On Becoming A Leader: The Leadership Classic--Updated And Expanded

Rating:
Summary: Both find meaning and understand how to lead
Review: Great book not just for managers, but also for those being managed. It clearly articulates how to improve yourself, through a variety of motivational stories and excellent advice. Make sure to read the last chapter, though! The one ding I had while reading the book was that a lot of the advice wasn't actionable -- until I reached the last chapter, which closed off the book with a clear path forward for the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Well Thought and Easy to Read
Review: On Becoming a Leader is a well-organized and thought out book on leadership. Since it is the only leadership book I've read, it is hard for me to compare it to anything else, but I can see why they consider it a "standard". The book pointed out many "truths of life" that I agreed with but never put in words before, like "most of us are shaped more by negative experiences than by positive ones" from page 108. The author suggests doing something positive to start each morning in order to deflect the impact of our negative experiences. Definitely something I"ll put to use. Bennis uses examples of real people to make give his point impact. This and other writing techniques add to his easy style of writing, making this novel a breeze to read. I wish the book had more ways the reader could practice the skills he or she was reading about. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who needed to lead something or just be a more influential and listened to person in general.

Rating:
Summary: Well Thought and Easy to Read
Review: On Becoming a Leader is a well-organized and thought out book on leadership. Since it?s the only leadership book I?ve read, it?s hard for me to compare it to anything else, but I can see why they consider it a ?standard?. The book pointed out many ?truths of life? that I agreed with but never put in words before, like ?most of us are shaped more by negative experiences than by positive ones? from page 108. The author suggests doing something positive to start each morning in order to deflect the impact of our negative experiences. Definitely something I?ll put to use. Bennis uses examples of real people to make give his point impact. This and other writing techniques add to his easy style of writing, making this novel a breeze to read. I wish the book had more ways the reader could practice the skills he or she was reading about. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who needed to lead something or just be a more influential and listened to person in general.

Rating:
Summary: Well Thought and Easy to Read
Review: On Becoming a Leader is a well-organized and thought out book on leadership. Since it is the only leadership book I've read, it is hard for me to compare it to anything else, but I can see why they consider it a "standard". The book pointed out many "truths of life" that I agreed with but never put in words before, like "most of us are shaped more by negative experiences than by positive ones" from page 108. The author suggests doing something positive to start each morning in order to deflect the impact of our negative experiences. Definitely something I"ll put to use. Bennis uses examples of real people to make give his point impact. This and other writing techniques add to his easy style of writing, making this novel a breeze to read. I wish the book had more ways the reader could practice the skills he or she was reading about. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who needed to lead something or just be a more influential and listened to person in general.

Rating:
Summary: Well Thought and Easy to Read
Review: On Becoming a Leader is a well-organized and thought out book on leadership. Since it?s the only leadership book I?ve read, it?s hard for me to compare it to anything else, but I can see why they consider it a ?standard?. The book pointed out many ?truths of life? that I agreed with but never put in words before, like ?most of us are shaped more by negative experiences than by positive ones? from page 108. The author suggests doing something positive to start each morning in order to deflect the impact of our negative experiences. Definitely something I?ll put to use. Bennis uses examples of real people to make give his point impact. This and other writing techniques add to his easy style of writing, making this novel a breeze to read. I wish the book had more ways the reader could practice the skills he or she was reading about. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who needed to lead something or just be a more influential and listened to person in general.

Rating:
Summary: Should have been better
Review: When the author sticks to discussing leadership, I found this book very readable and easy to understand. The book is written in a very easy to follow format and he explores the personal side of leadership. He presents some very altruistic ideas the sound very good, however, aren't always practical in the real world. This book would have received a higher rating for me also if Mr. Bennis would have refrained from all the political commentary throughout the beginning of his book. His repeated support for a former president while being less than flattering of the current president put too much of a political overtone in the beginning and really turned me off. It wouldn't matter if I agreed with Mr. Bennis or not, it simply didn't have a place in what would have otherwise been a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: The Human Touch of Leadership
Review: While I don't agree with all of Bennis' role models, he makes some very valid points about achievement, leadership, and human relationships. Like John Maxwell and others who have paid their dues, he mentions the importance of learning from failure. One of the many useful quotes Bennis provides is "it is not enough for a leader to do things right, he must do the right thing." Also like other writers in this genre, he says one of the fundamentals of leadership is to have a guiding vision. As a communicator, Bennis encourages potential leaders to codify their thoughts through writing. Writing eliminates ambiguity and helps one to focus. Leadership is viewed as a process in the sense that goal-accomplishment involves several incremental phases. He writes "the goal isn't worth arriving at unless you enjoy the journey." A process of self-reflection is outlined and discussed in the middle section of the book. This is followed by some advice on how to investigate the world at large. Travel, reading, and involvement are three keys to learning the environment in which one is to contribute. Bennis has some ideas worthy of followup. His book is worth reading.