The Genius of Robert E. Lee [Hardcover]

Al Kaltman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

An American icon, Robert E. Lee ranks among the world's truly great leaders. Al Kaltman, author of the highly acclaimed Cigars, Whiskey, and Winning (Prentice Hall Press) which illuminates the leadership legacy of Ulysses S. Grant, now turns his attention to reflect on the remarkable life of the Civil War general and his practical lessons for today's leaders--corporate, civic, and military.

Arranged chronologically, The Genius of Robert E. Lee presents Lee's personal incidents in his own words and is then followed by powerful advice for today's leaders. The years Lee spent in the Army before the Civil War are the basis for many practical lessons in values-based leadership. How Lee dealt with the post-war years teaches valuable lessons in taking on new leadership roles after failure and managing a second career. Lessons focus on--

Taking command from a solid foundation and projecting a winning image.

Learning while teaching and delegating without abdicating.

Rising to challenges and continuously striving for improvement.

Robert E. Lee is best remembered as the superb general who held the Union commanders at bay until his outnumbered, outgunned, and poorly fed army was finally overwhelmed by Union forces. Today's leaders, especially those contending for scarce resources while meeting the challenges posed by better financed and more technically advanced competitors, will profit from Lee's examples as they are presented in this book.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although his career ended in spectacular defeat, Confederate general Lee's accomplishments were extraordinary, maintains Kaltman, in this solid if simple-minded guide to advancement at work based on anecdotes from Lee's battlefield experiences. From Lee's military career before the Civil War, Kaltman extracts a lesson about leadership based on core values. Lee's strategies for fighting with few men and few provisions yield insights about competition when one's opponent is more powerful. His ultimate surrender to Grant teaches readers about rebounding from failure. Pervasive themes range from the importance of rising to a challenge, striving for continuous improvement, managing from solid ground and projecting a confident image to adages like "Little Things Mean a Lot" (suggesting that "managers who show kindness in little ways earn huge rewards in staff loyalty and performance"). Kaltman (Cigars, Whisky and Winning: Leadership Lessons from Ulysses S. Grant) is a clear, straightforward writer demonstrating keen interest in his subject. However, the reader learns only a little about Lee and a little about management. Managers who are also history buffs may enjoy Kaltman's latest effort, but overall, it's disappointing. (Jan. 2)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Al Kaltman is a PhD., management consultant, and author of an acclaimed book on leadership lessons from U.S. Grant. Now Kaltman has produced a similar--and remarkedly better-- study on R.E. Lee. The negative age in which we Americans live has not been good to the image of the great Virginia commander. Yet, in Kaltman's eyes, Lee's story "is a classic study in triumph, tragedy, and redemption." It teaches lessons that span the ages. Hence Kaltman presents some 250 vignettes on Lee, along with strking parallels and executive motivations for today's leaders. One of the author's inspirations gained from Lee is: "Suffering a misfortune doesn't justify sitting on the sidelines. Even if you can't do what you want, you have an obligation to do what you can." Woodrow Wilson idolized Lee as "a man who devoted his entire life to the benefit of others, without regard to himself." In 1868, the New York Herald termed Lee "a better soldier than any...and a greater man." Kaltman endorses both judgments in a book that merits all the readership it will get.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735201870
• ISBN-13: 978-0735201873
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lee, Robert E.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Advice from the Life of A Great Leader, February 13, 2001

By 

Mark R. Jordan (Chester, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Genius of Robert E. Lee (Hardcover)

Al Kaltman has done us a great favor by writing, "The Genius of Robert E. Lee." His subtitle grabbed my attention immediately, "Leadership Lessons for the Outgunned, Outnumbered, and Underfinanced." Kaltman divides his work on leadership based on the chronology of Lee's life giving the reader 260 brief vignettes delving into the personal and professional life of this great American. The 260 entries gives the busy reader a kind-of "daily devotional" Monday through Friday for all 52 weeks of a single year. Also helpful is Kaltman's use of putting Lee's actual words in italics in each entry. The index at the conclusion of the work is also a helpful feature for quick and easy subject referencing. Kaltman brings a wealth of information together smoothly, from the idiosyncrasies of the man, and the historial events of the time, to the present day realities of leadership and management in the workplace. Students of Lee, Civil War enthusiasts, and the corporate leaders of today's business environment can all benefit from delving into Kaltman's treasure chest of thoughts, ideas, and principles gleaned from the fasinating life of this great man in history. For anyone who's ever felt like they were outgunned in life, or outnumbered in the cut-throat competition of the 21st century business world, Kaltman's work will introduce you to the genius of a man who was overwhelmed militarily, but who was never conquered in life or in the lasting legacy of leadership that he left to us all.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A textbook rather than a history book., November 1, 2001

By 

Sailoil - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Genius of Robert E. Lee (Hardcover)

I never read a book in this style before. It is not a history of Lee, but a list of lessons illustrated by events in his career.

The lessons are laid out chronologically in Lee's career. They highlight as much about his strengths as his weaknesses. More importantly for me, they give an insight into the Civil War that is uniquely from the perspective of General Lee.

This is a book that can appeal to Civil War readers, or it can appeal to those interested in Management.

It is an easy read, I like the style, and it is a book that you can stop and start as you like. No need to plough through it all in one go.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical as Well as Principled Then and Still Relevant Now, March 29, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Genius of Robert E. Lee (Hardcover)

Obviously, Kaltman found in Lee's management strategies and tactics relevance to the contemporary business world. The book's subtitle reveals Kaltman's primary theme: "Leadership lessons for the outgunned, outnumbered, and underfinanced." That is probably true of almost all of the companies now struggling to survive. The material is carefully organized within 11 chapters which correspond in chronological sequence with the various stages of Lee's career. Kaltman has identified 260 specific "Lessons" each of which he summarizes within an appropriate context and is accompanied by a Lee quotation, followed by a brief "Advice" mini-commentary. Unlike so many other books which purport to draw such correlations between the battlefield and the marketplace (e.g. The Military Genius of Daffy Duck), this one is sensible. Granted, many of the "Lessons" are rather obvious and much of the "Advice" is somewhat simplistic. However, the content is quite substantial. I think this would be an excellent gift for someone about to begin or who has only recently begun a business career. Here are Kaltman's concluding comments: "Robert E. Lee led armies in battle, helped reconcile a people to their defeat, and built a great educational institution. Lee never worried about his legacy; he focused on the job at hand. He believed that our legacy is the work we do to improve the human condition and bring about better times: "We may not see them but our children will, and we will live over again in them." You may also wish to check out Kaltman's Cigars, Whiskey & Winning: Leadership Lessons from Ulysses S. Grant, Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership, and Hilton's Leadership Lessons from Robert E. Lee: Tips, Tactics, and Strategies for Leaders and Managers.