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Summary: Invaluable lessons for business or life!
Review: A fantastic text based on an epic journey. The history of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition is a sharp contrast to the modern view which epitomizes personal liberty as the highest virtue.
This book features vignettes from an expedition faced with nearly insurmountable odds that highlight the difficult choices faced by Shackleton and his men. In the face of adversity, they managed to endure, though not without cost. Perhaps the most moving part of the narrative is knowing that, after he and a few of his men made it (barely) to the safety of a remote whaling, he insisted on mounting numerous rescue attempts for his other stranded crew-mates until they were successfully extracted.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, whether or not you are involved in business management. As a father, I found many of the examples and stories inspirational, and I have shared them with my children to teach them the virtues of perseverence and the responsibilities of leadership.
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Summary: Optimism Rules!
Review: A very comprehensive and readable book....I think this is must read for anyone in management or a leadership role. Perkins points out the importance of optimism (and how to develop it) balanced by a good sense of reality in leadership roles and team environments. This get's my version of the "Two Thumbs Up": 5 Stars.
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Summary: Leadership rules in a turbulent world
Review: A worthwhile book on survival through good leadership.
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Summary: Easier to read and apply than Covey's 7 Habits
Review: An incredibly well-written primer on leadership. This book is a quick read, easy to grasp and full of poignant vingettes about those who have demonstrated, or have failed to demonstrate leadership at critical junctions in various situations. Being familiar with Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition prior to reading this book is helpful, but not necessary. However, the many examples from the expedition cited by the author are bound to make any serious student of leadership want to know the whole story, so I recommend purchasing Alfred Lansing's "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" originally published in 1959 and now in its third printing (Carroll & Graf, 1998), as well as the recent movie, "Shackleton" starring Kenneth Branagh produced by A&E. Having images from the book and movie in your mind clearly adds vividness to the leadership examples cited by Dennis Perkins. Additionally, since the author himself is clearly intimately familiar with the events, readers can only benefit from coming at the book from the same point of reference. There are bound to be comparisons between the author's 10 Leadership Strategies and Covey's 7 Habits. While there may be differences in focus (the 7 Habits are focused on development of personal succes while Perkins' 10 Strategies are focused on leading a successful organization), Perkins steps into the cold, hard world of real life drama played out in boardrooms, production facilities and corporate culture by demonstrating the key 10 leadership strategies he has gleaned from Shackleton's overwhelming drive to get his crew home safely against odds that could easily have crushed the bravest of souls. With the addition of other real-life survival anecdotes, Perkins adds more captivating illustrations for his leadership strategies. A specifc point made which bears noting is the curious fact that leadership is often easier to exercise in a clear crisis than when no specific danger is on the horizon. When no dire need for change is evident, most people are satisfied with the status quo, even if the organization is getting sloppy and inefficiencies are beginning to limit organizational flexibility. I have been fond of saying, "We are so into crisis management, that unless the situation is a crisis, we can't manage it." Perkins covers this point wonderfully with a case study on how a top forest products corporation remade itself when the need for change was still only evident to a few people, and long beofore a major crisis was looming overhead. This is a "meaty" book with no fluff and a quick read, organized in a way that makes it simple to reference specific points in the future. All the books in the world on corporate and marketing strategies are useless if the corporate leadership culture is sick. This book hits organizations in the center of gravity - the mindset of the leadership, and that is where all effective change has to start. I cannot recommend the book more highly.
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Summary: Leadership rules in a turbulent world
Review: Dennis was interviewed about this book on FoxNews, and he was captivating with his story of Shackleton and what he learned of leadership. Perkins has applicable background, in Vietnam and management consulting and teaching which make this book doubly fascinating. I found his style and wit so easy to read and yet remember the points being made. There are many one can take away from this and use, however two that stand out in my mind are: great leaders don't enter knowing everything, e.g. Shackleton had never even slept in a sleeping bag before, much is learned; second, in At Edge experiences, overcome uncertainly with structure and distractions. So much more could be said about this excellent contribution to leadership. It is well structured with Shackleton's lessons first, then biz cases which are each unique and contribute to illustrations of these leadership lessons. After each section there is reflection, while at the book's end, more intense follow-up excercies and resources to be pursued. One great leadership adventure!
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Summary: Captivating Read of Leadership Lessons from Explorer
Review: Dennis was interviewed about this book on FoxNews, and he was captivating with his story of Shackleton and what he learned of leadership. Perkins has applicable background, in Vietnam and management consulting and teaching which make this book doubly fascinating. I found his style and wit so easy to read and yet remember the points being made. There are many one can take away from this and use, however two that stand out in my mind are: great leaders don't enter knowing everything, e.g. Shackleton had never even slept in a sleeping bag before, much is learned; second, in At Edge experiences, overcome uncertainly with structure and distractions. So much more could be said about this excellent contribution to leadership. It is well structured with Shackleton's lessons first, then biz cases which are each unique and contribute to illustrations of these leadership lessons. After each section there is reflection, while at the book's end, more intense follow-up excercies and resources to be pursued. One great leadership adventure!
Rating:
Summary: A creative perspective
Review: Having recently discovered the difference between management and leadership, I was very impressed by this insightful perspective on leadership under pressure. The lessons to be learned by the unique experience of the Endurance crew are both relevant and memorable. The compelling nature of the Endurance story propels the reader effortlessly from one leadership guidepost to the next. Leading at the Edge was a great idea. I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Extending the Schackleton legacy
Review: I found this to be truly engaging. A great storyteller, Dennis Perkins interweaves the drama of the polar expedition with the urgent demands of today's executives, as they grow and transform organizations at Internet speed. He shows that Shackleton's central challenges are the same ones faced by business leaders pursuing their own survival struggles: vision-setting, building and mobilizing the team, resolving conflicts and nurturing. Then, he translates the explorer's instinctive behavior into understandable lessons for people aspiring to master the complexities of leadership. Perkins' admiration and affection for Shackleton are palpable. He puts the reader in touch with his own sense of heroism and the high--but very human--standards to which he holds true leadership. Thanks!
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Summary: "The Edge" is in "The Zone"
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have felt truly and soundly coached by its insights presented as both historical and present day challenges. Perkins has been able to merge "The Edge" with "The Zone": providing soundly positive insights into adversity and assuming the role of a corporate coach. In reading this book, I felt as if I were an athlete being intelligently guided from the sidelines by the leader who has been there before. It has provided me of the kind of coaching I imagine only top-flight athletes receive. It doesn't take long to realize that Perkins is one of those rare Zen masters who has been there and back again, and can relate large-scale adversity with commercial necessity. I recommend this to all those who try to constantly improve their game on and off the court ..., and in the business world.
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Summary: Powerful lessons in leadership
Review: Leading at the Edge reaveals in detail how to take the qualities of an icon of leadership and how to translate those qualities into practical use for today's business climate and today's realities. Its easy-to-read format allows the reader to put down the book and easily pick it up where the reader left off. I admired Shackleton before---now I know precisely why and how to use his qualities to my advantage. This book definately lived up (actually surpassed)what I hoped it would be.
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