Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finding gold "on the other side of complexity", May 20, 2008
I have read most of John Maxwell's previous books and reviewed several of them. In recent years, it seemed to me that he was recycling many of the same ideas, albeit finding new applications for them. In this volume, he offers his perspectives on "years of living in a leadership environment and learning through trial and error what it means to be a leader. The lessons I've learned are personal and often simple, yet they can have a profound impact. I have spent my entire life mining them. I think of each chapter as a gold nugget. In the hands of the right person, they can add tremendous value to their leadership." He hastens to point out that he is still learning, that many others have made significant contributions to this book, that what he learned can also be learned by nearly anyone else, that much of what he shares is the result of leadership mistakes he has made over a period of 40+ years, and that the value of the material will depend almost entirely on the extent to which she or he effectively applies the lessons learned.
In my opinion, this is Maxwell's most valuable book thus far because it combines the strengths of a vivid memory, a keen mind, a caring temperament, unadorned eloquence, and a sincere desire to help enrich the lives of others. He carefully organizes his material within 26 chapters. In each, he focuses on a "golden nugget" of insight. When concluding, he suggests that the danger of a book like this "is that it is easy to breeze through it, understanding the concepts that are contained in it but not actually [begin italics] doing [end italics] anything with them." In this context, I am reminded of Thomas Edison's suggestion that "vision without execution is hallucination."
I especially appreciate Maxwell's skilful use of two sections that provide "Application Exercises" to complete a self-audit on the key points in each chapter and a "Mentoring Moment" that suggests how to share with others (e.g. direct reports) the lessons learned so that they can also benefit from them. Hopefully, this will help them, in turn, to help others to benefit from "the leadership gold." He also clusters sequences of key points highlighted with bold face. I also appreciate Maxwell's strategic use of dozens of relevant aphorisms from various sources, located in the margins of each chapter. For example:
"Criticism is something you can avoid easily - by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." -Aristotle
"The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers." - Max Depree
"The business schools reward difficult behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective." - Warren Buffett
"Nothing else distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time." - Peter Drucker
"The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them." - Zig Ziglar
"It's wonderful when the people believe in their leader. It's more wonderful when the leader believes in the people." - John Maxwell
"I am more afraid of an army of one hundred sheep led by a lion than an army of one hundred lions led by a sheep." - Count Talleyrand
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - J.K. Rowling
To a much greater extent than in any of his more than 40 other books, Maxwell trains his reader to master the Socratic method (i.e. rigorous, relentless interrogation) by using that method when presenting the "leadership gold" he has mined throughout his life and career thus far. Extending the metaphor, he helps his reader to recognize the "fool's gold" that so many so-called leaders cherish: announce rather than inquire, intimidate rather than encourage, threaten rather than nourish, ridicule weakness rather than recognize strength, etc. These people tend to be what Jean Lipman-Blumen characterizes as "toxic leaders, destructive bosses, and corrupt politicians."
I highly recommend this book to anyone preparing for or who is only recently embarked on a career that could lead to leadership responsibilities. Also, to those who now have such responsibilities and recognize the need to increase their effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of those entrusted to their care. (One of the "toxic" leader's least attractive qualities among many is her or his absolute certainty that there is nothing more to learn.) Those such as I who have already read several of Maxwell's other books will find much that is familiar in this volume. In fact, there are no head-snapping revelations, nor does Maxwell make any such claim. I do not damn with faint praise when suggesting that he presents the "lessons learned from a lifetime of leading" with simplicity. On the contrary that's a compliment. Oliver Wendell Holmes once asserted, "I would not give a fig for simplicity on this side of complexity but I would give anything for simplicity on the other side of complexity." So would John Maxwell as he continues to learn, to teach, and to lead.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT MANUAL BUT NOTHING NEW, April 8, 2008
As a Maxwell follower for years I can tell you that the content of this book keeps with his tradition of simplicity, practicality, and solid principles. From that end of it, it is Maxwell all the way. However, it is important for readers to know that this book really contains nothing "new". This is rather a compilation of his many books and lectures compressed into a manual he calls "GOLD". Its a great book to teach from, but if youre looking for something "NEW" from John, this is not a book to offer you that. This is just John marketed in yet another way.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW, August 26, 2009
I'm a big John Maxwell fan and have read most of his books. His most recent Leadership Gold is by far one of his best. It is a list of the 26 most important leadership lessons he has learned over a span of 30+ years of leading.
Some of my favorites were:
If it's lonely at the top, you're not doing something right. Many leaders think that it is impossible to be a good leader and know people or be close to your team/followers. One of greatest joys since starting Revolution is how close I am to the other leaders and team that I serve with and lead. It is a huge risk, it is hard work, but it is worth it instead of being distant from your team.
Never work a day in your life. This one really spoke to me because it is something that I am living right now. The idea of "find what you love do, do it well enough so that people will pay you to do it." That is what I'm doing right now.
The best leaders are listeners. I need to improve on this one. I am the type of person that when I am talking to someone I am thinking about what I am going to say to them instead of listening, really listening to them.
To see how the leaders is doing look at the people. The best way to see how an organization, team or leader is doing, look at the people who are following that person. Are they better off? Is the organization farther than they were before? Leaders make things better or worse, which one do you make your team/organization/church?
Don't manage your time - manage your life. According to Maxwell, "Nothing separates successful people from unsuccessful people more than how they use their time." We all have the same amount of time, we can't get more in a day. The task is not to learn how to manage time, but to manage and maximize your life. The story in this chapter of the 1000 marbles is worth the price of the book, what a great example.
Keep learning to keep leading. Growth does not just happen, personally or corporately. To grow as a leader, you must have a plan. To take the next step as a leader and become all that you are meant to become, you need to have a plan. All leaders who have made any impact in history or done anything noteworthy were constant learners, they never "arrived" but they always had a plan to get there. Maxwell points out, "What is the one thing - more than any other - that will determine the growth of an organization? The growth of the people in the organization. And what determines the people's growth? The growth of the leader! As long as people are following you, they will be able to go only as far as you go. If you're not growing, they won't be growing - either that or they will leave and go somewhere else where they can grow."
The secret to a good meeting is the meeting before the meeting. This has been a learning curve for me. The idea of meeting with the most influential people before THE meeting to get on the same page and work through the desired outcome of the meeting. People do not like being surprised and they like to be a part of deciding the outcome of something. Too many leaders (myself included) forget that when we present an idea, we've been thinking about it for weeks or months and that the people we are presenting it to are hearing it for the first time. Maxwell says, "Most people are down on what they're not up on."
This idea also helps to remind us of what the point of a meeting is. Maxwell says, "Most people have the wrong idea about the purpose of a meeting. I think a lot of us think of them as time savers. You pull a bunch of people into a room so that you can deliver a message once. That's the wrong way to think about a meeting. Meetings are for getting things done! To do that, you must often have a meeting before the meeting to prepare for the meeting."
Be a connector not just a climber. I think leaders naturally see themselves "climbers." People who get things done, are on a mission, going somewhere.
Those who start the journey with you seldom finish with you. This has been one of the most painful things for me to learn as a leader. When you lose a teammate, for any reason, it hurts. The idea that some of the people who will do the hardest work with me, go through painful experiences with me, will not make it all the way is hard to wrap my hands around, but it is true. Even now, I can make a list of people who have led with me, but are no longer with me and it hurts. Sometimes it was the right thing and for the right reasons, sometimes it wasn't. Either way it hurt. As a leader, you must learn how to handle this because this is one of the things that will make or break your leadership.
Few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be. What a reminder. I can make a list of people who I am no longer working with who put me in the position I am in today simply because they invested in me, gave me opportunities, and helped me along the way. No one gets anywhere worthwile on their own.
If you are looking for a leadership book to read, this is one definitely worth picking up.
[...]
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
