Customer Reviews

Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As a CEO myself, I will attest to the excellent inspiration that it relays to the executive. The chapters are short and to-the-point. I recommend keeping it in your desk and reading a chapter a day or so to develop more insight into the leadership technique that worked for God. As I learned from reading the text, I realized the wisdom of Christ is not really ancient at all...but are simple lessons in interacting with and leading people that are timeless in nature. This book could change the nature of our corporations and World if it were required reading for business leaders.... The only thing that the author didn't emphasize more is the importance of communicating with our boss, Jesus, through prayer, and constantly asking for his guidance in our actions. He will makes us stronger and abler leaders.

When I started reading this book I threw out all the other daily meditation books that had been collecting dust on my shelf. This is the most practical daily compass for aligning professional and spiritual goals that I have found.

I was so excited about finding it that I purchased copies for several friends, some of whom share my religious beliefs and some who do not. All share a professional vision for their respective industries: real estate sales, advertising, banking and merchandising. They all found it enormously helpful, and one ended up purchasing a copy for a CEO who was interviewing her for a management position (she landed that job).

I recommend this book strongly. It contains effective and immediately applicable ideas for leadership and serves as a reminder to how closely our lives and daily challenges mirror those faced by Jesus....and how to triumph WITH others, not over them.

Many business people spend thousands of dollars on seminars and programs designed to increase their efficiency and profitability. But along comes a little unpretentious book and the business world is changed. Jesus, CEO is a tremendous resource which draws on Scriptural accounts of Jesus' life and ministry as an example for business leaders to follow. My only question is: what took so long? I highly recommend this book and I will use its principles in my own work as a Christian Business Consultant, for which I am currently organizing. Thanks should go to Laurie Beth Jones for having the honesty, temerity and good sense to integrate spirituality and business.

As a business consultant I can say that there is nothing wrong in this book. As a Christian, however, I must say that everything in this book is wrong. Jones is many things, but a child of the Kingdom she is not.

Here's the proof: She has no idea what the mission of Jesus was and claims that He "let go" of His mission -- that He failed! On page 12 of the book she states the mission of Jesus was to "teach people about a better way of life." No, Laurie Beth, that's Zig Ziglar's mission! Jesus' mission was to come and die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He did not come to teach the law, but to fulfil it. On page 157 of the book she clains that Jesus looked at his mission on the cross and then "let it go" implying that he failed or left it incomplete. How terribly wrong and misguided she is! His words "It is finished" mark the fulfillment of his mission -- perhaps the only human in history to be able to truly say so. H! e let it go because it was complete, not unfinished.

Jones' book says nothing new about management. She has just managed to hook herself onto the coat strings of the most famous name in the history of the earth. Her beliefs about Jesus are clearly non-Christian and should not be read in any way as application of the faith. Her theology is erred, the foundation of the book flawed. Her conclusions and teachings, therefore, are not those of Jesus but of Laurie Beth Jones. Spend your time profitably -- pray for her and read someone else's book.

This book is an outstanding quick read book that can serve to reground any leaders view of the world. Leadership is all about caring, nourishing and fostering and in simple examples we've all heard before it re-enforces leading with good intentions. I've shared this book numerous times to set a tone of leadership that I would want to work for in the future. Why it is not on Harvard's executive reading list is beyond me.

I was initially turned off by what appeared to be a blasphemous exploitation of Christ's name. But once I read this book I was sorry I had waited so long. This is the only book I've ever bought multiple copies of to pass along, one even to a total stranger. It's a quick and easy read, a collection of short, insightful essays. How sad that so many people want to pick this book apart -- they miss the point. It's not a theological treatise. Leave your dogma and doctrine at the door long enough to appreciate this little treasure for what it is: another fresh and valid perspective of Jesus, with all the love and honesty His name symbolizes. When the people around you have frustrated you to your breaking point, open up this book and take a look at what Jesus might do. Too bad more so-called leaders don't try it.

I read this book for a report for a college leadership class. My teacher said later he was hesitant to let me use this book because he didn't know if a religious book would relate well to "secular" ideas of leadership. I found they did, very well. This book is written in short essays. It takes about a minute or two to read each chapter. Leadership principles or skills are illustrated using the words or actions of Jesus. There are over 80 illustrations. I found that traits Jesus exemplified are to be found in "new" ideas professed in all three of my secular leadership classes.

Some problems with the book depending on who's reading it:
--If you're an athiest or a religious non-Christian, you're not going to "get it";
--If you're a Christian you might find that Jones stretches a bit at times to make her "Jesus connection." And sometimes it seemed that Jones didn't know whether to treat Jesus as a God or just a very wise man.

I told my prof I think maybe agnostics would have the easiest time with it. Fundamentally, for this to have any impact on you, you must accept that Jesus existed, that He did the things the Bible said He did, and that His ministry changed the course of the world--you can believe or not that He was God, the Son of God, or a great prophet. Recommended for anyone who wants to know what traits one person had that his 3-year ministry could change the world forever.

For what it is--a simple, devotional-like read, illustrating many leadership traits of an amazing being--I give it an excellent rating.

This book is great. I am going to read it a second time to highlight all the great parts. Not only is it great for current leaders in all areas of life, it is great for people who are budding leaders. Much of the perspective of leadership from Jesus' example can be applied to parenting and other interpersonal relationships.

Laurie Beth Jones breaks her discussion of Jesus' Ancient Wisdom of Leadership into three sections: Self Mastery, Action and Relationships.

The short, punchy chapters in this book make it the perfect daily companion. I really appreciate how Jones shares examples and illustrations from Bible references as well as bringing in people like Georgia O'Keefe and Dan Millman and others.

Each chapter concludes with a question or two (several have quite a few) which allow the integration and application of the principles in that chapter. I could definitely see taking a chapter a day and really studying and applying as I go about living my life, working my business, etc.

One of the best books I've ever read, re-read and read again. I continuously go back to this book for inspiration and level setting when I'm grumpy about the world and believe everyone is rotten and spoiled. This book is a great how to be a good person leadership read.