Rating: 
Summary: Just Plain Bad!!
Review: "Elizabeth I CEO" started out as a promising idea but it has the feel of a labour without a foundation. The business tips and examples seem perfunctory and forced. The problem here is that the author has written a business self-help book based on a particular historical figure and events, yet the history is fundamentally inaccurate. He lionises his subject but in doing so, lacks even-handedness and does not give the book enough analytical rigour, and so ironically fails to consider the often difficult and messy challenges that any real business must face.The author spends a lot of time discussing the success of the English defence against the Spanish Armada for example, but he seems to overlook the fact that the English fought Spain for over a decade in its aftermath, with Spain on the winning side far more than her opponent. The English suffered from inadequate funding, shortages of supplies, confused strategy, tactical wavering, and the improved soldiering of their enemies, winning some battles but coming up short most of the time. Like any business struggling with a deficiency of liquid assets, so did Elizabethan England battle repetitive deficiencies in the war chest, a challenge which was met at times with clever solutions and at other times with inadequate response and questionable strategies that aggravated the economic damage. The country also became involved in a draining war with Ireland that pushed her nearly to bankruptcy. Contrary to what the author appears to believe, England was not rich and riding high by the end of the reign, but ridden with debt and exhausted from war. And "The Leader Who Built an Empire"? I'm afraid not. England would not have even the stirrings of empire for another 150 years, and she would have to battle with Holland and France first. The irony of this is that Queen Elizabeth's reign indeed is an excellent model for the challenges a business will likely have to overcome since like most real businesses, it had a mixture of identifiable succeses and failures. At the end of Elizabeth's reign, England was more culturally unified, had overcome religious strife, had experienced an outpouring of great literature, and had defended herself from attack. At the same time, she had lost numerous soldiers, suffered many land and naval defeats, been driven into debt, and been drawn into an agonising conflict against Ireland. This reads much like the balance sheet of many a Fortune 500 company, with some fabulous deals and great products yielding profits, along with some sour contracts and poor products draining away capital. If he had simply been more even-handed I'm sure Mr. Axelrod could have written a classic management-help guide, but as it stands, this will be of little use to anyone running a business, large or small.
Rating:
Summary: Not-so-useful advice, inaccurate history
Review: "Elizabeth I CEO" started out as a promising idea but it has the feel of a labour without a foundation. The business tips and examples seem perfunctory and forced. The problem here is that the author has written a business self-help book based on a particular historical figure and events, yet the history is fundamentally inaccurate. He lionises his subject but in doing so, lacks even-handedness and does not give the book enough analytical rigour, and so ironically fails to consider the often difficult and messy challenges that any real business must face. The author spends a lot of time discussing the success of the English defence against the Spanish Armada for example, but he seems to overlook the fact that the English fought Spain for over a decade in its aftermath, with Spain on the winning side far more than her opponent. The English suffered from inadequate funding, shortages of supplies, confused strategy, tactical wavering, and the improved soldiering of their enemies, winning some battles but coming up short most of the time. Like any business struggling with a deficiency of liquid assets, so did Elizabethan England battle repetitive deficiencies in the war chest, a challenge which was met at times with clever solutions and at other times with inadequate response and questionable strategies that aggravated the economic damage. The country also became involved in a draining war with Ireland that pushed her nearly to bankruptcy. Contrary to what the author appears to believe, England was not rich and riding high by the end of the reign, but ridden with debt and exhausted from war. And "The Leader Who Built an Empire"? I'm afraid not. England would not have even the stirrings of empire for another 150 years, and she would have to battle with Holland and France first. The irony of this is that Queen Elizabeth's reign indeed is an excellent model for the challenges a business will likely have to overcome since like most real businesses, it had a mixture of identifiable succeses and failures. At the end of Elizabeth's reign, England was more culturally unified, had overcome religious strife, had experienced an outpouring of great literature, and had defended herself from attack. At the same time, she had lost numerous soldiers, suffered many land and naval defeats, been driven into debt, and been drawn into an agonising conflict against Ireland. This reads much like the balance sheet of many a Fortune 500 company, with some fabulous deals and great products yielding profits, along with some sour contracts and poor products draining away capital. If he had simply been more even-handed I'm sure Mr. Axelrod could have written a classic management-help guide, but as it stands, this will be of little use to anyone running a business, large or small.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of Good Lessons for Leaders
Review: A huge proportion of Chief Executive Officers has no clue about how to deliver effective leadership. There is a vital need today for strong, deliberate leadership in organizations today. We can learn lessons from history, such as what this book offers from the leadership of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England. This book is a leadership book, with illustrations from the 45-year reign of Elizabeth I over 400 years ago. Queen Elizabeth inherited a realm-a corporation-that was in horrible shape. Turnaround time. The leadership she applied carefully and deliberately moved the country from a dysfunctional feudal condition to be one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. After an introduction to conditions at the time, Axelrod presents 136 leadership principles, each illustrated with strategies and behaviors from Elizabeth's experience. An interesting historical treatise is interwoven with leadership lessons. The author, in illustrating his principles, uses examples from the Elizabethan period, but not in chronological order. This approach makes the book a bit difficult to follow historically, but that's not the purpose of the book. An appendix provides a timeline of the period for those interested in that aspect of the topic. An index enhances the value of the work, as well. Each of the lessons stands alone, creating occasional redundancy and repetition. It's noticeable in places, but not really a bother when you appreciate how each lesson is independent, yet integrated with the others. Executives will benefit from reading these pages and contemplating how they express the principles in their work, in their lives. Good for group discussion in ongoing staff meetings, as well.
Rating:
Summary: Historical Leadership Lessons
Review: After reading this book, I took away a few key points. One, don't mess with a woman who is a good leader. Two, always play your cards close to your vest. Three, if you lead, truly lead, people will attack you and you need to be prepared. Four, this was a very useful book. I serve in a leadership/management role currently and much of this book applies univerally to any leadership situation. I have read other books of this type, (Lincoln on Leadership), and have really enjoyed studying past leaders. It also should push current leaders to see how it stacks up to now, and what we need to do better. I recommend this book. B Joseph Dworak
Rating:
Summary: Historical Leadership Lessons
Review: After reading this book, I took away a few key points. One, don't mess with a woman who is a good leader. Two, always play your cards close to your vest. Three, if you lead, truly lead, people will attack you and you need to be prepared. Four, this was a very useful book. I serve in a leadership/management role currently and much of this book applies univerally to any leadership situation. I have read other books of this type, (Lincoln on Leadership), and have really enjoyed studying past leaders. It also should push current leaders to see how it stacks up to now, and what we need to do better. I recommend this book. B Joseph Dworak
Rating: 
Summary: Clever Concept Cleverly Done
Review: Alan Axelrod has come up with a clever concept cleverly done. This is unlike many books on improving management techniques that just blatter on in psychobabble-land. Elizabeth I, CEO, takes an impressive proven leader and shows us how she accomplished the building and management of the world's biggest empire. Her achievement was astonishing and Alan Axelrod's description and analysis of it is impressive! George Mair
Rating: 
Summary: Provides little that is new or educational
Review: Alan Axelrod's book adds relatively little to the well-trammeled ground of self-help and business advice books already on the market. There are a few useful sections (as on the need for restraint in bestowing honors), but generally the book merely repackages the same old refrains: variations on the importance of good timing, resource allocation, command structure, etc. The author uses an incident from Queen Elizabeth's early experiences to point out the need to focus on "what's really important," but in this and other cases it just seems like cliched sayings for which he could have offered up hundreds of historical figures as examples. Moreover, there were undoubtedly quite a few successes during the Queen's reign (which Axelrod cites) but it wasn't the uniformly cheerful picture that he presents here. The war with Spain continued for 16 agonizing, inconclusive years beyond the Spanish Armada, spawning corruption at home to meet its costs and widening to become a painful guerrilla war in Ireland. And, there was no empire by reign's end; the first long-term English settlements sprang up later in the 17th century, and the expansive overseas empire did not begin to form until much later, after many wars with France in the 1700s. Had the author analyzed these policies to examine where they succeeded and where they fell short, he would have written a thoughtful, useful, and nuanced book that would have been informative as a management guide, but without this the book instead comes off as superficial and not very helpful.
Rating:
Summary: very interesting, informative read
Review: An incredibly interesting and engaging work. Although I was a history major, I never learned anything like this about any historical figure. The author treats his subject with great respect and admiration. A wonderful, and recommended, purchase for anyone, not just CEOs.
Rating:
Summary: Profiting from History to Strengthen Your Management Skills
Review: As an author myself, I was greatly impressed with Dr. Alan Axelrod's title and concept for his new book--using a great figure from the past to give modern business administrators some important tips about management. The question: Would this creative and imaginative idea really live up to its claim? The answer. It not only does, but it gives readers an inspiring and high-level understanding of dealing with people, problems, and goals. Axelrod is a master at bringing the past to life, not only as history, but as an enduring guideline for success.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read
Review: Axelrod has done it again! Elizaabeth I, CEO is a must read, especially for those of you, like me, who enjoy a bit of history tossed in with your leadership lessons. It's nice to know that all this leadership stuff has some historical perspective. Axelrod does a super job making history relevant to the present. It's well put together too, and a page-turner. You won't use it to replace your sleep aids.
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