Customer Reviews

The Heart of a Leader

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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,In the introduction, Ken Blanchard tells us that he always liked sayings when he was on football teams, such as When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going. With this book, he turned that love of sayings into a synopsis of his thinking about leadership.

You might think that all of these sayings are authored or coauthored by Ken Blanchard. Not so. Although he is the author or coauthor of 36 of them, other notable figures including Churchill and Lincoln make the list.

The book's format is to have the saying in large type on the left hand page, and a one page commentary on the right hand page. The commentaries are well done, and add a lot of insight into the saying.

You should think about this book as a summary of Blanchard on leadership. To give you a sense of how this works, you may remember that the key first step in The One Minute Manager was To Catch Someone Doing Something Right and give them a One Minute Praising. The quote for this is the first one in the book and goes on to explain how to do this: promptly, specifically, and with enthusiasm.

As you know, Ken Blanchard's books usually have fable or two in them. The book has no fable, so you just get the key principles.

So if you prefer key ideas, this is the book for you. If you want to have a good reminder of everything Ken Blanchard has written, this book is for you. If you want to quickly focus on good ways to be a better leader, this is a good book for you. If you want to have a good gift to give to someone you care about to make them a better leader, this is an excellent book for that purpose. Enjoy!

76 Management McNuggets from the master of the genre. If you like the soft side of management to be short and sweet, this is the book for you. You get a Ken Quote on the left and a one-pager explanation on the right. Great reading for the john.

-- Mark Kelly, coauthor of MASTERING TEAM LEADERSHIP: 7 ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS

This book is very good with clarity to the point. Short and simple pages to read right through to being a true leader in work, relationships, and working to be successsful in managing people. If a person is a manager already they can be a true leader by believing in their associates to support others to reach theirs goals too! Anytime an associate wants to grow and learn in the company they work for a manager must let them excel. This only benefits the person and the company as well. Work needs to have fun and humor bringing out the best in their people and customers. This book definately covers the heart of a leader with much integrity having genuine people skills.

I like the book very much. Ken shows his insight and wisdom on choosing values, aiming for excellence and how to help others to achieve their excellence. And the book is easy to read. Recommended.

A book of over 75 quotes, Ken Blanchard records some of his favorite quotes and then briefly expounds on the main point of the quote. Numerous authors, famous historical figures and leadership experts such as Abraham Lincoln, Don Shula and Norman Vincent Peale are quoted in this book. Very readable and full of great advice on leadership, The Heart of a Leader is concise yet practically helpful. The author is a respected author on leadership, and so this book is appreciated as a good summary of Blancahrd's convictions and insights on leadership. I personally appreciated reading two or three quotes every day for about two months. Some quotes were obvious; some were silly but most were helpful and required thought and reflection. The style made for an easy read; it didn't require a large time commitment to glean the content of the book.

Some important topics that came through these quotes include developing leaders, encouraging those you lead, the value of a team, humility, hard work, the value of keeping a learner's attitude, high quality standards, the importance of understanding how diverse people can be, modeling good examples, morality, the importance of listening to those we lead, vision, goal setting, good communication with those we are leading, enjoying the task of leading, flexibility, the importance of good relationships, being vulnerable, and sharing leadership strategy with others. All of the above topics could probably be books in themselves, but they only get a few paragraphs each in this book. I personally found many of these quotes and the corresponding paragraph of explanation very helpful. The quotes are usually catchy, yet profound and thought inspiring.

The Heart of a Leader contains bite-sized nuggets of insight on leadership. The format lends itself to daily reading - there is one page with a large-print quote about leadership, and the facing page has a couple of paragraphs sharing some insight on leadership. You probably won't get the full benefit of the book if you dive in and read it in one setting. The thoughts cover a variety of aspects of leadership (not just servant leadership or situational leadership).

One thought I particularly liked was found on page 92. "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." In discussing this he points out that leaders are more and more called on to be cheerleaders, encouragers, and supporters. This is hard to do if these leaders don't feel good about themselves. Blanchard notes that the spiritual awakening that comes from knowing you are unconditionally loved is both the quickest and most long-lasting way to accept yourself. (The book is not overtly religious, but clearly faith plays a key role in Blanchard's life and there are a few such quotes.)

I love Ken Blanchard's work & this book on what it takes to be a great leader is one of his best efforts; and that's saying a lot.

So often, the great leaders throughout history have been described as possessing that wonderfully elusive quality called "heart"---from Lincoln to Churchill---and Blanchard explains why that's such an important quality for the great ones to possess. Those who have "heart" inspire others with their greatness; and they discourage their detractors with their fortitude.

The qualities that make a great leader rise above the pack---having a high value system, constantly striving for excellence, integrity, the courage to embrace change, as well as guiding and supporting others in their pursuit of maximizing personal potential---it's all covered in this terrific little book.

In essence, the great leaders---whether they be Presidents, business people, or ballplayers---all have one thing in common: "Miles & miles of heart"; as the song goes.

Anyone reading this book & following its principles will find themselves with a great deal of heart as well. And that's not such a bad thing.

I've purchased about 7 copies of this because I've been forced to give them away after someone catches a glimpse of the content. Great book.

The Heart Of A Leader is another great book by Ken Blanchard. This book could be considered an easy, one-sitting read. Each set of facing pages contains a leadership quote followed by a breif illustration or commentary to amplify it. However, I think its full value will not be realized unless they are read no more than one per day or per week, allowing time for application. I would recommend reading it slowly and making concrete plans to implement the powerful truths so concisely shared on each page.

This is an easy to read life manual. Great principles for everyone. Whether you work in the corporate world or you are a home maker, this books gives you powerful wisdom principles to help you effectively lead in your daily life tasks. I like it because it gives you one principle per page on the left and then a short explanation of the principal on the opposite page on the right. It's a small book so it won't take you long to read it. Great things come in small packages !. An Inspirational read !!!