Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats [Hardcover]

George Barna (Author, Editor), Bill Dallas (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2009

Imagine the chance to sit down with 30 of the world’s best-known and best-respected leaders as they share their secrets to success. That’s Master Leaders—the most valuable leadership book of the decade. Based on personal interviews and never-before-published conversations with “the greats” (including Colleen Barrett, Ken Blanchard, Ben Carson, Tony Dungy, Newt Gingrich, Seth Godin, Patrick Lencioni, and many others), Master Leaders offers 16 key distinctives that you need to know in order to be a successful leader. Co-authored by George Barna (Revolution) and Bill Dallas (Lessons from San Quentin), and created in partnership with the Church Communications Network, Master Leaders contains top-of-the-line insider information on leading wisely and well . . . from the people who know.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: BarnaBooks (September 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414326246
• ISBN-13: 978-1414326245
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George Barna was raised and educated on the East Coast before moving to California in the early 1980s. He held executive positions in advertising, public policy, political campaigns, and media/marketing research before beginning his own company, the Barna Research Group (now The Barna Group), in 1984. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research as well as developmental resources and analytic diagnostics. The company has served several hundred parachurch ministries and thousands of Christian churches throughout the country. It has also supplied research to for-profit corporations such as Ford Motor Company, The Walt Disney Company, Visa USA, and Prudential, and has assisted the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as well.



To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.



Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master Leaders is a wealth of Information, October 20, 2009

By 

Jill (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats (Hardcover)

While fictitious, Barna actually did interview all 30 leaders. He described the list of participants as a "leadership fantasy camp". There is a lot of wisdom to be taken from this insightful book. With so many perspective voices, spanning several topics there is little room for depth. However, Barna is able to provide a thorough glimpse into all of these different Leaders styles.

"The best leaders see themselves as servants and truly respect other people," commented Barna, who conducted all the interviews. "These leaders did not perceive a division between `us' and `them,' the indispensable ones and the worker bees...they acknowledged that a leader without a great team gets little, if anything, accomplished."

"Effective leadership requires the ability to ask the right questions, listen to a range of people and opinions, and then convert what they have heard into strategic action,"

Master Leaders is well written, and flows easily with it's wealth of information. You will not feel overwhelmed, contrary to what I thought initially. This is one to keep for future reference on how to lead in a moral and responsible way.

[...].

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Shop-Talk Scene on Leadership, December 2, 2009

By 

Chris Gallagher "Gallagher" (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats (Hardcover)

A couple months ago, I received Master Leaders by George Barna with Bill Dallas for my part in the Tyndale Blog Network. (Tyndale provides me a copy of the book and I get to review it.) The review has taken longer than usual, because I took longer than usual to read the book. Sounds like a "duh" moment, but trust me, it is not. Mr. Barna takes the reader on a journey through a "shop talk on leadership" by getting his readers to imagine sitting down in room with many of the best leaders on the earth today. You could call is a Leadership Extravaganza.

The book is not a regular "how-to" on leadership, instead it contains information written as a conversation. The material in the book is solid, practical leadership material written from a different perspective. Once I began reading this book I was intrigued with the style and format of the conversation style of writing Mr. Barna undertakes. His style brings the reader in the same room and hearing the same questions and topics as Mr. Barna has written. With a style as Mr. Barna uses, the reader is able to picture himself in the same setting hearing the same conversation.

As the conversations happen, leadership truths are mentioned at every turn, so get your highlighter ready. The leadership truths found in this book provide thoughts for further reflection and study. All 16 chapters are filled with leadership truth that could provide a foundation for further study. Every chapter of my book contains highlights. Statements I gave more reflection are:

*"Leadership is not about what you do as a leader, but about what you can inspire or encourage or empower others to accomplish." (Page 14)

*"Culture is a socially transmitted way of practices...Leaders have to model the culture on a day-to-day basis or it will never take root." (page 51)

*"It helps to be wise more than smart, smart more than dumb and persistent more than anything else." (page 54)

There are hundreds of other leadership truths I reflected on and still reflect on, but those are a small sample of what the book holds.

The leaders "conversing" in the book range from military leaders, religious leaders and CEOs. The blend of the business world, with the spiritual and military styles also provide for an excellent look at how every leadership style blends and mixes together to form a great leader. Having the time to listen to many great leaders from various areas of life will only help the reader to balance the different areas of life into on quest for success.

The book is a good read if you have time to drink a cup of coffee and indulge yourself in a little leadership shop-talk. Mr Barna, will Mr. Dallas, will provide you with information to improve your leadership walk, but you must be willing to read it and apply it.

Just my thoughts on Master Leaders. If you would like to purchase Master Leaders, you may do so below using the Preacher's Pen Amazon Store link. (Every purchase goes to support our efforts at the Preacher's Pen.)

Thanks,

Chris

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful, January 10, 2011

By 

James Erickson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations With 30 Leadership Greats (Audio CD)

George Barna masterfully takes dozens of in-depth interviews and arranges them in a way that makes them interesting and fun to digest: as though it is a round-table discussion of all the Master Leaders in the book. It makes the wisdom very easily accessible.