The Secret: What Great Leaders Know -- And Do [Hardcover]

Ken Blanchard (Author), Mark Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

In the now classic business fable, The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown). Debbie decides that all she needs is the answer to one question, 'What is the secret of great leaders?' Over the next 18 months Jeff explains to Debbie that the secret is rooted in an attitude. He tells her that she must be willing to become a serving leader rather than a self-serving leader. The secret is that all great leaders Serve. The story unfolds as Debbie learns and applies each of these imperatives with her team. As a result, Debbie's team goes from worst to first. They become the highest performing team within the company. In the end, Debbie understood that all the changes and improvements were the result of the choices she made as a leader. She realized that to Serve is a choice. Debbie decided once and for all, she would no longer be a self-serving leader, she would be a serving leader!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Debbie, the heroine of this insipid business novella, is an archetypal customer relations executive who fails to wring improved performance from her micro-managed and dispirited subordinates. CEO Jeff takes her under his wing to impart the wisdom of "servant leadership" as exemplified by such figures as Jimmy Carter, Spartacus and, most of all, Jesus of Nazareth. Under his mentor, Debbie realizes that a leader’s role is to inspire and empower underlings both in the workplace and in their personal lives. She learns to delegate so that she can focus on "vision" and "values." She commits herself to a project of "Reinventing Continuously" and she comes to understand that, since people are essences, not constructs, it’s better to leverage employees’ strengths rather than trying to fix their shortcomings; hiring decisions are therefore all-important and should involve no less than four exhaustive interviews. Armed with these principles, Debbie makes a spectacular new hire, gets her team to come up with the slogan "From Worst to First" and enlists them in continuous improvement of the work process. Soon performance skyrockets (exactly how remains somewhat mysterious), garnering Debbie a standing ovation and promotion to head of Leadership Development. Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, and Miller, an executive at the Chick-fil-A fast food chain, construct a rickety fictional matrix to support their high-minded but rather familiar leadership nostrums. Written in stilted business-school lingo ("‘Hi Deb! Looks like you’re managing by walking around today!’"), the narrative and dialogue elements come off as awkward filler that only accentuates the staleness of the truisms on offer.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

In The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown).

Debbie decides that all she needs is the answer to one question, "What is the secret of great leaders?" She is convinced that if Jeff will tell her, she can apply the secret in her leadership.

Over the next 18 months Jeff explains to Debbie that the secret is rooted in an attitude. He tells her that she must be willing to become a serving leader rather than a self-serving leader. The secret is that all great leaders serve.

After Debbie learns the secret she still doesn’t know what to do next. Jeff explains that great leaders serve in at least five ways. They…

• See and shape the future
• Engage and develop others
• Reinvent continuously
• Value results and relationships
• Embody the values

The story unfolds as Debbie learns and applies each of these imperatives with her team. As a result, Debbie’s team goes from worst to first. They become the highest performing team within the company.

In the end, Debbie understood that all the changes and improvements were the result of the choices she made as a leader. She realized that to SERVE is a choice. Debbie decided once and for all, she would no longer be a self-serving leader, she would be a serving leader! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Second Edition edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605092681
• ISBN-13: 978-1605092683
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.8 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of uncommon wisdom June 8, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I must admit that I don't usually purchase or enjoy very many "leadership" books, but this one is truly different. This book is written in a quick-read style and is very easy to understand. The principles are easy to remember and hard to apply, but have had a transformational impact on my life. I believe readers will find that if they have the guts and discipline to consistently think about ways to apply these principles, they will see a major shift in how people respond to them in their family life, business life, or church life. I have already shared my copy of the book with others, and they have each pointed out specific aspects of the book that they say completely changed their way of looking at the world.

I think this book makes great gifts for people you work with or family members. Don't be surprised if some folks don't "get it"...it's the people that do "get it" that are going to find amazing ways to apply these principles and impact the lives of others!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Leadership Lessons May 31, 2004

By Ilaxi S. Patel

Format:Hardcover

This is the story of Debbie, a struggling and a failing leader, who learns the lessons of management from her Boss. Miserable with her poor performance, the character of Ken's Book, joins the Mentor Program offered by her company and incidentally, Jeff, the president of the company happens to be the trainer. She thoroughly undergoes the training sessions where she realise her mistakes. She is taught to be a 'Serving Leader' rathar than a 'self-serving Leader'. She learns the secrets of success with the five steps :
* Seeing and shaping the future
* Engaging and developing others
* Continuously Reinvent
* Value results and relationships
* Embody the values
Debbie learns whatever is needed to be a good leader, analyze her progress with examples, excercises and tips. In process with Debbie's example, Ken Blanchard has made successful attempt to teach the Leadership Lessons to all successful as well as troubled and failed Leaders. The Book provides a guide to solve problems that seem complex and make it easier with the concepts clear - A choice to Serve. Not always I guess, because while Serving too without being self-served, the Leader becomes a struggler if the Company policies and the Boss Attitude and vision is not focused. Sometimes wavelengths do not meet. However, based on the author's experience and drawn from examples of best leaders, this book gives an insight to improve upon one's own abilities and in serving others, tackle the situations with ease without struggling lamely. Ken Blanchard's experience speaks in volumes. A good Pick.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Some powerful leadership wisdom in a small package March 10, 2005

By Michael Erisman

Format:Hardcover

"The Secret" is a message about leadership woven into a story of a leader struggling with her team's performance. When she applies for the Company mentor program, she is paired with the Company President, who imparts some simple, but powerful wisdom about what great leaders do.

There are hundreds of good books on leadership, but some of the best are those which take advantage of application opportunity and relay the concepts within a storyline that demonstrates how they are applied. This book does a credible job of that, although the story is at times a bit contrived.

The essential message is the SERVE model of leadership. The model is simple, yet effective. Buy the book and find out what the "secret" of great leadership is. I recommend this book for anyone who leads people or coaches those who do.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple Words; Powerful Concepts January 11, 2007

By Manuel Hernandez

Format:Hardcover

The writing is definitely on the light side; very easy read and even easier to understand. If not careful you will miss the meat that are on those bones. I didn't give it 5 stars because the story seemed a bit too light. I would have prefered actual situations over the made up story.

The Secret is that one who wants to lead must first SERVE. Not only is this a great attitude to have but it also had a hidden meaning:

S: See the future

E: Engage and develop others

R: Reinvent continously

V: Value Results and Relationships

E: Embody the Values

This is a good book to start with before you get into a Maxwell book where you will get the reasoning and explanation behind the steps.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, user friendly book on leadership August 25, 2004

By Shelli Krunic

Format:Hardcover

This is a simple, easy to use book on learning to be a leader. Although a little simplistic in it's storyline, the SERVE model is easy to understand and put into practice. I have met Mark Miller and can say he practices what he writes about in the book. And if you look at the success of Chik-fil-A®, you would want to know their secret!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You can be a leader May 28, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This book really inspired me. I always thought great leaders were born, not made. This book demonstrates that by following five enlightened principles, anyone can become a positive influence in the home, workplace, community or world, and thus become a leader. The Secret has changed the way I interact with others for the better.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book about how great leaders are made and molded February 19, 2009

By Charles Ashbacher HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is another installment in the outstanding series of books about management that Ken Blanchard has been a part of. Once again using a story that has many elements of a parable, the authors explain what qualities a great leader has. Those qualities are:

*) Humility - a good leader must always keep forefront in mind that they don't know everything and many thinks they don't know are well known to subordinates.
*) A willingness to aid subordinates - in this case, Blanchard and Miller refer to it as a willingness to serve their subordinates.
*) A willingness to know their subordinates personally - many times demonstrating that you care about your employees is the single best way to maintain and increase company productivity.
*) A willingness to share personal and historical information - this often has more to do with shedding an aloof image and making it possible for subordinates to be more honest in their dealings with the leader.

Quality leadership is not based on generating fear; a power differential or rules dictated from above, the best leaders build an atmosphere of trust and caring, albeit largely in the professional sense. Although it is unfortunate that many people in leadership positions do not understand that. In this book, Blanchard and Miller demonstrate how to mold yourself into a quality leader and one can only hope that those who need it read it.