This is a book from one of the great observers of leaders in our country. Gardner emphasizes shared values and community building as the basis for great leadership. He also spends a great deal of time discussing renewal and how a leader must renew himself and his organization. Buy this book and Howard Gardner's Leading Minds.

I found some of what he said intriguing. I agree with his assertion that "emotional intelligence" is more important than IQ, but there seems very little realistic chance in improving your EQ if you weren't born with it. (Goleman certainly doesn't present any good ideas on how). Goleman seems somewhat unsophisticated in his view of how people can improve their EQ. Read Howard Gardner. His books are much more substantial, providing better analysis and more complex, viable solutions.

I am currently half-way through this book. I love it. It has a lot of "meat" to it. The analysis is wonderful. He stresses the importance of stories for an effective leader. He provides substantial evidence for his claim that a leader cannot be effective without a story in which he/she at once tells and embodies.

One of the things I like most about the book is the range of personalities written about (from Eleanor Roosevelt to Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.). The book is also very easy to read. Gardner is a clear writer.

This is my second Gardner book. (I read Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice). I'm enjoying this one better than the first. He seems most at home sitting back and quietly observing the leaders he talks about. Always balanced and never judgemental, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand leadership in the twentieth century.

Prepare to have your trust in government shattered. It illustrates the "credibility gap" during the Vietnam War, i.e., the gap between what Johnson and Kennedy were saying to the public and what was actually happening in Vietnam. The administrations constantly lie to the American public on our progress in the war. What's most interesting is reading these documents alongside speeches made to the public during this time by McNamara and Johnson. It's quite startling. Read this book.

What a terrific book! What amazes me most is that this book was written over thirty years ago and still has so much to say to people today. A basic breakdown of the book is this: organizations and individuals must use innovation as a way of preserving and renewing their institutions. If one chooses status quo as a preservation method, one will do the exact opposite one intended: the institution will rot, not thrive. This book is great material for any leader who wants to understand the dynamics of change and the type of obstacles one will have to overcome if one wants to lead innovation.

If it wasn't for the first two chapters, I probably would have given this book five stars. The first chapter is completed outdated and the second chapter is monumentally bad. (I would honestly recommend skipping them). But the rest of this book is pretty good, essentially a collection of anecdotes and quotations of leaders experiences. I particularly liked the time Bennis took to review how leaders' failures can be turned into great learning experiences. I also like how Bennis describes leadership as a path to self-expression. I agree wholeheartedly.

This book does a good job of detailing some of the skills needed to be a great leader: the importance of building friendships; when to ignore criticism and when to face it; and taking responsibility for decision-making. I also give Lincoln great credit for his superb use of stories and American mythology. He breathes American history, as best illustrated by this quotation: "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence." I do see some flaws in Lincoln's style though. Phillips gives Lincoln credit for almost never giving direct orders, but I don't see a thing in the world wrong with direct orders. After all, the fastest route between two points isn't always a curve. And the way Lincoln shuffled generals around seems downright counterproductive. Overall though, this is a good book and I'd recommend it to anyone.

What a great book! I didn't expect it to be so good. What I liked best about the book was the variety of leaders and situations Useem wrote about and how each leader's style fit or did not fit into the situations into which they were thrust into. My favorite story was Eugene Kranz'. His optimism and force of personality helped get Apollo 13 back to Earth. A real life hero.