Customer Reviews

Leadership Texas Hold Em Style

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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I write police promotional textbook exams and assessments for a living [...]. I'm always seeking out new and cutting edge books in the fields of police supervision, management and leadership.

So, I was very pleasantly surprised after I finished reading this unique leadership book. It presents an impressive amount of information on leadership in a fun and interesting format - with liberal use of relevant and humorous quotes, experiences and analogies. Your retention of the material will be extremely high because of the author's unique writing style and the attention-grabbing format. Both authors are highly qualified and experienced to present this material - but that's not the primary reason you should consider this book. If you are in law enforcement, entering law enforcement or looking to advance your law enforcement career, this book not only covers the basic leadrship experience in a way that is lively and interesting, it makes you relate to and almost experience the hardcore, daily struggle all law enforcement supervisors and managers have with how to select, train and "grow" quality law enforcement personnel.

It took a lot of guts to write a leadership book in such a unique format. And guts is what you'll need in Poker .. and in Leadership ... and this book, if nothing else, will make you see how you can embody these leadership skills.

Wow...what a great book. As a consultant for career development and promotion, I read all the leadership materials I can get my hands on. The problem is, much of it is disappointing. It's too long; too theoretical; too convoluted; or just plain boring. Harvey & Foster created a leadership encyclopedia of sorts that is packed with the essentials of leadership. This book has all the basics: Delegation, Decision Making, Teamwork, and many more, but it also has valuable details on important elements of leadership that other books often overlook: Consistency (important), Accountability (one of the biggest problems with new generation employees), and How to fail. This book is well written and detailed, but concise in that it won't overwhelm the reader. It weaves the information through stories, definitions that are right on the money, great quotes, simple diagrams, and nice-to-know parallel information. This book serves as a great resource and will always be at an arm's reach for years to come.

This is without question one of the best books on effective leadership ever written and it is profound and entertaining as one of the most unusual yet best possible analogies is used. Poker is a game that requires a combination of skill and luck, luck in the sense that the cards you receive are randomly selected and skill in the sense that the best hand does not always win. This combination is one that is directly applicable to the situation faced by leaders in that they must play the hand they are dealt.
While people in leadership positions can often select the people that work under them, there are many cases where they do not. Of course they generally have little to no influence in selecting the people in other areas that they must work with or the exterior circumstances such as market forces and economic tides. The latter part is the equivalent of the cards that you are dealt, which is important but not the only factor.
Complaining about the cards you have received is a common action and quite healthy, as long as it is not taken too far. Bouncing back and forth between leadership in the workplace and the equivalent situation in a poker game, the authors write some of the best advice for leaders and just generally dealing with life ever put on paper. We are all constantly buffeted by forces and events largely beyond our control, yet the worst thing we can do is to let our complaining and blaming become a dominant force in our lives. Winners in poker examine the cards they are dealt, examine the cards that the other players have exposed, make reasonable estimates regarding the unseen assets of their opponents, examine their current financial stake, look closely at their opponents in an attempt to read any subtle signals in their mannerisms and then take a calculated risk. This is what should be done in the business world. Sometimes the cards simply aren't there yet you bet anyway just to keep the opposition confused. In the business world, this is known as strategic thinking, taking a gamble on an immediate loss with the opportunity for greater benefits in the future. If you don't lose on occasion, you are not pressing the issues as much as you should.
Many books on leadership tend to be correct in their content but dull in their delivery. In this case the content is superb and the delivery is even beyond that, the comparisons between poker and quality leadership are apt, educational and make this book one that should be read, re-read and intellectually digested.

Leadership: Texas Hold EM' Style is has excellent quotes, humor and what it means to be a leader. The best book on leadership I have read. The theories mentioned in the book is based on real world views and easy to understand how to apply the theories and ideas in your job. This book can be used in any organization.

I actually wrote a paper for a class and used this book as a reference and my professor enjoyed the ideass and bought the book to read for ideas to use for the management class next time.

I love the analagy to poker that is used. I love the chapters on teamwork, Morale, organization, change, and importance of being an excellent leader to follow. This book changes the way you look at leadership but also fun to read. There is an interactive website that is a great companion to the book. This book will be hard to top in leadership. I hope it this book receives an award for it's great information and writing.

I hope to see a sequel to this book out from Andrew Harvey
and Raymond E. Foster.

Raymond Foster has demonstrated his knowledge of leadership very thoroughly in this book. Coming from the LAPD, he draws upon his experience as a mid-level manager by using humor and anecdotes so aspiring supervisors and managers can develop their individual skills. I am a retired police captin from Newark, NJ and wish I had the book during the promotional testing process. Now, I am using the book in my consulting practice--very relevant, very practical and an easy read!.

This is an excellent guide for those who are entering the world of business, for the old timers, and for those whose experiences have left them cold or dealt them a harsh hand or two. The premise, working within the hand, aka circumstances, with which you have been dealt, is practical and realistic. The depth of experience and varied approaches to resolution are coupled with a tight and interesting layout for easy reading, referral and recall. This is one for most libraries and the authors are to be commended for offering a distinctly different approach to a very old issue, effective leadership. These are two men with a wealth of experience and a penchant for research. I've got a Kindle edition running on my iPad. It's a convenient way to refresh a concept or two as needed. I'm not a great one for posting reviews, but this work certainly warrants a top rating and recommendation.

This book was a very easy read. As someone who has held a management position, i found this book extremely helpful. It helped me to identify how I messed up in the past so that I don't repeat my old mistakes. I enjoyed the quotations as well which tied the tips along with the reading. using this book can help anyone advance and use leadership qualities in a better way. The book helps the reader to see both sides of the spectrum as far as what followers expect and need from a leader as well as what makes a leader. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to know how to take charge.

Sh Na
Second time I'm making this, don't know what happened to the first.

Professor assigned this book, it was an easy read and enjoyable. Highly recommended

This was a fantastic book. Not only was the term "leadership" described as a poker game but it was also broken down into ideas which anyone can relate to. The whole analogy of a poker game, in essence, reflecting leadership was definitely a great idea. Even if you do not understand poker this book does a great job using poker terminology to make you understand how leadership works. Everyone should understand leadership and the philosophical meaning around this word. Leadership requires a great amount of responsibility and in order to be a good leader one must be a great follower--Leaders are made. Not born. This book does a great job demonstrating leadership skills and quality. I actually tried playing some poker after reading this book and I won 20 bucks lol. (I am not poker-savvy, however, I gave it a try). Leadership initiates opportunities and it's our responsibility to act upon it. This book does a great job welcoming this idea of LEADERSHIP and integrating it into our daily lives.

This book was very interesting. It was short and straight to the point but at the same time it described it chapter with great detail. I used this book for my police administration final paper and it was the easiest 5 pages ever. I would recommend this book to any one it was helpful and usefull. Most importantly it showed you the true qualities of a leader. I enjoyed reading the book very much and encourage others to look at this book because it could help out many people.

Ye Ra