The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mark Miller (Author), John C Maxwell (Foreword) "With those thoughts, Debbie pulled into the parking lot at the public library..." (more)
Key Phrases: serving leader, Reinvent Continuously, Heads Down, Jeff Brown (more...)

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.

Product Description

The Secret answers the question, "What do I need to do to be a great leader?" Books on leadership abound, and most of them emphasize one or another of the ideas explored here. But only The Secret pulls all of the five essential concepts together into a coherent plan for achieving leadership success. The core idea, based on the authors' years of experience and drawn from examples of the best leaders, is that leadership comes from service. The five ways in which leaders can succeed through service are seeing and shaping the future; engaging and developing others; reinventing continuously; valuing results and relationships; and embodying the values. Each strategy is explained in detail, with exercises and tips for integrating them into the leadership matrix. The Secret is not dry dogma; the authors show their ideas at work by following the example of a struggling leader who enrolls in a mentoring program at her company. It traces her progress in understanding and applying these concepts, and her subsequent transformation into a respected and effective leader.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576752895
• ISBN-13: 978-1576752890
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #237,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leadership Lessons, May 31, 2004

By	Ilaxi S. Patel "Editor, kidsfreesouls.com & A... (India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Shelli Krunic (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!