The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Marc Muchnick (Author) "One sunny day in Corporate America, Leadership Pill Industries (LPI) opened their first production facility with an announcement that received immediate national media coverage: "We..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Blanchard is a veritable self-help book writing machine. His latest-a typically slim volume offering a typically simple parable-concerns a competition between two leaders with wildly different management styles. One leader takes "the leadership pill," which gives him "all the attributes of effective leadership." The other leader does not take the medication. Although the book is presumably not an advertisement for natural healing, it seems that way at times: it turns out the leader who doesn't take the pill winds up winning the competition. The message? Leadership takes time-it can't be learned overnight (or ingested via pill form). Leaders must show integrity, build "a culture of partnership" and affirm their employees' sense of self-worth by letting them know what they do is important. It's a solid, though obvious, message that should resonate with fans of Blanchard's brand of advice.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Mary Anne Brannon Technical Operations, Development & Learning, Delta Air Lines What an easy-to-understand approach to building positive and productive relationships...both professionally and personally. It's about doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons. When people understand their respective roles in the business, the results are more than just the dollar. The lessons of The Leadership Pill could make a "new course" for Delta. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (September 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074325001X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743250016
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One-page, thirty-second leadership, February 13, 2004

By	Peter Lorenzi (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Go to page 110. Read the four themes: integrity, partnership, affirmation, and perfecting the blend. Perhaps read each of the three bullet points for each of the four themes. Do this while browsing at a bookstore or, better yet, at the local library. Good. You now have spent thirty seconds and saved yourself money and the other fourteen-and-a-half minutes it takes to read the entire book.

Should we be grateful that leadership can be expressed so concisely and learned -- no, mastered -- so quickly? Or should we wonder who would pay a full-book price for 112 very short pages? Or should we wonder when the authors say, "The focus group data is (sic) compelling?" (p.3). Five-star reviews come from people in the first category.

The parable is full of sweet, easily transformed people, coming alive after years of mistreatment by management, brought back to life by a simple yet incredibly powerful act or word from "The Effective Leader". There is little to be generalized from these simple, simplistic cliches.

This is a variation on the incredibly successful "One-minute manager," which had similar characteristics to an article entitled, "McGregor" a few years earlier in "Organizational Dynamics," espousing one-minute praise, punishment and goals. In this case, Blanchard and Muchnick describe a people-oriented, empowering leadership model and contrast it with the pill-induced, autocratic, domineering, results-oriented style they attribute to "Patton, Napoleon and Attila the Hun." Suffice it to say, the pill doesn't work. It's poisonous. Like heroin, it gives the leader a rush of power and grandeur, but only until the followers get pretty sick and tired of ego tripping.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blanchard knows how to get through to the reader, October 6, 2003

By	"ryanjwalters2003" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

Once again, Ken Blanchard captured me with another story about leadership development. Emphasizing the basics and recognizing that we can't escape them, was the message for me. I recommend this book, because there are no shortcuts for integrity and commitment.

Recently I read a book Dr. Blanchard recommended which totally turned my career and life around called Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self. Before reading Optimal Thinking, I was confused about some of the shortcomings of positive thinking. Optimal Thinking clarified the shortcomings, showed me how to overcome them, taught me how to make the most of any situation, bring out the best in others and truly be my best.

To anyone reading this review, buy every book Dr. Blanchard writes or recommends. Dr. Blanchard, I thank you!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "MUST" READ FOR ANY ASPIRING LEADER- AN AGELESS TREASURE, November 15, 2003

By A Customer

Your eyes will remain open for days after you read this book. This book proves that you can always learn something new from other professional/intelligent people. The author is a true expert in the field of leadership and motivation. He has written a book that is easy to read and fun, but most of all educational. Even if you have read many similar books, you will walk away with some new insight and fresh ideas. This book was a "breath of fresh air" for me and my associates.