This a well written and designed book that injects new life into the ubiquitous leadership self-help book market, if only for the fact that it is written by some down to earth British guys instead of the usual over zealous Americans
By P Dourado and P Blackburn
John Wiley & Sons, 2005
$41.95
This a well written and designed book that injects new life into the ubiquitous leadership self-help book market, if only for the fact that it is written by some down to earth British guys instead of the usual over zealous Americans.
The book emerged from the Inspired Leaders Network in the UK, a group set up six years ago because most existing organisational leadership failed to inspire people.
In setting up the network and identifying individuals and organisations at the forefront of organisational leadership, the authors wanted to glean leadership secrets of experts in the field for their book. Dourado and Blackburn detail the ‘seven secrets’ of leadership: leadership is viral; pass it on; make people want to follow you; lead from the edge; and the impossible isn’t, and so on. Despite being a hackneyed subject, the content and presentation is refreshing. The book is rich with examples of and case studies in leadership, including Pret-a-Manger founder Sinclair Beecham and Ford COO Sir Nick Scheele.
The sprinkling of quotes is interesting (‘What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest respect for the follower,’ for example).
This book will be popular with time poor readers.
