11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nuggets of Leadership Wisdom, September 6, 2008
Bill's latest book is a kind of distillation of his learnings, values, and leadership principles from 30+ years at Willow. Written in 76 short, concise chapters, "Axiom" is both inspiring and instructive. Each chapter contains a principle, wrapped in a slogan (or "Axiom") that Bill has coined to summarize a specific facet of leadershipo. The chapters are self-contained, like Proverbs. You can read one, put the book down and go apply the principle. No chapter takes more than 10 minutes to read, but each will take months (if not years) to fully implement.
Axiom is one of the most practical books on church leadership in our day. I found myself putting most chapters into practice the same day I read them. Those familiar with WillowWorld will recognize many (if not all) the book's principles from previous Leadership Summits or Hybels' sermons. For me, the book was both a great review and a kick in the seat to go lead better, and lead better in specific ways.
Axiom reminded me once again of the importance of leading daily, improving myself and my church regularly, not settling for incremental growth, and the absolute necessity of church leaders fighting for the advancement of the kingdom. I recommend this book to all churchworld leaders.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Speed of the Leader, Speed of the Team, August 19, 2008
Bill Hybels revs up in chapter one--and the good stuff is still kicking in chapter 68, "Read All You Can." He writes, "I have little patience with leaders who get themselves into leadership binds and then confess that they haven't read a leadership book in years. If you're a serious-minded leader, you will read." In the book's foreword, Henry Cloud writes, "Great leaders do their homework so that weariness and unsteadiness are kept at bay."
Amen to that vote for lifelong learning, also affirmed in the "Book Bucket" one of 20 buckets in my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit. Consequently, I was eager to read the latest book from Bill Hybels, one of the most gifted leaders I've ever met. Axiom, with 76 pithy leadership proverbs, doesn't disappoint.
"Speed of the leader, speed of the team," was and is one of Bill's oft-mentioned axioms. Few leaders make this pronouncement because the camera immediately focuses in on them. As the first president of Willow Creek Association, I watched Hybels up close and he always shared that core value confidently, yet humbly. His walk and his talk backed it up. He writes, "If you cannot say, `Follow me,' to your followers--and mean it--then you've got a problem, a big one."
He elaborates. "Follow my values. Follow my integrity. Follow my work ethic, my commitment, and my communication patterns. Fight as I fight. Focus as I focus. Sacrifice as I sacrifice. Love as I love. Repent as I repent. Admit wrong as I admit wrong. Endure hardship as I endure hardship." Then he concludes this one-page proverb with the whole point of it. "When requisite actions back them up, these are the words that set followers' hearts soaring."
Scan the 76 mini-chapter titles and you'll be pulled into the street-smart, God-smart wisdom. They include: Language Matters, Make the Big Ask, Hire Tens, The Dangers of Incrementalism, Never Say Someone's No for Them, The Tunnel of Chaos (a key idea in my Culture Bucket), Disagree Without Drawing Blood, Admit Mistakes and Your Stock Goes Up, and Arrive Early or Not at All.
Warning! Don't carelessly toss these axioms into your repertoire without understanding the biblical and leadership context. In my days at Willow, "Don't Screw Up" was a common benediction at meetings--but it created anxiety, not blessing. The leader knew how to communicate it, but the lieutenants didn't.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Leadership Classic!, August 8, 2008
Axiom is the my favorite of all Bill's work!
This book is jam-packed with profound leadership insight. Each short, yet powerful chapter, speaks directly into daily issues and challenges every leader faces.
Some of Bill's axioms ministered to me, some thoughts inspired me, some challenged me, and some drove me to prayer.
I took so many notes and journaled so many ideas, it will take weeks to process all I learned.
This is a book I'll re-visit for years to come.
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