Customer Reviews

Hope: How Triumphant Leaders Create the Future

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What are the connotations when you hear or see the word "Hope"?

Is it an intangible concept? An esoteric notion?

Razeghi, a writer,educator, and innovator demonstrates through illustrative storytelling, research from neuroscience and behavioral psychology, the wisdom of such folks as Marshall Nirenberg (who broke the genetic code), Deepak Chopra, and the Dalai Lama, that hope is a verb, a tangible tool, atrait that can be learned. Similar in writing style to Malcolm Gladwell, Andrew makes you ponder and take risks in thought and perception. Whether your interests include business, politics, science, sports, art, or religion, there is something for everyone. If you are a recent graduate of college entering the brave new world of the workforce, a business merchant embarking on a new venture, an individual looking for a new career, or just a student of life, "Hope" is an excellent resource and a good read. Enjoy!

Andrew Razeghi follows in the footsteps of Malcolm Gladwell by giving his readers new insights through a multitude of stories, studies, and experiences. At the same time, he blazes a new trail by exploring how hope and the human condition are implicitly intertwined.

The book is sure to have any reader examining their own life and how it could be made better with more hope, and like Gladwell's writing, it is easy to read and difficult to put down.

And, though it is written for leaders, with Razeghi's belief that leaders are not born, they are made, it has lessons that would benefit any reader, whether an employee, manager, or student.

There have been numerous books written about the divine power of hope in medical science, but this is the first time I've seen the principals applied to business and leadership. The author does a great job of blending stories of inspiration and hope from numerous individuals - in addition to his own life experiences - in a pleasant and easy to read format. This isn't like most business books - it's a refreshing change for the better.

Mr. Razeghi brings new insight and power. His book covers more ground than just business. Part novel, part inspiration, and a lot of amazing information that is not only practical but also what the world needs right now. Bravo!

I don't remember the last time I read a book that left me really thinking about my life my approach to overcoming obstacles and in general with a sense of possibilities. The book takes you through and helps you understand how to make the concepts yours so that you can apply them to your particular case/problem/obstacle/life.

I have worked for a few great leaders and am married to one. I have often wondered, what is IT. What characteristic do they have that others do not? Andrew Razeghi answers this question with his new book... they have HOPE. And more exciting than that, hope can be learned! Andrew does an excellent job describing how great leaders feel, behave and communicate, through interesting interviews with some of the world's greatest leaders. He teaches us how we, too, can become inspirational and effective leaders in our field.

In the first chapter, Andrew Razeghi poses several questions: "In moments of uncertainty, when hope is on the line, why do some leaders succeed and others fail? How do they think, feel, and act in those moments when the future is up for grabs? What do they believe? Could it be that they have a different relationship with hope? Could it be that triumphant leaders follow an unarticulated methodology of sorts for translating hope, the virtue, into hope, the plan? If so, can it be learned?" Razeghi set out to answer these and other questions. What he learned is shared in this book.

Razeghi carefully organizes his material within three Parts: Thinking About Believing, Exercising Your Hope Muscles, and Putting Hope to Work. To me, some of the most valuable material in this book is provided in Chapter 8, "Five Stones," as Razeghi discusses the importance of "mise in place" (i.e. putting in place) as a principle by which to guide and inform one's values, perspectives, and behavior. Razeghi identifies and then discusses what he calls "the Five Stones of Wakefulness": Self, Others, Context, Cause, and Effect. Together they provide a solid foundation on which to achieve and then sustain awareness of both ourselves and of our interrelationships with others as they and we struggle to cope with sometimes perilous situations, as they and we share a common cause or vision to achieve objectives which have beneficial impact.

I also found much of substantial value in Chapter 15, "Shine," in which Razeghi shares his thoughts about how triumphant leaders use symbols to raise the collective consciousness needed to win; the importance of managing not only objectives, time, and money but also the aspirations of those led; leadership lessons to be learned from Sir Ernest Shackleton during his expeditions to the South Pole; and having the courage to believe when few others (if any) do. With regard to the last, Razeghi observes that "Truth be told, in moments of uncertainty, we look to the [begin italics] hopeful doer [end italics] - the problem solver, the creative one, the person who can find a way out. When it really matters, we turn to the hopeful leaders like flowers reaching for the sun."

So, by the end of the book, the reader has hopefully increased her or his faith in the power of hope. More to the point, the reader has gained a greater understanding and appreciation of how to become what Razeghi characterizes as a "triumphant leader." In the second chapter, he asserts that triumphant leaders - hopeful leaders - "communicate meaning by virtue of their beliefs. Leaders' beliefs are the soil in which we plant our aspirations. In this way, your beliefs are like dirt. You gotta dig'em up now and then. As a leader, you must show those who look to you for leadership not only what you believe but also why you believe it. Because coincidentally, what we cannot see in our leaders, like what we cannot see in dirt, turns out to be what is most important."

It is worth noting that Dante reserved the last and worst ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. As Razeghi explains so eloquently, it is not sufficient to have faith in the power of hope; we must also have the courage to act upon that faith and share it generously with others. When identifying great leaders throughout history, we tend to think of Jesus, Elizabeth I, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and more recently, Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela. Razeghi suggests that "triumphant leaders" can also be found among countless others of little (if any) renown who also believe that "to make things grow - dreams, people, earnings" - you must tend to your outlook as much as your intellect. You must believe as much as you think."

What an amazing read! Powerful and well thought out. I recommend this book very highly for those who see that hope is power. I also recommend this book to those who think hope is not necessary in business nor in life. Great for anyone who is willing to believe in the true ACTIONABLE power of hope. As for the critics of this book, maybe you need hope more than you know.

This book is filled with stories and interviews of leaders who use hope to marshall their teams to success. It also does a great job of drawing a clear line between wishful thinking and serious, motivated direction towards a goal. Along those lines, you'll come out of this book inspired and more dedicated to your goals and with a desire to pass that along to the rest of your troops.

The book suffered on two counts, though: there wasn't a deep analysis of the concrete impact of hope on the bottom line, and there wasn't an outline of how to best bring or instill hope into your team. The books by Collins have set a high standard for the analysis requirements if you want to talk about how a "squishy" area like ethics, values, or hope impacts your company, and you won't find that here. The book is also nearly 100% stories, and is short on concrete steps - are whole-team presentations best? Do people best respond to memos? 1:1 touch with your senior management to pass on your vision and hope? Or does it not matter?

In the spirit of honesty, I was provided with a compilmentary copy of this book for review.