Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump [Hardcover]

Kelly Perdew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2006

The winner of "The Apprentice 2" and former US Army Intelligence Officer and Airborne Ranger identifies the principles he learned in the military that led to his success in business and on the hit NBC show. He also interviews business luminaries who talk about their military experiences.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Donald Trump provided the foreword to the book, and Kelly Perdew will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the USO.

From the Inside Flap

What It Takes to Lead

KELLY PERDEW—winner of The Apprentice 2—has it.

His secret weapon: the principles he learned at West Point, as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, and as an Airborne Ranger—principles that he’s applied to business with the same firepower determination that makes our military the best on the battlefield.

In Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump, Kelly shows how you can be an effective leader—like Donald Trump, who himself attended a military school. He gives you an insider look at The Apprentice, at the Trump Organization, and at how other current business leaders with military training, like Ross Perot (Founder, EDS), Marty Evans (CEO, Red Cross), Bill Coleman (Founder, BEA Systems), and Roger Staubach (CEO, Staubach Company) have relied on the ten principles to achieve success. • Duty. Do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it. • Impeccability. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right. • Passion. Be passionate about what you do, and do what you’re passionate about. • Perseverance. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. • Planning. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. • Teamwork. There is no "I" in TEAM. • Loyalty. Remain loyal, up, down, and across your organization. • Flexibility. In all aspects of life, the person with the most varied responses wins. • Selfless Service. Give back. • Integrity. Take the harder right over the easier wrong.

In the military, there’s no margin for error. Wrong decisions are deadly decisions. Likewise, in business, wrong decisions can cost you your job. But Kelly Perdew teaches you how you can take the can-do military spirit and be all you aspire to be—and win.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; First Edition edition (January 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596980001
• ISBN-13: 978-1596980006
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perdew is a winner, January 25, 2006

By 

J. Michal - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump (Hardcover)

I am usually skeptical of these sorts of books, as some authors are seeking to maximize their moment in the spotlight. However, Kelly does a phenomenal job of balancing his Trump experiences with solid and interesting experiences throughout his life and how they all tie into business success. Too often, the author litters the text with "I" and "me" and the work stinks of arrogance - not the case with this book. Kelly humbly admits that most of his successes are due to support of others, which is a remarkable characteristic of a great leader. The is a book about Kelly and his life, but there are enough references to "the troops" and "we" and "they" to understand that Kelly truly is an unselfish and appreciative leader, very willing to recognize other people's contributions as playing a significant role to his personal success. Very refreshing! I also love the fact that he draws on the life experiences and wisdom of other respected leaders, another indicator that Kelly has succeeded, but wants to continue to learn from those before him. The book is well-organized and easy to read; I actually read it in one sitting. Again, this is a refreshing example of very interesting personal anecdotes folded into a well constructed presentation of leadership principles. I am going to use it as a text in not only the classes I teach (part time), but for my employees in my full time job as well. Great job! For a change, I am looking forward to a sequel, and wish Kelly the best success.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ten principles illustrated with life stories - foundation for success in life, January 15, 2006

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of "The Apprentice" as I am, you will remember Kelly Perdew becoming the second of The Donald's apprentices. He was always doing anything it would take to help his team. Sure, he didn't have the charisma of Bill Rancic, but he was the favorite of many of us and we were happy when he won. Just as Bill Rancic put out a book ("You're Hired) to satisfy audience interest and capitalize on the publicity the show gave him, Perdew gives us a book based on his life experience and the lessons he learned along the way.

This book is different than Rancic's in its tone and organization. This book focuses on ten principles that Perdew believes are the foundation of what success he has had in life. It is interesting that these ten principles also help one see that success can mean a lot of different things and only one of them is financial.

These principles are: Duty, Impeccability, Passion, Perseverance, Planning, Teamwork, Loyalty, Flexibility, Selfless Service, and Integrity. Each of these gets its own chapter. Perdew provides stories from his experiences in business and the military (those of us who watched the show know he is a graduate of West Point and an Airborne Ranger). He also includes stories from such accomplished individuals as Roger Staubach, Ross Perot, Marsha Evans (Red Cross), James Kimsey (AOL), Bill Coleman, and Pete Dawkins. Perdew also shares some anecdotes from his experience on the show as they relate to these various principles.

As I was reading the book, it struck me that this would be ideal for reading groups, but particularly for groups of young people to read and discuss. It was interesting to note that the author had similar notions. On pages 166-67 he notes that he was surprised at how many young people had watched the show and came up to him during his appearances. He said, "One of the things I'm very proud of, and that I've been a bit shocked by, was the impact the show had on kids. I had no idea that so many kids watched "The Apprentice". Turns out a lot of parents and kids watch the show together and apparently talk about its lessons. Kids who see me in New York grab their mother's arm and say, "Hey, Mom, look, it's Kelly!" I hope the kids who watched the show learned the ten principles of this book!" And they can learn them even better if youth leaders will get them to read this book and discuss their thoughts about the principles it illuminates.

So, unless you are simply too too sophisticated and perfected in your ironic detachment, this book reads easily, but will provide food for thought and reminder about qualities of character that are important and provide a foundation not only for success, but happiness.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Those who value Personal and Professional Development, March 19, 2006

By 

David L. Mcgraw "David McGraw" (Manhattan, KS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding book that really characterises the very principles that, when honed, molds a successfull, all around individual in a dynamic world.

If you sit, read, take in and apply the words that Kelly writes, it will easily start building upon the basic groundwork for becoming a more refined individual. Even if you consider yourself to be at your prime, you can never stop learning - and learning from other people is probably the best way to learn.

From reading the words that Kelly has written, I now garnish a huge amount of respect for where he is today by where he came from. His dedication for laying out these principles that sharpened himself into a highly dynamic and motivated individual expresses to me that he is truely a man of inspiration that challenges himself on a consistant basis.

Duty, Impeccability, Passion, Perserverance, Planning, Teamwork, Loyalty, Flexibility, Selfless Service, Integrity. All of which, we as humans should constantly strive daily to refine each of these aspects of our life. I can not express to you how important it is to keep working on your personal and professional development for your personal life and your career. Stay Motivated and Stay Persistant in your dreams.

As for the style of the book.

I got this book Friday night and I started reading it immediately. I really wanted to find out what built Kelly to where he is right now, and what he really values from his experiences by his principles.

I simply tore through the book. I really couldn't put it down, honestly. I read a quarter of it friday night and came back to it saturday night to finish it up. It is very easy to the eyes and very easy to become captured by the writing. A well developed book and I would definitely recommended it to be put in your professional development library at home!

I volunteered 4 years of my life to the Marine Corps (01-05) and in this book is everything I stressed as a Marine and pushed my Marines under me to understand. These are truely the fundamental building blocks to your professional future and you should always be aware of improving yourself.

Overall, for the price, you can not beat the experience shared within.