Customer Reviews

The West Point Way of Leadership

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll admit, as an Eagle Scout from the midwest the idea of going to an academy and receiving a well disciplined education in being a man of character always appealed to me. However, I passed on the opportunity and have frequently contemplated the decision. It is for this reason that I, as a young MBA with high aspirations, read Donnithorne's book. I like his idea that leadership is not about a correct style of loud or soft-spoken, hands off or hands on, but more about being a leader of character. To go along with this are several anecdotes that are interesting for those interested in the academies and the military in general. However, one does get the sense that given Donnithorne's viewpoint, that of a military lifer, he's trying to sell you a bill of goods about how majestic the experience and lessons learned are.

Learning the steps the cadets go through to become leaders is interesting but a lot of the stories seem forced which wasn't surprising upon reading that the book was suggested by the publisher and stories were drawn out after insufficient stories appeared in initial drafts. Like most things in business it will only be a winning product if the customer demands it. Trying to force a product rather than responding to the desire of the author and vast amounts of personal insights is a recipe for disappointment.

Overall, enjoyable read at times with many useful lessons but a lot of the stories aren't that great. Lessons learned and description of leaders of character is good stuff though. As the title suggests, it's a good primer for those who served or always wanted to.

Quick read. 4-5 hours at most.

If you have the money to spend and are curious like I was about why West Point folks succeed, then the book's worth it.

The structure of this book was absolutely awful. The content even worse. This book has no clear storyline and jumps around uninspiringly. The army-business connection wouldn't convince a 1st grader. In summary, this book offers nothing of value.

As a third-year Cadet at the Coast Guard Academy, I read many books on leadership and I have to say that this is one of the best I have encountered. This book has taught me a great deal about my own institution and helped me to see exactly how my experiences have related to leadership. I would definitely say that I am a more effective leader after reading this book. I recommend it to anyone who aspires to leadership and wholeheartedly to anyone interested in our nation's 5 federal service academies.

As a Marine Sergeant in the reserves, I'm always looking for ways to improve my ability to lead and manage people. This book, through the traditions of the U.S. Military Acadamy, takes you through the many levels of leadership and responsiblity from the subordinate to the CEO/General. The principles in this book isn't just for military-types, like myself, but for the civilian, who in their daily jobs must deal with all sorts of people from different walks of life and make them work together to accomplish the goals of the company to succeed in business. As for fellow Marines I recommend this book. It's short and sweet. The chapters are divided into levels dealing with different levels of leadership, some of which are not dealt with in the MCI 7000/8000 courses. Don't let the fact that its an "Army" book fool you. Leadership principles still apply no matter where you're coming from. SEMPER FI

The West Point Way of Leadership by Col. Larry R. Donnithorne (USA, Ret.) Outstanding book! The military academies believe that leadership is a learned skill. The teaching of this skill is a serious business because the decisions of military leaders will literally affect the lives of others. This author provides valuable insights into the lessons West Point attempts to instill in their leadership trainees that is transferrable to all organizations. West Point has graduated more known leaders than Harvard Business School. West Point graduates include leaders of industry as CEOs of Coca-Cola, General Dynamics, Sperry Corporation, and Du Pont Chemical. Other West Point graduates became Presidents of colleges/universities, Columbia University, Walden University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California at Berkeley, and College of Ablemarle, to name a few. Still other trainees who have made a difference include: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur, Omar Bradley, George Patton, Maxwell Taylor, and Norman Schwarzkopf. All leaders, whether military or corporate, share common goals: build a committed work force, makes use of each subordinate's talents, excel in times of stress, crisis and danger, and foster competition and cooperation to raise a group's energy level. Submitted by Freda Turner, Ph.D. (danno@jax-inter.net), Jacksonville, Florida

"The West Point Way of Leadership" contains valuable lessons for organizational leaders in business and civic activities as well as the military. Readers of Stephen R. Covey's "Principle-Centered Leadership" will recognize the importance of "leaders of character," the development of which is the U.S. Military Academy's primary mission. -William A. Levinson

I found the book to be disappointing enough to write this because I am cheesed off enough for having somewhat wasted my money. It was quite boring and I didn't like the ego of the author setting himself up as the paradigm.

I thought this was a very good book. It is a quick read, but it gets to the point. It is a good book for someone getting started in management or for someone wanting to freshen up the key points of management. I am giving it as a gift to old friends.

This book helps non-military types understand the way the military "grows" their leaders. Though the military way may seem old-fashioned to some, I found it refreshing to see the focus on character as a foundation for leadership.

I am a retired Army senior NCO. I have used this book as a manual for several leadership courses that I have taught to both military and civilian populations. I find it particularly useful to young people with little formal leadership training. My last military assignment was with an experimental Rapid Deployment Unit. I used this book and its step by step program to educate all enlisted members of the company despite their rank. Although several had completed various levels of the Army's leadership program, they found this information supplemented their required courses in a comprehensive, easy to grasp manner, greatly impacting their manner of leading others. Retired I have taught this same course to high school ROTC and Civil Air Patrol students with the same excellent results. Material comprehensive tests following each week of instruction and the finals revealed that all students could master the material with high scores. This author provides not only critical often personal experiential material on the art of leadership as well as helping young people develop sound citizenship principles. Most important to me is the book is not priced so high that it is cost prohibitive if it is necessary for each student to supply their own copy. This is unfortunately not true with the cost of required texts in today's schools of higher learning and unlike most of today's texts this information is not dated. I also would recommend this as an excellent guide for civilian management programs as sound leadership principles directly effect morale and productivity. In brief this book provides in a simple, comprehensive, step by . They will learn the necessary knowledge and tools to inspire the confidence in others to be lead by them. I have found, as they have at The Point, that this is a critical developmental issue for our young adults today experiencing various levels of real leadership, especially in, but not limited to, life and death theaters.