Customer Reviews

From Battlefield to the Bottom Line : The Leadership Lessons of Robert E. Lee

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Dr. Holton has performed superbly in extracting the essence of Lee the man, the soldier, leader and hero from a variety of primary source materials. His alignment of these quotes from Lee and those who knew him to some 119 characteristics of leadership is riveting and true.

Arranged alphabetically, Holton covers a wide range of leadership characteristics-from courage to management by objectives and virtual reality-that unmask problems and bottle necks in almost any private or public corporate structure. Personnel from any level in the corporate structure will find this readable, easily understood, and immediately applicable to their area of work.

This is a must for any organization that is or already has shifted to self-directed or high performance team management. Lee was a master of this strategy, and the details of his skill show clearly through Dr. Holton's work.

Having read extensively of the literature on Lee's command of the Army of Northern Virginia, I was very impressed with Dr. Holton's skill in matching the excerpts from primary sources of Lee's career with the 119 management concepts presented in this compact, 158 page, guide to leadership.

The only quote that I missed seeing in my reading of this work, which would have only added to the character portrait Holton develops, is a paragraph from the January 21, 1993 Congressional Record:

"Robert E. Lee's religious conviction was clearly expressed in his sense of honor and duty. He revealed this in a note he wrote to himself: 'There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done--the honor of the integrity of principle."

Robert E. Lee was not only one of the greatest soldiers of all time, his managerial ability and leadership enabled him to withstand
overwhelming odds for four years and emerge with the love and respect of all who knew him.

While few of us can muster the sterling qualities (and patriotic impetus) of Marse Bob, we can yet benefit from his wisdom and integrity, and aspire at least to emulate the qualities which made him one of the most respected figures in American history.

The present work is a companion to "From Battlefield to Bottom Line", a study of U.S. Grant's leadership, by the same author. Both are highly recommended to anyone who wishes to learn leadership from two masters.

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