The New Art Of The Leader Revised [Hardcover]

William A. Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2000

A fully updated edition of the management classic--widely praised by CEOs and military commanders--celebrating military leadership as a winning model for effective leadership in business. Recent research published in Fortune Magazine and The Wall Street Journal not only laud military methods for business, but one survey indicates that the military profession is one of the most respected in the country. William Cohen, a prolific author of business books who has a wealth of leadership experience as both a military officer and a corporate executive, now updates his best-selling leadership manual for a new generation of aspiring leaders. With a firm focus on the practical and the attainable, Cohen shows precisely how to apply the winning tactics of military leadership to modern business. This revised edition features outstanding leadership examples from Desert Storm and Bosnia, including the experiences of General Norman Schwarzkopf and General Colin Powell. Every concept and every technique is demonstrated by a real life example from battle and/or the boardroom. It also showcases the skills and drive of remarkable business leaders, such as Andy Grove (Chairman and CEO, Intel), Steven Speilberg, and Howard Schultz (CEO, Starbucks). The New Art of the Leader teaches exactly how to apply military leadership techniques from all military services, many countries, and many centuries to modern businesses using dramatic examples from both combat and civilian organizations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Cohen, Ph.D., Major General USAFR, Retired, has been a combat leader in the American and Israeli air forces and a corporate leader for many organizations. He is the author of more than 40 books on business and leadership topics. A former president of the West Point Society of Los Angeles, he lives in Pasadena, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735201668
• ISBN-13: 978-0735201668
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,867,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William A. Cohen, Ph.D. (Pasadena, CA) is an authority on leadership and strategy formulation and deployment. He gives speeches and seminars for the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the Air War College, the FBI Academy, all four armed services, and corporations from Boeing to The Cheesecake Factory. He is the author of many books including The New Art of the Leader, The Wisdom of the Generals , and How to Make It Big as a Consultant (978-0-8144-7073-2).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best I've seen .....so far, July 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Art Of The Leader Revised (Hardcover)

Over the past three years I've been reading everything on leadership and management that I can get my hands on, the stimulis was a unexpected (and unbidden) move (promotion?)into a management position.To my suprise I quickly learned that more than 20 years of leading motivated,professional ground and air crews around wildfires had not adequetely prepared me for what I was getting myself into this time. I'm office bound these days where motivation isn't as common as it once was. Feeling a bit overwelmed at the time I consider it to be a stroke of divine luck to have stumbled across Mr. Cohen's book when and where I did. I think the best thing I can say about it is that for a "management" book it's actually a fun read, which is something you can't say very often. Being a bit of a history buff I really liked the liberal use of stories. For instance his use of General Lee's dressing down of Jeb Stuart as an example of how to reprimand staff is excellent! For all intents and purposes the guy just lost the battle of Gettysburg, not only does Lee manage to keep his cool but based on past preformance lets Stuart keep his job. I read that a couple of times, then watched Martin Sheen do it a couple more, then I read it again. The book is just packed full of these historic records and a lot of his own experences, unlike books based largely on theroy it has a kind of been there, done that feel to it. When I read a reference book, I study it, I underline passages and make margin notes of anything I feel is noteworthy and/or important. After my third trip thru this one there isn't a page left that isn't crammed full of notes and scribbles of some kind. If you wanna (or gotta) take charge, read this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read: Instructive, comfortable, inspirational,, July 9, 2003

By 

Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Art of the Leader (Paperback)

There are generals and then there are generals. There are PhDs and there are PhDs. When you see a book by a retired Air Force major general who has a PhD, you pay attention. Maybe there will be something interesting here. Indeed!

In fifteen chapters, Cohen covers a wide range of leadership topics. Understandably, there's a lot of the military model here, but it will surprise you. You'll read about tactics and you'll learn about caring. You'll learn about accountability and you'll read about morale. Several of the chapters are organized with three steps, four tactics, seven actions. Yes, this may be a military sort of model, but it's also good writing and reading.

The book is filled with anecdotes, practical stuff that you can sink your teeth into. The examples, mostly from the military environment, effectively illustrate the numerous points Cohen makes. The military examples are from present day and historical lessons, and they're combined with a good selection of civilian stories. Leaders and prospective leaders, both military and civilian, will enjoy the book for its lessons and for its high level of readability. The stories make the teaching points come alive.

Yes, this is a leadership book. But it practically reads like a novel. You'll get caught up in the reading to the point where you might even forget that you're reading a practical guide to getting people to follow you. The New Art of the Leader is very appropriate for airplane reading, but have your pen and highlighter handy!

Good index and notes for research and follow-up reading.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical leaderhip tips, May 25, 2003

By 

j4u - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Art of the Leader (Paperback)

Net, this book is very practical. In every chapter, you pick 3 or a few points what you should be careful to achieve effective leadership. By following the tips, you can expect to attract followship, direct or indirect influence others, etc. The book also provides lots of stories, anecdotes to make the points clear.

I'll recommend this book to newly promoted/mid-level leaders.