Rating: 
Summary: 3-Stars On The Gray Scale!
Review: I thought at first that the contents of this new managerial guide would be enlightening and novel. But I was disappointed. Once again we see a guide, which does not address the fundamental qualities of a great leader: expert knowledge in what is being managed and not an annoying, wishy-washy "gray thinking" would-be leader. A leader with knowledge has no difficulty judging the merits of a new idea and should be capable of making firm and fast decisions based on his/her own expertise as well as that of the experts reporting to him/her. If the leader cannot arrive at a decision on the merits of new ideas, then the leader has no right to call him/herself a leader. Such an individual is deficient in understanding of the field being managed...in other words, an ignoramus, who bluffs his/her way through business life and ends up being an opinionated, flip-flopping weasel. He or she may be sly enough to pretend they can make decisions worthy of a leader, but don't think for a moment that the other employees, who are the real experts, don't see right through the bluff and have zero respect for such a "gray thinking" leader! Furthermore, to suggest that people "...see themselves as leaders..." breeds an egotistic attitude and is not worthy of great leadership. A true leader is one, who recognizes that he/she is just an employee like everyone else and is respected by his/her knowledgeable colleagues for his/her expertise in the field being managed and led. A leader should be seen as such by others, not put themself on a pedestal above every other fellow employee in the same "boat/company"! Believe me, I have worked for many years in industry and have seen such "gray thinking" managers hemming and hawing and sweating under the glare of opposing facts because they did not know enough and never will about the subject matter to arrive at any decision for the good of the company and its shareholders. It is not a wise move to think "gray", but one grounded in ignorance and bluff. And everyone saw through our "gray" managers as the "play-acting manager-leaders" that they were. They earned no respect from anyone! If you would really like to learn from the experts...I suggest a study of the frank perspectives of the people, who will make the ultimate decision on whether you merit the "good manager/leader" title. And I highly recommend the true-to-life episodes in the satirical-humorous book, "MANAGEMENT BY VICE" by the scientist/author C.B.DON as the best teaching tool. As you read it do keep in mind, that while this witty-sharp satire ridicules and honestly exposes many "vices" and follies of mis-management, in life we all most often also learn far more from our own and others' mistakes than from any "grayscale" guide on how not to arrive at any conslusions! After all, there is such as thing as "Right and Wrong", "Good and Evil". There is also "Great Leadership and present-day Corporate Corruption" --- which is frequently based on selfishness, feeble indecisions and "grayscale" excuses for a whole lot of rotten management practices!
Rating: 
Summary: A provocative management book
Review: I thought this was one of the best leadership books I have read. Steven Sample acknowledges that leadership is highly situational and complex. But he also offers a number of principles to keep in mind as you walk the path. As I read the book, situations from my own work lept to mind and I found myself seeing things from a different perspective. I was so engaged, I finished the book in a day.
Rating:
Summary: Pact With Knowledge!
Review: Leading a group of academics can be like trying to herd cats. Given that - since Steven B. Sample succeeded as president of a major university - you would expect that he acquired some expertise on leadership, if only as a matter of survival. Sample borrows from an array of classical thinkers, from Shakespeare to Machiavelli to Lincoln, to advance his proposition that the most important attribute for any leader is the ability to think independently. He says that leadership demands suspending judgment, listening passionately to those with conflicting opinions and seeing all the shades of gray that exist between black and white alternatives. If his somewhat academic perspective doesn't always apply directly to the business world, it certainly supplies this book with intelligence and insight at every turn. We strongly recommend this guidebook to those who take these rare human attributes seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Very illustrative!
Review: Outside-the-box thinking on leadership from one of the country's most renowned college presidents.
In this provocative new book, Steven Sample, one of the nation's most highly regarded university presidents, explodes many romanticized views of leadership and demonstrates how leaders can free themselves from the shackles of conventional wisdom. Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off to tomorrow. Don't form opinions if you don't have to. Think gray. Shoot your own horse. Don't force others to do your dirty work. The best leaders don't keep up with the popular media and the trades. Machiavelli can help make you a more moral leader. Know what hill you are willing to die on-and keep its exact location to yourself. Know the all important difference between being leader and doing leader. You can't copy your way to the top. "This is an intoxicating read, a bushwacker's delight. With swift, sure strokes, Steve Sample cuts down a lot of bad ideas about leadership and opens up a new path for the next generation to follow. No wonder he has turned around not one but two major universities
Rating: 
Summary: Break Free?
Review: Perhaps I'm not familiar with what the back cover on the book calls "convensional leadership wisdom", but I found "the Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" to be highly convensional. The principles outlined in this text are fundementally similar to leadership priciples I have studied for the last fifteen years in the military. Overall, I had the impression that this book was closer to a series of career memoirs for Dr. Sample. Its simply not the academic standard I would expect from a university professor. I'm dissappointed and would not recommend anyone purchase this book. Beware of a catchy title! Andrew McKenzie
Sultanate of Oman
Rating:
Summary: A lazy sample of leadership lit.
Review: Perhaps it is in the spirit of Sample's contrarian theme that this review was written. Not that there is anything particularly against the tide in this slender volume. Many readers would agree that here needs to be a lot more substance to yet another tome on "leadership" than :
* a catchy title
* name dropping
* 10 years at USC
* Machiavellimania
* folksy anecdotes Sample's book has no real structure. His attempts to capture "Aspects of Human Nature " (p.103) show why engineers from his era could benefit from a Psych 101 course. A pretty bland read can be saved by cutting straight to the summary on pp.189-190. Lets hope the royalties paid for the renovations to the holiday house.
Rating: 
Summary: What it claims to be
Review: Sample claims his view of leadership is contrary to prevailing notions, and he is right. He presents a unique perspective in many ways that challenges convention thinking. Even if you disagree, your own thinking will be developed through the process.
Rating:
Summary: A talented leader tells all
Review: Sample is one of the nation's most successful university presidents, and in this book he reveals his unique approach to leadership. We learn his methods of delegating while remaining firmly in charge, and how he encourages novel interpretations of situations and problems in order to open people's minds to creative solutions. His stories "from the trenches" are worth the price of the book.
Rating:
Summary: weLEAD Book Reivew from the Editor of leadingtoday.org
Review: Steven Sample could be called a modern Renaissance man. He is an author, professor, inventor, electrical engineer, musician and the 10th president of the University of Southern California. His book entitled The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership is different and challenges many commonly accepted perceptions about leadership. A contrarian leader is simply one who thinks and acts differently than most. For example, the contrarian leader is one who thinks "gray" and "free". Thinking gray means to withhold judgments and decisions until you have heard all the relevant facts or until you are forced to do so. Sample spends a fair amount of discussion on the three major pitfalls of binary traditional thinking. He defines thinking "free" as the ability to first allow your mind to contemplate truly outrageous ideas, and only later on, apply the restraints of practicality, legality, cost, ethics and time upon your creative ideas. This philosophy of thinking gray also affects the decision-making elements of the contrarian leader. Sample makes two suggestions regarding decisions. First, that a leader never makes a decision that can be reasonably delegated to a lieutenant. Second, never make a decision today that can be reasonably delayed until tomorrow. However, the contrarian leader must have other needs and qualities aside from thinking processes and decision-making. These are also discussed in The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. The author discusses diverse subjects such as artful listening skills, open communication, and the proper role between consultants, experts and the leader. Sample suggests prodigious amount of selective reading, including "supertexts" for the contrarian leader. This includes an extensive discussion on Machiavelli. He provides guidance on how to determine which range of the daily news and printed media are really useful for the contrarian leader. The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership addresses the difference between good leadership and effective leadership, including the need to make tough moral decisions at the right time. Other discussions include hiring the right people, diversity, connecting with followers and having a title of leadership verses doing leadership. This is a thought provoking and alternative book on leadership from the perspective of someone who leads a massive educational institution on a daily basis. You may not agree with every concept or idea regarding a contrarian leader, but you will find this book to offer some fresh perspectives.
Rating:
Summary: The real reason I bought this book
Review: The real reason I got this book is because a friend told me it had been endorsed by an unusual range of people -- Michael Eisner, David Gergen, Dianne Feinstein, Charlie Munger, George Shultz, Frank Rhodes and others. It's unusual to see a book draw such positive attention from people from the vastly different worlds of business, politics and academia; but after reading this, I can see why.
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