Customer Reviews

Leadership Lessons from the Civil War: Winning Strategies for Today's Managers

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a professor of English, I'm probably the least likely person to purchase a book on leadership in business, but I consider this book a real gem with which to kick off my reading for 2000. Wheeler's brief, but insightful, examinations of leadership under the most stressful conditions are both entertaining and highly useful to anyone who aspires to successful management of one's business or professional life. He conveys his substantive knowledge of both the Civil War and the conflicts of modern capitalism in a focused and fluid manner. It is always a pleasure to discover a writer who is passionate about his work, and I look forward to his next contribution to the genre.

I saw the author being interviewed by Brian Lamb on the Booknotes show the other night. The book sounded quite interesting, so I went out and bought it. The thing I like best about it is that it's not some heavy historical tome about the Civil War. It's a collection of fascinating stories about specific decisions made by commanders, and the leadership lessons those decisions illustrate -- like the need to take risks, changing old rules, not accepting failure, etc. Then the author tells more interesting stories about today's successful high-tech innovators and how their decisions are based on the same leadership lessons. I like the book, and find it useful in making decisions in my own business life, because in telling stories about both the Civil War and today's high-tech marketplace, the book is about the rules and lessons ordinary people followed in making important decisions.

While most leadership books tend to be a "paint by numbers" list of tips, this book is a collection of stories. We learn from stories, not from a checklist of rules. Not only are the leadership stories very readable, but getting inside the "why's" and "wherefore's" of a lesson in story form is much better than the typical approach of this genre to list a rule and give some commentary.

Of particular interest is that the author was personally involved in many of the modern leadership stories he tells. His examples aren't academic, he's lived many of the modern business stories and builds his conclusions on those experiences.

Five stars!

Imitation is the sincerest form of benchmarking. The explosion of interest in leadership has encouraged managers, and therefore authors, to seek out models to study, admire, and ultimately emulate. And when the supply of glorious leaders of the present dries up - is there anything more to say about Jack Welch? - the search turns to the past. Vanderbilt and Carnegie have received their due (cf. Masters of Enterprise, reviewed elsewhere in these pages). So has Patton, and Leonardo da Vinci. Even Machiavelli has had his day in the sun, albeit a sun that shines a cold and withering light.

So perhaps it was inevitable that someone would produce _Leadership Lessons of the Civil War_. But it wasn't inevitable that it would be good. More ink has been spilled recounting the Civil War than blood was spilled during it, and there's no shortage of tedious and unimaginative histories of the War Between the States. Tom Wheeler, however, has hit upon a winning formula: vigorously concise battle narratives, coupled with tales of modern business, all under the rubrics of nine leadership lessons. The lessons themselves may appear self-evident - "Yesterday's Tactics Make Today's Defeats", "To Be a Leader, You Must Lead" - but Wheeler selects his examples wisely and fits, rather than forces, the anecdotes to the morals.

This is a book about men (exclusively) who lead: men like Ulysses S. Grant and Herb Kelleher, Stonewall Jackson and Ted Turner. Most of the modern exemplars are drawn from the world of technology and communications, not surprising when the author has been president of cable or telecommunications industry associations over the last twenty years. The Civil War leaders, on the other hand, came from as varied trades as teaching rhetoric, running a railroad, and clerking for a tannery, with a healthy batch of West Pointers thrown in. Facing the challenges of battlefield conflict, some proved stubborn, cowardly, arrogant, or reckless; others exhibited the sort of successful leadership that corporations spend fortunes to attract. And though few Civil War generals, colonels, and captains articulated their management philosophies, they do exemplify a particular model of leadership: bold, empowering, innovative, decisive, drive-from-the-front leadership.

This is not everyone's model. Arguably it's a very male approach, aggressive and self-confident, not unlike the one often touted in the similarly male world of professional sports. And some of the modern examples Wheeler chooses stretch the parallelism to the breaking point; whether the "Disney's America" PR disaster truly mirrors General Ewell's over-caution at Gettysburg is open for debate. But if you accept the premise that we can still learn from the incommunicable experience of the Civil War, then _Leadership Lessons_ will be thought-provoking, entertaining, even inspiring. Like the infinite tragedy the author describes, its truth is marching on.

In reading Tom Wheeler's amazing "Leadership Lessons from the Civil War," I was reminded at how much we as a nation have lost touch with the war over our nation's soul.

Wheeler brings defining moments from the Civil War,and the leaders involved in those decisions, alive in this new century. Comparing and contrasting Generals Lee, Grant, Sheridan and Sherman to modern day capitans of industry like Ted Turner and Jeff Hawkins is pure genius. The author has given a new relevancy to this pivitol time in our history.

Wheeler writes with great ease and has a style that brings events and personalities alive. This book is a must have for this nation's business leaders as well as those in Washington.

An easy flowing read, this book is fun AND interesting. Anybody with an interest in the Civil War and involved in business will really enjoy this book(it would make a GREAT client gift). Wether anyone can apply the lessons to their life\business is up to them, but it is a flat joy to read. The tying of the characturistics from the Generals to the business leaders makes it doubly fun. Tom hits the mark beautifully. Being a CPA I really enjoyed the business aspect, but I am glad it concentrates more heavily on the Civil War.

The author brings an unusual background to this book. He is a student of the Civil War, with a rare insight not only into the battles and the strategies of North and South, but into the character, motivation and thinking of the leaders who wore both Blue and Grey.

At the same time, he is the head of one of American's most cutting edge high-tech trade associations and a keen observer of today's economy and what separates the successful company and executive from the rest of the pack.

The result is a book that is different from the normal Civil War history. It does offer fresh perspective into the minds and actions of some who we thought we knew well. As such, it is a must read for anyone who considers himself or herself a Civil War buff.

But it is much more than that. As its title indicates, the author is able to draw invaluable lessons from the battles, the strategies and the leaders of the Civil War and apply those lessons to today, and to the competitive environment that exists today. As such this book becomes must reading for anyone who wants to gain a edge in the business world.

Even if your knowledge of the Civil War is negligible, you should find this a book of great value and usefulness.

As a PhD in American history as well as a former president of a commmunications company, I found this book particularly fascinating. The civil war examples were well researched, the management lessons highly useful for today's business leaders. Who said we can't learn from out past! It is a wonderful synopsis on how the war was won and lost. It is a marvelous book for anyone interested in the civil war or business management.

Tom Wheeler, in his new book, gives business women especiallythe best heads-up on where men come from in business that I have everread.

Literally, all you need to know about men's strategies, the drive, the winner-take-all, the take-no-prisoners, the willingness to risk it all, is there for the learning. Many men who are at the heads of the "Fortune 500" fought in a war or fought their own wars from the time their parents let them outside to play. Bottom line, men fight, get hurt and get up again and again. Women in white-collar America have never caught or ducked a punch, or given one either.

After a male has picked himself off the ground half-dead, dog-eat-dog corporate politics seem like a cake walk. Conversely, career-destroying political moves can devastate women who have no experiential concept of kill-or-be-killed fighting to the finish. Men also know the thrill and the excitement of the fight.

Beyond the learn-to-play-nice he said she said communication books, "Leadership Lessons" shows men with the cuffs off, exposed bare, scared, proud, and, sometimes, laugh-out-loud funny, like the story about "The Grey Ghost," Colonel John Singleton Mosby when he slapped the sleeping butt of the enemy general in his own bunk.

I found the book so intriguing I read it from cover to cover in one sitting.

I was very impressed by this book. It's a pretty quick read, but it hammers home the key aspects of leadership using a forgotten source - the Civil War. I was surprised at the parallels that can be drawn from situations 150 years apart, but the key requirements for success in the new internet economy: speed, decisiveness, use of technology, changing the rules, etc., are even better understood by giving them a little space from current affairs and comparing them to mid-1800s history. This is a great book to give to a management team of a startup or a big organization alike - it's as inspiring as it is educational.