How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Life of Leadership, Madame Chan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the woman named one of “America's Best Leaders” by U.S. News & Report
Powerful insights into the practice of motivation

Marilyn Carlson Nelson has achieved global recognition for the Carlson brands of hotels, restaurants, cruise, travel, and marketing services.

But that's only part of the story.

As a daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother, Marilyn has always put people first. When her grandson asked a simple question about her life, she decided to write it all down-her fondest memories and deepest insights-in How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership.

This thoughtful book offers a surprisingly personal glimpse into a multi-faceted woman who happens to be one of the most successful CEOs in the world. She describes the thrill of flying in an F16 over Death Valley (without getting sick), and throwing a barbeque for the KGB (who preferred vodka to the traditional beer). She shares the difficulty of making choices and sacrifices to run her family's business, and the heartbreak of losing a child.

Her insights are sprinkled with the timeless words of Mahatma Gandhi, Anne Frank, Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, and others, as she talks about what it's like to be a woman in today's business world, while reflecting on an engaging array of subjects-from equal rights to corporate wrongs to motherhood. Most compelling of all, she reveals how a meaningful legacy is built one day at a time.

From the Back Cover

From one of "The World's Most Powerful Women" (Forbes)
An inspiring collection of stories, insights, and profound life lessons

As a CEO, daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother, Marilyn Carlson Nelson has always put people first--a key priority in her uniquely effective philosophy of corporate leadership. How We Lead Matters combines her adventures and insights with wisdom from renowned spiritual, political, and literary figures to convey the leadership precepts behind her business, managerial, and corporate success.

From stargazing and world travel to equal rights and corporate wrongs, this thoughtful combination of professional and personal experiences is one of Carlson Nelson's proudest legacies. It is a book that will inspire you to think about how you live, how you lead, and how you can make impactful choices that create your own brand of success.

"These stories are the ones that are closest to me...life is made up of a series of days and choices, and how we lead matters."--Marilyn Carlson Nelson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (August 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071600175
• ISBN-13: 978-0071600170
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #294,205 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeded My Expectations, September 13, 2008

By	Catherine S. Read (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews

I pre-ordered this book based on a recommendation from Harvey Mackay (one of the 5 people in this world I would like to meet before I die.) He writes a weekly column that I have gotten for years by email and he mentioned Marilyn Carlson Nelson and her book several months ago. So of course I ordered it. I wasn't sure what the book would be like, but it totally exceeded my expectations. I just ordered 8 copies to give as gifts to my colleagues.

This book is genuine, heartfelt, and powerful in its simplicity. The ideas are "bite sized" and therefore easy to remember and readily recalled. The format is terrific as well - a quote or poem on one page, and a short story on the facing page. I loved it! What a great read. I found it very inspiring.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for leaders of business, family or community, September 18, 2008

By	D. Olson "Kim Olson" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I highly recommend this book!! As a professional woman, I was drawn to Marilyn Carlson Nelson. Her business advice in this book is extraordinary and inspirational. It simply compels you to raise the level of your contribution to and satisfaction with life. I expected to get that from this book. What I did not expect, however, was the intimate, personal reflection of a powerful CEO who also happens to be a mother, a wife, a community leader, a mentor and a friend. I found nuggets of wisdom for every aspect of my life, as did my husband who also read it. From her personal stories of well-known historical people and events to her moving reflection on the loss of her college-bound daughter, this book made me think, laugh and cry on occasion. You will not find anything that touches you more deeply.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflections of a remarkable leader, February 27, 2009

By	Walter H. Bock "Wally Bock - Author, Blogger,... (Charlotte NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author of How We Lead Matters, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, just retired from the job of CEO at Carlson. You may know the company under its brands, including Radisson, Country Inns and Suites, Regent, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and TGI Fridays.

Carlson is one of the largest privately held firms in the world. The company employs more than 200,000 people in more than 150 countries. Last year's revenue was $40 billion. The company was founded by Marilyn's father, Curt Carlson, during the depression.

Right about now you may be thinking that this is a typical "rich kid takes over daddy's business" story. You might suspect that Marilyn is a bit of an empty suit.

You'd be wrong on both counts. And if you know a little bit about Marilyn Nelson and her story, you can make a wise decision about whether to buy this book.

The subtitle of the book is, "Reflections on a Life of Leadership." That's exactly what it is. It's not a treatise on leadership. It's not a chronicle of successes. If that's what you're looking for, this is not the book for you.

It's also not a book that you read from front to back and are done with. Instead, it's a collection of the very personal reflections of a very successful leader with a fascinating story.

Marilyn wanted to work her way up in her father's company. She really did. But, alas, she wasn't the son he had always dreamed would succeed him.

Curt Carlson embodied what a lot of people think is good and bad about "old school management." He valued conservative management and conservation of assets. He also thought that a woman's place was not in the executive suite, especially if she had children. Even if the woman was his daughter.

He actually fired Marilyn. Here's how she told the story in an interview with Chief Executive Magazine. It happened when she went to his office to tell him about a promotion her boss in the company wanted to give her. She expected excitement, maybe even praise.

"Instead, he said, 'Go home. Your husband's a surgeon. You can't both have 24-hour-a-day jobs.' And I said, 'Well, I have lots of energy. I can manage this.' I had three children at the time. And he said, 'Well, not here,' and fired me. I cried all the way down the back stairs."

She could have taken his advice. She didn't. Instead she started working on community projects. She helped bring the Super Bowl to Minneapolis. She was the first woman to run the United Way. She served on several corporate boards. Some people wanted her to run for Governor.

That seems to have gotten her father's attention. But she was never really sure he would ask her to return to the company until he announced her appointment as CEO. She's been a very effective one.

Revenue has doubled. And the company has changed. Today, forty percent of Carlson executives are women.

When you read Marilyn Nelson's reflections on leadership in this book, you'll get a sense of who this remarkable leader is. She is a product of all the threads that make up her life.

She learned from her father. She's a conservative manager. She understands results.

She also chose to do some things differently than Curt Carlson. They both value the conservation of assets, but Marilyn has extended that to human assets.

And she has learned from her unique, bottom-up, career path. One of the best things you can learn from managing organizations that depend on volunteers is how to lead when you don't have monetary incentives and you can't compel performance.

How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a life of leadership is a wonderful book to dip into for a bit of wisdom or a whiff of inspiration. It's a book you should read if you want to learn lots of little leadership lessons from a truly extraordinary leader.