Churchill on Leadership : Executive Success in the Face of Adversity
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| Churchill on Leadership : Executive Success in the Face of Adversity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Success often depends on the strength of a single quality: leadership. Winston Churchill is universally recognized as one of the 20th century's great political leaders and his words ring just as true in the world of commerce. A wise, witty, and inspiring leader, Churchill ran Great Britain like a great corporation.
"Perhaps the finest book on practical leadership ever written." — Brian Tracy Churchill on Leadership demonstrates that the principles that guided Churchill ably translate to private industry today. Author Steven F. Hayward gives strong evidence that, if you remove Churchill from his political context, he would have the resume to be among the great business leaders of any age. Churchill: • was a financier (as chancellor of the Exechequer) and labor negotiator (as home secretary) • managed a large transportation network (as head of the British Navy) and far-flung property holdings (as colonial secretary) • persevered through bankruptcies and other financial disasters • conceived and introduced innovative new products over the opposition of his colleagues, and reorganized major production operations in the midst of crisis. With wit and insight, Hayward reveals Churchill's secrets for business success from assembling and inspiring a first-rate team to preparing a wise budget, from communicating a vision to structuring effective meetings, from acting decisively to rebounding from a failure. Laced with epochal events from the historical stage, enlivened with stimulating speculation, and leavened with wit, Churchill on Leadership is both an enjoyable read and a thought-provoking lesson on leadership. From the Trade Paperback edition. |
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Scotch and cigars are making a popular comeback, so perhaps the time is ripe for the 20th century's most famous scotch-drinking and cigar-smoking leader to do the same. In the vein of the best-selling book Lincoln on Leadership, Steven F. Hayward looks at the much-studied Winston Churchill in a way nobody has before. Although Churchill on Leadership is pitched to a business audience, its lessons have a wider resonance. Churchill, of course, is best remembered as a political figure and wartime hero. Anybody who aspires to leadership can profit from this book, whether it's in the boardroom or the Oval Office.
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| 05-05-08 | 4 | (NA) |
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This book is very well crafted. I especially like the section on "Churchill The Inventor And Innovator." Hayward's well researched book synthesizes so much of what was the essence of Churchill's leadership foundation (not just his style.)My sense is this book is best for the business (or govt) leader (or soon to be leader) eager to understand some of the less obvious leadership fundamentals of WSC's leadership evolution. By pulling from diverse references over time, Hayward displays a leadership trajectory, and perspective absent in so many leadership books. Also, great insights as to how WSC was able to get opposing constituencies to work together on a variety of issues. A great investment if your career has a leadership component to it!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-06-22 11:10:40 EST)
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| 02-13-07 | 5 | 1\1 |
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Although Sir Winston's leadership skills manifested themselves in the military realm, his skills can easily be transferred to the business/ private sectors. The author used great examples and wonderful quotes to convey his message. His method of ending each chapter by focusing on the leadership skills discussed in the chapter was very helpful. I do not normally read this type of book, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and found some of the skills applicable even to me, a Management Analyst. Of course with the subject being Sir Winston, how can one go wrong.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-05-20 10:42:38 EST)
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| 03-07-02 | 5 | 3\3 |
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I have been a manager for over 10 years, and have worked in different industries and different countries. And I gladly admit I still have a lot to learn concerning management. This book talks about concepts we know we should all be applying, such as learning from mistakes, responsibility and organization, attention to details as well as to a master plan, communication, etc. However understanding how Churchill put these concepts to work is fascinating. I did not know that much about Churchill in the first place, perhaps that is why I enjoyed the book so much. It is a nice change from CEOs' biographies. And yes, I am putting some of what I read to work, so it was worth my time and money !
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-02 22:18:01 EST)
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| 10-20-01 | 4 | 6\6 |
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I read this book without having known anything about Chruchill, as a lesson on leadership under stress. I learned a lot, but I also became very interested in the man. He is fasinating and very brave. I'm very gald I read this book.
The main idea is to study how Churchill made his leadership decicions, and what the reason for that decision was. It's an informative study of the man, and even funny at times. It's always entertaining, but somewhat short of a great story (so 4 stars). By all means read this book. It's a great way to begin to learn about Churchill, aside from the 3 or 6 volume works available at the bookstore. It's also a good study on decision making based on principles and honest living, strength, and forward thinking. There are good lessons here as well a good reading. I recommend it highly. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-02 22:18:01 EST)
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| 01-25-01 | 1 | 7\11 |
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I just completed this book yesterday and I must confess if it was any longer I might not have. While it was mildly entertaining, it contains little that is new or particularly informative. The book generally repackages concepts that are written elsewhere and ties them to passages in Churchill's life. Many of the comparisons seem strained. In fact, comparing Churchill's almost single-handed stand aginst tyranny with normal business competition, seems inappropriate and a little silly. It's probably fair to say that the book contains a few kernals of wisdom which would be helpful to anyone in business, or otherwise. These kernals are relatively simple and (it seems to me) obvious. It begs the question, Why, exactly, do we need a book such as this? The people most apt to pick-up the book in the first place are those who already have a more than passing affinity for Churchill. If so, those people will likely have read books which are more informative, historically significant, insightful and generally worthwhile. If this is your first introduction to Churchill, do not let it be your last. Overall, I think there are much better uses for all of our valuable time.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-02 22:18:01 EST)
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| 04-20-00 | 2 | 3\5 |
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As a longtime fan of Churchill, and in a position of leadership in a commercial environment, the book appeared to be excellant vacation reading. Well it was but only from the 'fan' position. The author sets out with good intentions and early in the book he relates Churchill ways back into the context of today's executive's environment. But, by the middle, and then thereafter, he's lost his way and it becomes a bit idol worshipping with no real relevance to application to today's leadership 'student'. At times Mr Hayward really is squeezing the pips to show Winston as a model to follow - I've suggested dictation from my bathtub but so far my secretary hasn't picked up on the idea. If you want to understand Churchill it's a good read. If it's leadership you want you'll have to browse further.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-02 22:18:01 EST)
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| 03-08-00 | 2 | 4\5 |
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I'm going to say something that might sound odd: this is not a leadership book. It deals pretty well with the everyday tasks and details of Churchill's style, but strangely not his "executive success in the face of adversity." And Hayward's assertion that Churchill's style is like that of an executive seems a little red-faced: Hayward spends a lot of time defending against Churchill's critics that Churchill was disorganized and a bad judge of character. In all likelihood, he is forcing Churchill into a category that he does not belong: indeed, Churchill may have been disorganized, but he was a darn good prime minister. My opinion is that Churchill deserves more than this. In place of this book, I would recommend Lincoln On Leadership.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-02 22:18:01 EST)
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