62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best beginner book on the market, May 26, 2000
There are lots of gold nuggets of information in this book. If this is your first book on leadership, you'll love it. It's a great place to start. Among the important topics covered by Maxwell are how to build coalitions to effect change and how to nurture your employees to become leaders in their own right. Maxwell brings to bear psychological studies and anecdotes to motivate the reader to become a better leader. Perhaps the best part of this book are Maxwell's stories (Maxwell's leadership principles are backed up by humorous anecdotes from Benjamin Franklin, Abe Lincoln, and others). My one complaint about this book is that Maxwell has an annoying habit of dogmatically stating nonsense (there are 6 levels of leadership, if you work better with people, you're a follower, etc.). He can come off as awfully patronizing. But I still consider this book worth owning, especially for one just getting started on the subject. For what Maxwell is trying to accomplish, you won't get any better than this book.
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58 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A magnificent book on leadership., September 16, 1998
In four years I have read this book many times. My original copy is dog-eared and tatty from repeated readings. We bought hundreds of copies for our clients, all of whom are now becoming better leaders. I sent a copy to the General Manager of a resort hotel. He bought a copy for all his heads of departments. I have never met a person who has read 'Developing The Leader' who did not love it. Every aspiring politician should receive a copy and be tested on it before being allowed to hold office.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasuably Positive, October 10, 2003
"Developing the Leader within You" by John C. Maxwell was a delightful reading experience. Not only was it informative on how to become a successful leader, it was entertaining as well.
Maxwell expressed his views on leadership through illustration of comic strips, quotes from famous people and his own life experiences. For example: "Abraham Lincoln said, "I will get ready; then perhaps my chance will come." He used these examples to demonstrate how anyone one can become a great leader. He also used Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip. Charlie said his life was mixed up because he had missed "all the rehearsals" That expressed his leadership abilities, added humor but also expressed the truth on leadership.
He used quotes that he utilized when giving a seminar. "Life is 10 percent of what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it". These words were so enlightening it was like a light bulb went off as I was reading them.
Another technique I found enjoyable was Maxwell's pulling his readers into the book by asking us to stop and evaluate his own leadership skills. This kept me on my toes and I was able to comprehend the skills he was explaining. This also was helpful after completing the book to realize what my strengths and weakness are in leadership.
Throughout the book he gave the true definition of leadership "Leadership is influence. That's it. Nothing more.nothing less...He who thinketh he leadeth and has no one following him is only taking a walk." A positive attitude was expressed throughout the book by using the delightful material.
All in all I found this book a joy to read and would recommend it not only for leadership purposes but also for life experiences.
Thank you,
I am a student from the University of Pittsburgh,
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