I came across the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership in a leadership training program at my company. It's a great book because it's very practical and the advice points you in the direction you need to head if you want to succeed as a leader.

Another book we read in the class that I highly recommend for leaders is The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book

This is very good book it helps retrain the brain on tasks that were
forgotten over the years.

The subject matter of the book is really great, but in my humble opinion, the delivery of it is pretty boring. I purchased the book to pre-read before sending off to my 23-year old daughter (recent college grad) and I know it won't capture her attention...it didn't capture mine.

I found "The 21 Laws" to be all that it's hacked up to be, and I think I've read most of the Leadership tomes. Now I have luckily found the new book called "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" by West Point author Norman Thomas Remick which took me to the next step in leadership, trying to become not just a good leader, but a great leader. You might say, like the book, "Good to Great", shows you what makes some companies go from being good to being great, the book, "Going Beyond...", shows you how leaders can go from being good to being great. After reading the Maxwell book, and then going further by reading the Remick book and putting it into action, I think I'm on my way. That's why I recommend "The 21 Laws" and "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" to everyone.

I found "The 21 Laws" to be all that it's hacked up to be, and I think I've read most of the Leadership tomes. Now I have luckily found a new book called "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" by West Point author Norman Thomas Remick which took me to the next step toward trying to become not just a good leader but a great leader. I think I'm on my way, that's why I recommend "The 21 Laws" and "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" to everyone.

I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me valuable insight to the mindsets and principles required to being an outstanding leader. I agree. Leaders are sometimes born, but more often than not, you too can be a better leader if you develop and follow these sound principles.

I am a Corporate Trainer and Product Developer. This book is an essential new manager read. What a great congratulatory gift for someone receiving a promotion to their first management position. Great for an office book club.

I have been attending some leadership training sessions at church where the author's video has been used. He's been so captivating on video that I decided to buy the book so I wouldn't miss or forget anything. My doctorate is in educational administration and policy analysis and this book has certainly enriched what I already know. John Maxwell's life in the ministry has added greatly to his book.

In this revision of his 10 year-old best-seller about how leadership works, John C. Maxwell demonstrates that leadership learning never ends. The proof of this learning is in the deletions and additions to his irrefutable laws! Although I still find some overlap (i.e. the Law of Solid Ground, the Law of Respect, and the Law of Buy-in are all about a leader's character and the all important trust factor), these updated irrefutable laws provide plenty of insight into how leadership works, as well as offer a great deal of useful advice on how to make them work for you.

In this revised Maxwellian version of a leadership framework, servant leadership (the Law of Addition) with its relational aspects of heart (the Law of Connection), head (the Law of Intuition), and hands (the Law of the Picture) still serves as the leadership foundation. The external influence is addressed in the Law of Timing, but Maxwell's most powerful observation may be the Law of Explosive Growth, where he observes that leaders who concentrate on leading leaders are those most capable of growing their business.

I enjoyed the lessons from history that he uses to explain each law, and find that his personal examples add a touch of practicality to his sometimes too cleverly named laws. This revised edition is recommended for any student of leadership.

Dennis DeWilde, author of
"The Performance Connection"

This book review will cover The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 10th Anniversary Revised and Updated Edition, by John C. Maxwell. Maxwell has written numerous bestselling books on leadership. Maxwell's other works include, but are not limited to; Developing the Leader Within You, The 21 Indisputable Qualities of a Leader, Leadership 101, and The 360 Degree Leader. Maxwell has a gift for relating his points to personal and historical examples that emphasize his suggested rules of leadership. These 21 Irrefutable Laws include: The Law of the... Lid, Influence, Process, Navigation, Addition, etc.

With each Law, the author describes the theory behind the Law. For example, with the Law of Sacrifice, the theory is that a leader must be willing to sacrifice in order to achieve. He expounds upon his point by explaining that a leader gives up rights - in exchange for responsibilities - the higher the leader rises. The example that he gives in this chapter is the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The author shows how the more sacrifice King made in terms of sacrificing his personal rights and freedoms, the more the Civil Rights movement gained. This is indicative of the way a leader must sacrifice for the good of the organization.

Maxwell suggests that all of the Irrefutable Laws are important for a leader, but admits that it is rare for everyone to do each perfectly. This is where the Law of Inner Circle comes in. The author opines that a leader's potential is determined by those closest to him/her. Thus, if you are weak in certain areas, you can strive to get better. But if you know that you have a weakness in a specific area, you should ensure that your inner circle comprises leaders that have the skills you lack. A real life example that Maxwell gives is Lance Armstrong. Although Armstrong was a wonderful bike rider, he always credited his team for helping him reach the great achievements he enjoyed in the Tour de France. The author quotes another great leader in Mother Teresa - whose life embodied many of the Laws; especially Sacrifice and Legacy - who stated, "You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things." This is one of the examples that Maxwell uses to drive points home.

Every chapter in this book covers a Law, and every Law is like a quick course on Leadership. Leadership can be learned, but the effort must be put forth to recognize your strengths and to work on your weaknesses. There are several self-quizzes and exercises in this book to help you achieve your potential in these 21 Laws. Maxwell writes, "To become an excellent leader, you need to work on it everyday." Leaders must strive for excellence and they must strive to prepare others to take over for them when they move on. This is an excellent book on leadership. Maxwell has a way of speaking directly to the reader.

Reading this book was a rewarding experience that had me wearing out the yellow highlighter as there were valuable insights on page after page.

I highly recommend this 5 star book

This is a must have manual for ANY individual who wants to become the ultimate example of leadership. I highly recommend reading this book, written by one of the greatest hearts,mind and authority on the subject of leadership.

Only John Maxwell can make an already incredible book even better. Worth the re-purchase.

The best part of this book that seperates it from Covey - you don't have to master one to get to next level. Exploit your strengths, exploit your team's strengths and work together. It is all about making your self indespensable and then you will become a better leader. Funny that my thoughts before was never be indespensable. I truly learned alot from this book and I love the REAL examples they give that will reach across all age groups.

At the beginning of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John Maxwell, the author reminds us that any book is fixed at a moment in time. Maxwell's first version of this book captured his best thinking as it was a decade ago.

But while the book has remained unchanged, its author has grown and matured. He has read more, worked with more people, and taught his principles over and over again. And so the book we get from this fifty-one-year-old author is a more mature and developed one than we got from John Maxwell when he was forty-one. That is a very good thing.

In the intervening decade Maxwell found that some laws needed to be combined. He also adds two new laws. The number of laws remains the same.

This book is better than the first version. You can count up the new stories and examples if you want, but the numbers aren't the story. The story is that this man who wrote one of the best books on leadership has added the growth, maturity and insights of a decade and made it even better.

As Maxwell outlines it on page 245, there has been a trajectory to his thinking. In the beginning he understood leadership development as primarily a process of personal development. That's still part of his thinking, but he's added understanding of the importance of a leadership team, and, especially, the importance of developing other leaders.

There are two key questions to ask and answer about any book like this. First: "If I read this book and apply what I learn, will I be a better leader?"

The answer to that is a resounding "yes." The content here is good and it's practical. Leadership is an apprentice trade. You learn most of it on the job, by trying things out, observing how you do, and adjusting how you do things in the future based on results and feedback.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership gives you a great starting point for learning. At the end of each chapter there's a section on applying this lesson to your life. There's also a law (number 3) called "The Law of Process" that reminds you that "Leadership develops daily, not in a day."

There's no promise of magic here. But you can count on improved results if you use the book to guide your actions.

The second question to ask and answer is: "Is the book written well enough that I can move through it easily and learn its lessons?"

The answer to that one is another "yes." There's excellent use of stories and examples, which will help you learn and understand. Key points are highlighted throughout the book. The writing is smooth and easy to read.

There are some things to quibble with. I think his description of how Robert E. Lee wound up with the generals he did is simply, historically wrong. But you can leave that example out of the book and the chapter where it appears and still get value from both.

There are also things that may trouble individual readers. Maxwell learned his leadership trade as a pastor and it's obvious from several of his personal stories. That makes some people uncomfortable. Others think that you need to learn leadership in business or the military, because a church is a "soft" environment.

Don't believe it. Maxwell learned is trade in one of the most demanding environments for a leader. Pastors and other nonprofit leaders don't have many of the tools of reward that their business colleagues have. The lack the disciplinary tools that the military gives its leaders.

The result is that people who learn their trade in the nonprofit world develop skills of communication and persuasion that can escape leaders in other sectors. The lessons Maxwell learned will work anywhere.

If you're just starting out as a leader, this book can provide you with a self-development roadmap to guide you as you work to master the leadership craft. If you've been practicing leadership for a while, this book will give you a refresher as well as new insights.

This is a revised edition of the first book I ever read on leadership. It is an excellent book for new leaders and those who have been in management for awhile but who need a little inspiration. The law of the lid (chapter one) is absolutely true!