Revolutionary Strategies of the Founding Fathers: Leadership Lessons from America's Most Successful Patriots [Paperback]

Scott Thorpe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Manage change, tackle obstacles and lead others to success...just as our forefathers did!
Managing change is the greatest challenge facing businesses today. Executives must innovate in uncertainty, often against great odds. The Revolutionary Strategies of the Founding Fathers shows through the words and deeds of the greatest revolutionaries of all time-from Washington, Madison and Jefferson to Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin and John Adams-how modern managers and leaders can effectively manage and drive change in their organizations.
Readers will learn:
o Why Benjamin Franklin's most important contribution to victory was being the life of the party
o Why the British ignored the invention of a superior breach-loading rifle that could have doomed Washington's army, and how you can avoid missing out on today's innovations
o The tactics of the Constitutional Convention that accelerated consensus on highly controversial issues
Each historical example is followed by a business problem that has actually occurred in modern times, and was resolved in the same fashion as the Founding Fathers using revolutionary principles to overcome the challenges of their day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thorpe, author of How to Think like Einstein, now turns his eye to leadership a la 1776, combining the battles and major players of the Revolutionary War with current corporate examples to create a wide-ranging collection of lessons for managers. Thorpe says the struggle of the 18th-century colonists to free themselves from British rule is relevant to today's managers because revolution is inescapable. Accordingly, he organizes the book's lessons into chapters loosely corresponding to the major considerations of revolutions, from, Starting Your Revolution to The Endgame and beyond. The sound-bite size of Thorpe's lessons are his book's most striking characteristic; he fits 145 lessons into 272 pages. Each lesson has a short title and a direct quote from a historical figure, followed by a two- to four-paragraph example drawn from the Revolutionary period and a one-paragraph corporate example, with a leadership lesson sandwiched in. Among the nuggets are Defeat can show the way to victory, illustrated by the battle at Brandywine and Walt Disney's initial failure as a cartoonist, and Individuals can make dramatic differences, just as John Hancock and company prevailed despite a weak government and as 19th-century financier George Peabody singlehandedly provided affordable housing for more than 20,000 of London's poor. The sheer number of lessons makes this a tough book to read cover to cover, but for quick inspiration, managers would do well to pick this up.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

While in high school, Scott Thorpe built rocket and space shuttle payloads. Since then, he has designed robots and military flight simulators and launched nine major new products in companies ranging from Silicon Valley start-ups to Dow Jones Industrials. Scott Thorpe is a lawstudent and acting CEO of transaction management startup Agincourt Systems. He combines his extensive business experience with a passion for the lessons of history. He lives in American Fork, Utah.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570719349
• ISBN-13: 978-1570719349
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A great classroom resource, April 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Revolutionary Strategies of the Founding Fathers: Leadership Lessons from America's Most Successful Patriots (Paperback)

I am a teacher. It is extremely hard to get my students interested in anything...history or business. This book is a great resource because I think the application of history in business and vice versa is something they can grasp. They have a general knowledge of history that everyone learns. The actual acts and strategies of the founding fathers are interesting and I think really motivating to a troubled kid.