Churchill on Leadership : Executive Success in the Face of Adversity [Paperback]

Steven F. Hayward (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1998

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Analyzing leadership is difficult; its definition is elusive. Writers usually resort to identifying someone they perceive as being an effective leader and then select various attributes the individual possesses, suggesting that others would do well to emulate them. This method has recently been applied to leaders as diverse as Attila the Hun and Mahatma Gandhi. Hayward chooses Winston Churchill, a figure who occupies the continuum somewhere between those two examples. The author is a director at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, a think tank devoted to free enterprise and individual rights, and a frequent contributor to Reason, the magazine dedicated to "free minds and free markets." In selecting Churchill, Hayward provides numerous examples of the statesman's candor and plainspokenness, decisiveness, historical imagination, and ability to balance overview with attention to detail. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761514406
• ISBN-13: 978-0761514404
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5.5 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A manager's opinion March 6, 2002

By Cat

Format:Paperback

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 !

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The First Step in the Huge Churchill Lexicon October 20, 2001

By Mark A. Savage

Format:Hardcover

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new perspective brings Churchill to life March 5, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Steven Hayward uses a new perspective to illuminate the achievements of Winston Churchill. Even though we all know of Churchill as a great leader, he has become such a titanic figure that in some respects his human dimension has been lost. Hayward recaptures this, particularly the drive, the self-confidence and the persistence in the face of adversity. Also, because he is British, we tend to see him in a cigar and brandy snifter environment. Hayward shows that he was a thoroughly modern man, once of whose accomplishments was as an outstanding hands on leader and administrator, with, among other things, the ability to make decisions of great weight with only partial information - the conversion of the British fleet to oil before World War I being only one of them. I was thrilled once again at Churchill's eloquence, courage, foresight and determination. I agree with one of the other reviews that the blurbs at the end of each chapter are a bit trivial, but that is, itself, a trivial criticism. This is an outstanding book, easy to read, and one that will stay with you as a "biography" of Churchill more than a management manual.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tool for understanding Churchill in a leadership focus May 5, 2008

By Winton R. Churchill

Format:Hardcover

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership Succinctly Put! February 12, 2007

By Cookie Longacre

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A top job in making a how to do book from a biography March 17, 1999

By Donald A. Collins

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As we all know too well, in the flow of flotsam from academe, there is seldom material that is both readable and edifying. Often neither quality is present. This book, Churchill on Leadership, scores high in both categories. Hayward's obvious in depth knowledge of Churchill and his times enabled him to organize the vast storehouse of material available into a useful and unique way of teaching the leadership principles Churchill personified. God knows the lack of leadership today evidences the extreme need for what Hayward has wrought.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Winston S. Churchill's Leadership Style in Review. August 24, 1997

By Cap Parlier

Format:Hardcover

Steven Hayward places Churchill's experience and approach to executive problem solving into historical context. This is a must read book for students of leadership & management as well as fans of Sir Winston. A relatively short book about such a significant topic, but well worth the time

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational & instructive, but not in the way intended October 17, 1997

By David P. Straface

Format:Hardcover

Churchill's leadership and perseverance carry this book. The lessons mentioned at the end of each chapter seem trivial - as if summing up Churchills achievements can be encapsulated in a few managerial maxims. What Mr Hayward has achieved is to display a man very much like us (women included). I learned his eloquence was not a gift but the result of hard work (I too can work on my short-comings); he had many failures, some fatal for a politician, but continued to soldier on (I too can persevere); he stuck with his own sense of self-worth when every one else proclaimed him as finished (I too can maintain confidence against adversity). The maxims, Mr Hayward, are not needed. But thank you for bringing such a powerful figure down to earth, where we can all learn from his extraordinary life.