of my studies. It is useless information that you could get from your drunk grandmother on any given Sunday! It is nothing more than a retort of common sense, and a CEO's bragging about individual company's accomplishment out of context, with no real information or solutions offered.

I was particularly dismayed at Middle-school level comments such as "Our work with clients and with the analysis of markets suggests that growth energizes those firms and management groups that creates outstanding shareholder value." It's classic rhetoric that makes Dilbert's life a living hell, and shows just how headless large corporations really are.

An intellectual epic of the management movement in the global marketplace. A must read book for any business leaders who wants to gain market share, acheive product differentiation, increase shareholder value, manage KM or ride the wave of ecommerce. An insightful bilbilography backed by 29 prominent top executives in the international arena. The collection of articles provide a useful resource for MBA students and a valuable information tool for case studies.

The authors clearly have presented us top wisdom from these business leaders. The stories are fascinating and the ideas I got from the business leaders was numerous. Well done.

I also recommend a book my company uses successfully for its leadership development program - it has worked well with new and existing managers: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills."

While preaching the imortance of sticking to "core competencies" in any enterprise, Mr. Augustine writes on a wide range of topics, some wonderful ... others not so wonderful. His insights about ethical conduct are unforgettable. He fails to deliver in the section on mergers, though. The author promises fresh insights on how the deal is really done, but the only thing in that chapter not available from newspaper accounts is his war stories of trying to maintain secrecy. All in all, a quick, easy, enjoyable read.

Augustine comes across as the type of person you would love to have as a dinner companion. He has wonderful stories and a very rich life experience to draw upon. The book is an easy ready and most people will get something from it. I was left wanting more depth in the deatils of the merger initiations. I also have enough experience with Lockheed Martin to know that Augustine views his company the same way that every parent believes their child is the star of their Little League team.

Norman Augustine is one of the most talented and thoughtful leaders in American business. This is a rare look at the personal philosophy that has allowed him to beat the odds, time and again. While head of Lockheed-Martin, Mr. Augustine pulled off the most successful series of acquisitions accomplished in recent memory. You will never find a better book on ethical standards in business. Mr. Augustine is a model we can all appreciate. Follow Mr. Augustine's advice, and you will be a great success, too. Be sure to read his other book, Augustine's Laws. It's full of important insights about how people really behave.

Be careful what edition of this book you get. The original edition was a large, useful collection of primary sources. However, another edition was put out which, while still a collection of primary documents, was much shorter and could not be considered definitive at all. The latter was the one I wound up with, and I didn't get much use out of it.

This compendium of battle studies and reports was written by commanders of all levels: Grant, Sherman, Lee and Longstreet down to lieutenants commanding companies for points of clarification on minor skirmishes or segments of the battlefield.The accounts were set down when the war was still fresh in their memories, yet when enough time had passed for reflection.

The fact that several viewpoints, some conflicting, are given for each major battle and campaign adds immeasurably to the value of this work. Of course recent "scholarship" has eclipsed and corrected many of these accounts. However, you get the immediacy and vigor of the post-war controversies and the finger-pointing --- the first early exposition of the rift between Longstreet and the Jubal Early faction for example.

Battles and Leaders was for a long time THE source for the early critical historians of the war such as John Codman Ropes, W. Henderson (the pre-eminent biographer of Stonewall Jackson) as well as the generals themselves who wanted to cross-check their accounts. This was the case until well after the release of the Offical Records some ten years later.

There were inevitable lapses of style and critical ability in the original multi-volume edition; these for the most part have been weeded out from this accessible one-volume version.

The great part about this book for me is that one can get the flavor of the passions still raging, even though the writers attempted a detached and clinical tone for credibility's sake.

Johnson and Buell made a concerted effort to elicit a well-rounded picture for battles and episodes which were the subject of intense debate.

If you have any interest in the Civil War, and lack the time to sift through the voluminous post-war memoirs of the commanders, you'll want to keep Battles and Leaders handy.

This book is a veritable dictionary of the civil war. It holds everything one ever wished to know about the war and its leaders. I recommend it!

THis is an enjoyable read. Informative as it is a good survey of post colonial leaders in Africa. Among those illustrated are Mandela, Neyere, Mobuto, Kenyatta and Eugene Terreblanche. He srveys different styles of leadership from the royal African kings to the dictators who defined the cold war in Africa. He also has a chapter on the white supremecist movement in South Africa. A good introduction to African leaders and politics.

A great read about the political system in much of Africa. Why are African countries failing, and the rest of the world is advancing. It is because of the horrible leadership of much of the African states. Russell details the misrule of Mobutu, Banda, Mugabe, Savambi,and Moi. South Africa under De Klerk and Mandela is an example to the rest of Africa, but even then the possibility exists that Africans may be disappointed by the eventual outcome. In ten more years, I would like to find what Russell says about the possibilities of Africa.

This is an easy, enjoyable book of interviews with a number of leaders of African countries - leaders who came to power when their newly decolonised countries attained independence. Alec Russell, foreign correspondent for The Telegraph newspaper, had personal interviews with "Big Men" ranging from Dr Hastings Banda to Kenneth Kaunda, and the character of each comes through clearly in the book. The author's main assertion is that most African countries were decolonised too quickly, without enough preparation, that certain "Big Men" were thrust into or stole positions of power for themselves and could not be prised out of them. By drawing a portrait of each unique personality, he also writes the biography of a specific historic period - the "Big Man" era, when men used their charismatic power to become national leaders and, after a while, dictators. This book is a fascinating insight into the post-colonial, triumph of independence and its failures. The reader cannot help but be relieved that these men's era is over - that the "Big Men" themselves have almost all died or lost power, and that there is a move towards 'democracy' at the start of the new century.

Although this book is quite limited in it's perspective, it does offer both candid and posed tips on modern Russian culture. Mr. Yeltsin's copious jottings reveal his personal taste for style and political power. The writings also reveal some of the cultural challenges that plague the Russian people such as; peer presure among adults for consumption of vodka and the need for modern business people to find a moral code that will promote sound national and international business practices. The extensive political reporting which Mr. Yeltsin has voiced would indicate that Russian self-government is still in the developing stages and has many hurtles to pass. However the outlook is hopeful and not blindly so. One leaves the text wondering how we might come to learn more of President Putin's own style of politics. An interesting read for anyone studying modern Russian culture, this book is by no means an authoratative overview on the culture.

Yeltsin's memoirs are without doubt interesting and necessary source for everybody who's looking to understand what really has happened in Russia during 90s. But unfortunately this is only half or even less of that what Yeltsin really could tell us. First of all, this is not of course Yeltsin who has written this book. Real authors are Valentin Yumashev, who is also author of Yeltsin's previous memoirs, and Tatyana Dyatchenko, Yeltsin's daugther. Reading this book you could find almost in every chapter how authors had tried to save Yeltsin's face for history. They succeeded if reader is not well informed about Russia. But for them who have lived this through, Yeltsin's book is too one-sided and not really trustful piece.

No wonder that this book attracted such negative reaction from 'experts' in Russian politics. What seemed almost to everyone as illogical, bizarre behavior of a senile tsar suddenly becomes clear, simple and logical. Yeltsin describes day by day his struggle for power since he started his presidential race with support of only 3% of popular support. As one reads the book it becomes evident that Yeltsin always had a very clear and realistic picture of what was happening around him. He could let people believe that he was too sick and weak to rule, watched who, how and when tried to get the power. Like a good hunter Yeltsin stoke deadly blows on his foes when they truely believed he was under their control. Yeltsin analyzes the situation, decides who's his friend or foe, plans his actions and acts without remorse. The book reads like a novel that unfolds the secrets of Russian under carpet bulldogs fighting.

I suspect that the review by Amanda Kane hits the nail on the head. I have not read this book but just finished seeing a talk by this author about his book on C-Span.

I saw bits and parts of his talk, but it was not holding my interest as I was hearing mostly "the same old stuff" about Saddam. I saw mainly the question and answer period.

The book title shown on the screen was only the first half of the title, the more general "The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders."

I heard him mainly discussing Saddam Hussein in a world context.
Someone asked him whether he had done a profile on Bush and Sharon. I was struck by the abruptness of his reply, about Bush, that he restricts himself to foreign leaders, and about Sharon, bruskly, no he hasn't done him.

My alarm bells of "What is his political bent vs. objective scientific study" immediately went off.

This was compounded when the camera finally panned to the view of his book, the title in full and the picture of Bill Clinton.

Following this he was asked about a profile of Arafat, which he happily answered.

I came to the Amazon site interested in find out more. I did, enough to know that this is not a book on which I would waste my time.

Of all persons to be paired in a remote manner by psychological review, it's interesting that the author should explore the personalities of these two prominent persons while both are alive, and in theory, able to defend themselves. While Hussain may not have been available previously upon the initial writing, the fact that he is now in custody makes the analysis considerably more pertinent in view of recent news reports and discussion about what to do with him. While it is not the pairing that most would imagine could produce the height of contrast given the monstrous depiction of Hussain's crimes, the concept of evaluating the psychological profiles of leaders who wield such enormous power by their charisma as well as their position in world events is an admirable endeavor, and may well aid us in choosing talented leaders with great vision, and hence, great potential to either help or harm the world in due measure. Certainly, such a projection by perspective may lead to evaluation of other important figures in positions of influence, either in government or in business with decidedly greater opportunity to see where or by whom the nation is being guided, and in what direction. It may even prove useful for many in Congress who seek to leverage their positions of influence in certain directions, or who may use them to stall and thwart legislation recognized to be important or urgent. Could this pattern also apply to the Supreme Court to greatly increase the degree of scrutiny by which our "elected" leaders govern themselves? What a prospect! Imagine the secrets that would unfold given the nature of egos that inhabit our universe and where they seem to congregate and preside. These eyepopping examinations may provide entirely new perspectives and responsibilities when it comes to elections, giving us both foresight and more than a little hindsight. Surely, pairing these two between the covers of this anthology meets that criteria well.

Like the first reviewer, I too watched Post on C-Span describing his studies and answering questions. Unlike the first reviewer, I was struck by Post's professionalism, wisdom and mastery of his subject. He was also, quite righly, unwilling to be drawn into political debate, although some questioners attempted to goad him into it by making outrageous statements of political fiction disguised as questions.

I feel the first reviewer is biased and even admits to not having read the book.

This is a book that should be read be every thinking person who has an interest in world conflict and how the psychological make- up of leaders effects the conduct of their policies and administrations.

His description of Saddam Hussein, compiled after years of meticulous research and interviews, shows how a miserable childhood combined with a specific psychological make-up can produce a "malignant narcissist", who is a danger to everyone around him. It shows that trying to "give him a chance to reform", is a policy that is bound to fail, because it will only fan his delusions further. SH is not, according to Post a madman but a calculating planner with clear goals and objectives. SH is also, it seems, a murderous sociopath.

This book is like having the play-book on SH. It enables us to understand what he does, why he does it and how he is likely to react to events and to the pressure brought to bear on him by military action. It enables one to gain an insight into events beyond the polemic of political debate.

READ IT!

I would really like to leave a review on this book here. But, due to circumstances beyond my control, I simply can't do it at this time.
I'm in my sixth week of waiting for the shipment of this book with no recourse but to leave this review.
Amazon will not respond to emails, and I cannot find any other way communicate with them. This situation has forced me to buy this book twice. Once from Amazon, and once from school, at over twice the price.
So a word to the wise... BUYER BEWARE!!

I enjoyed this book for several reasons. It inspired me to hear the stories of real dream teams and their leaders. These are real dream teams - no question. And it gave a very good introduction/overview of seven practices needed to move teams to become high performing teams. I also enjoyed it because it gave real life examples for each of its practices. It covers the basics and even introduces some new basics, which really makes it valuable. The book is a lot of hype and sales pitches for teamwork, and didn't cover much detail, or the nitty gritty hard work of making teams effective, but as an introduction, I haven't seen better. I'm using it as a textbook for a class and my students LOVE it. Well worth the read.

Real Dream Teams provides excellent insight into the underlying thread that makes teams win. The 7 practices are not only identified and articulated but related to amazing accounts of success. Truly inspiring, yet at the same time very practical. I feel more equipped to motivate and lead.