Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life [Paperback]

Daniel Granholm Mulhern (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“A book that truly speaks to everyone. . . . Always practical, often inspiring, this is more a reference book than a self-improvement text, and a great read for any would-be leader.”
—Roger Penske, owner of Penske Corporation and Penske Racing

“Sound, practical advice driven home with real-world examples. . . . This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to make a positive difference in the lives of others in their community, their business, or their family.”
—Dennis W. Archer, former mayor of Detroit

“Everyday Leadership is a treasure chest of engaging stories, practical tips, and rich insights into how we each can make a difference in the world when we take responsibility for the personal power that we have. . . . once you’ve taken Everyday Leadership to heart you’ll leave this world a little bit better than you found it.”
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge

“Everyday Leadership taught me as much about how to be a better person as it did about being a better leader. In fact, it revealed how much the two are the same. Excellent and helpful reading for anyone.”
—Marianne Williamson, author of Return to Love and Everyday Grace

Everyday Leadership offers strategies to improve leadership skills, achieve results, and gain greater satisfaction in these hectic times. It speaks to the everyday leader, whether that person is a principal, pastor, parent, or CEO.

Daniel Granholm Mulhern brings the art of management down to earth, presenting stories that illuminate some of the best ideas about real human leadership. He offers practical steps to achieve the goal of leading well in our lives through creating a vision, communicating that vision, and living it in simple yet powerful ways.

Daniel Granholm Mulhern is the “First Gentleman” of the State of Michigan and an accomplished consultant, business coach, and motivational speaker. In addition to the personal support and counsel he offers his wife, Governor Jennifer Mulhern Granholm, Dan contributes his professional expertise, spearheading the effort to make Michigan’s state government a model for the nation as a “great place to do great work!” Dan also chairs the Michigan Community Service Commission, which promotes and coordinates volunteer efforts across the state.

About the Author

Daniel Granholm Mulhern is the "First Gentleman" of the State of Michigan. In addition to the personal support and counsel he offers his wife, Governor Jennifer Mulhern Granholm, Dan contributes his services, spearheading leadership development and being a model for the nation in offering a governmental work place that is a "great place to do great work!" He also serves as Chairman of the Michigan Community Service Commission, which promotes and coordinates volunteer efforts across the state.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press/Regional; annotated edition edition (February 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0472069721
• ISBN-13: 978-0472069729
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #774,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leading with Truth, April 24, 2009

By	Oralya G. Ueberroth "Oralya Ueberroth" (Lansing, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)

I think what impressed me the most was the willingness of this author to be so vulnerable and open. There were a couple of instances when the author actually WROTE what most of us are only brave enough to THINK in the privacy of our own minds. I found it inspiring to see an accomplished man struggle with similar issues that each of us face daily - knowing the cost of not meeting the mark everyday; knowing the struggles that our ego's create and tend to make bigger. Mr. Mulhern articulates his own struggles in a wise, compassionate and empathetic way, sharing his walk with the reader while gently guiding us toward a better understanding of what it takes to lead well. Worth the money! Hearing the Audio CD was even better, you can really hear the sincerity and humor in his voice.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid structure, excellent techniques, engaging stories - our best selves emerge!, July 14, 2007

By	John J. Daniels "Director, UDM Leadership Dev... (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)

I bought a dozen of Dan's book before I read it, based on my belief in his warm human way of encouraging leadership as a practice of personhood. It took me a couple of months to start to read my own copy, but only a couple of days (on vacation) to finish it. His stories make it enjoyable to read, and the reader can be moved to grow from the inside, heart as well as head. Here are some pages I dogeared, and my comments when I had the time to review them:

Page 31: "leaders light torches". I realized some time ago that my wife is like this. Everywhere she goes, she affirms people's goodness as she delights in them and takes interest in them. Her little wick is hardly seen, but oh, the lights she's lit! As I grow older, I realize that this kind of leadership is ageless, and leaves a greater legacy than any other.

Page 139: "leading from the middle" Discovering that we are average, and being called to lead from there is really good for me. It helps me to see that when I am effective, I mistakenly think it is because I am exceptional; when I discover my frailty, it distracts me and I lose my stride. On the other hand, if I put on the hair shirt of self doubt, I'm totally useless. This middle ground is fertile! I see a second book in this!

Page 160: "technologically advancing but tribally regressing century" - this is prophetic, in my opinion.

Page 167: "I don't want to look stupid" - boy, oh boy, is this valid for me. While we were in Germany, I hid from using my very limited German. Meanwhile, my wife, equipped with her smile and her little German-English dictionary, was quite effective in communicating. Difference? She was not afraid to make it clear that she could not speak much. In Hartford Connecticut, I was reminded of her goodness in this regard. At the hotel breakfast, we were very capably and warmly served by a woman who spoke very little English. She would come around, for example, with a handful of bananas and HER big smile, look warmly into our eyes, and say "Banana? Or no?" Later I went to thank her, and tell her what a beautiful smile that she had. She did not look stupid, at all. She lit my torch, as I think about it now!

Finally, Dan's closing story of the choir director recalled to me an experience we had on our first trip to Florence. After a week or two, I missed being with my students. We went to Mass at the cathedral, and there getting set to sing was a group of such marvelous ethnic diversity I began to blink away tears, sensing that they must be American kids. Sure enough; in the middle of the celebrant's welcoming comments in undecipherable Italian were the words "Youngstown State University" and "Dana Chorale". Their director was a man thin and intensely engaged with them, nervously moving and yet warm. He loved the notes out of them all through that Mass. At the end of the Mass, I went over to thank all of them, and to thank him, too. But as I approached, I realized that he was occupied with one particular member of the group. "Did you hear her!" "Did you hear how wonderfully she sang that?" "You DID it!; you got the best out of her; what a great job you did!" The girl was weeping, the director was weeping, and of course, I was weeping. The kids in the group were beaming proudly. I did met the director, Wayne Raridon, retired now. What a legacy he left in those kids.


What did I get from Dan's book? Communication, communication, communication, for one. This book pushes on relationship, and away from traps of individual heroism. I had expected to find a series of great stories, but I found a solid structure and excellent techniques supported by great stories. And I found my BEST SELF being called out, encouraged, and informed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership made easy, March 5, 2008

By	K. Elster (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)

In "Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics and Life," author Dan Mulhern says there are no small leaders or small acts of leadership. Each of us, he says, whether we are a parent, a teacher or a CEO can make a difference in the lives of others and move them to accomplish great things. At a time when political heroes and celebrity role models are sparse, it's both comforting and inspiring to know that we each have the ability, and responsibility, to lead.

"Everyday Leadership" provides concrete strategies to obtain results and, at the same time, gives us permission to wrestle with the very human struggles of leadership like managing our egos and emotions, and doing the right thing even when it's the hard thing. Dan makes the reader realize that the decision to lead is available to us every moment, every day, and his practical tips, personal stories and real-life anecdotes make that decision easier to make.

For anyone pondering how to become a leader at work, at home or just in daily living, this is a great book.