The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

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Summary: Deceptively simple
Review: Do not let a quick read of the 21 Laws fool you. This book is worth careful study. As a pastor, the Laws of Leadership have transformed my ministry and my family. I highly recommend a quick read followed by a detailed study of what will be a leadership classic.

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Summary: Religious examples far too frequent
Review: Definately not for those who are looking for a how-to manual in managing people. Maxwell is distinctly targeting experienced leaders who are looking to become more effective, and he provides food-for-thought as opposed to practical advice. While I can appreciate Maxwell's background is derived primarily from his Christian leadership experiences, the religious overtones were far too frequent for my taste. - audio version

Rating:
Summary: The worse book about leadership I ever read.
Review: The book explains the author's very, but very personal thoughts on why every body can become a Leader with no real factors, the "laws" are things that happen to him on his ways to become a leader, the guy is a priest, and no help on how this laws will help you on your career or your business, boring examples (compares princess Diana with Mother Maria Teresa de Calcuta), and no good conclusions, if there is any.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource for Leaders
Review: John Maxwell's book is by far the best leadership book I have read in the past few years. I wish I had this material available to me years ago, so that I was better prepared for the leadership challenges I would face as an officer in the US Army. I have read many leadership books the past decade in order to better develop my own skills, but none of them has put together all the pieces like John Maxwell does in this book.

Basically, the book covers Maxwell's 21 laws of leadership. Each chapter describes the law in detail, and provides many historical examples to help reinforce the principle. I think that he has done a great job of taking a lot of material and focusing in on the key points that help make a leader successful. The book's structure also allows you to put the book down for a few days, and not lose your focus or understanding when you get a chance to return to it. I particularly liked this approach since I never seem to have enough time for professional reading these days. Lastly, the material is easy to understand and apply to any leadership situation, which makes it a great resource for those leaders looking for a way to have an immediate impact on their organization.

As a military officer, I understand the principle role that leadership plays in an organization's success. During my short career (10 years), I have been in both great and lousy units. Each time, I can trace the unit's performance directly to its leader and his/her ability to influence its members to accomplish the mission and take care of its people. My personal experience only helped reinforce the material, and verified in my mind that John Maxwell is "on-target" with his laws.

I highly recommend this book for any leader. Whether you are just starting out on your career, or have been in a leadership position for years, I think this book can make an impact on your performance.

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Summary: Principles do matter!
Review: The Law of Sacrifice and the example of Lee Iaccoca leaving Ford Motor to take over as CEO of Chrysler when they were close to going out of business. He had a salary of $1 a year until quality improved, sales improved and profits were made. A story we may have heard once but even if you don't like Iaccoca, the principle was proven.

If you lead an organization and other people, this belongs on your bookshelf next to your collection of Peter Drucker, Demming, Juran, Crosby, Ziglar and Dale Carnegie classics.

Rating:
Summary: Filled with great examples and great advice
Review: There's a lot I like about this book. It's an easy read, divided up into bite-size chunks so that it's easy to pick up and put down when you're on a schedule.

It's also long on practical advice and low on voodoo and magic. It's in plain English and it makes sense. It gives practical, real-world actions that you can take to make yourself into a better leader, and to attract quality leaders around you.

This is a great book if you are already in a leadership position and want to brush up your skills, or if you're looking to build yourself into leadership material.

Rating:
Summary: A good resource
Review: Maxwell states in his introduction that this book is his answer to the question he so often gets at seminars, "If you were to take all that you've learned about leadership and boil it down to a short list, what would it be?" This is his laundry list of all that one must know in order to be a good leader.

For each of the 21 laws, Maxwell gives an example of the law at work by citing a contemporary or historical figure in industry, the military, politics, religion, or public service. He supports this with additional real-life examples, including an example from his own career as a senior pastor at three different churches or as an entrepreneur.

While Maxwell often gives insight into the learning curve for each law, that and the examples are all there is to the instructional meat of the book. He does not give any real instruction on how to go about putting the laws into effect in your own personal and professional life. Therefor, Maxwell's book is great as a resource to remind current and future leaders of the many facets of leadership, but does not tell one exactly how to get there.

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Summary: An Irrefutable Winner!
Review: It's rare to pick up a business book that you don't want to put down, but this is one. I found the stories compelling and real, and Maxwell has a straightforward yet passionate way of describing each quality. As a small business owner, I've always considered myself a leader. What this book has done for me is give me a roadmap so I can see where the gaps exist in my leadership style. Perhaps the greatest tribute I can pay is that it has compelled me to get busy developing into the leader I want to be.

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Summary: Learn leadership from a leader.
Review: John Maxwell has done a superb job of summarizing the subject of leadership into one interesting, practical, and fairly comprehensive 233-page book. The book is simple enough for a high school freshman to study and significant enough for a business executive to ponder. Maxwell is an expert at finding the best material in the field and re-packaging it with his own master touch. He has undoubtedly become the top expert on leadership in the church and may prove to be the top teacher of leadership in the secular arena as well. In the 21 Laws, he looks at the invaluable necessity of leadership, how leadership is influence, how it involves a process and the way to create a leadership legacy. Maxwell discusses leadership qualities like vision, trust, respect and sacrifice. He also examines the skills of team building, communication, empowerment, intuition, time management and mentoring. Each of the 21 laws includes an interesting real life historical example. From the rookie youth pastor to the Fortune 500 exec, I highly recommend The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

Rating:
Summary: useful as a starter
Review: maxwell has written a book that is a useful place to begin a study of leadership. He pulls many ideas into one place and gives the reader some handles on a jumping off point for further study. The examples are like twinkies-pleasurable but ultimately empty. Most valuable for reminding us that leadership can be learned.

This guy has the best marketing machine I've ever seen