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Leadership Lessons from West Point
Book

Leadership Lessons from West Point

Jossey-Bass, 2006 more...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

"In business, if you make bad decisions, people lose money and perhaps jobs," according to an Army captain who graduated from West Point. "In the military, if you make bad decisions...people can die." In that light, these leadership lessons from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point seem highly credible. After all, most fields of endeavor do not involve life-and-death consequences, but being in the military is not an ordinary profession. This grim truth not only requires but demands "competent" military leaders, as author Jim Collins discusses in his foreword to this compilation edited by Major Doug Crandall. getAbstract appreciates these valuable leadership lessons and their source. The Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, publishes a comprehensive series of leadership books, 21 of which have been printed in 28 languages. So, when the Institute describes this book as "one of the most important...published in our 16 years," it merits a respectful look.

Take-Aways

  • Few people are born leaders; most must learn to lead. Some of them learn at the United States Military Academy at West Point, which teaches that:
  • A true leader always leads by example, not words.
  • A leader who is not authentic is easy to identify and undermine.

About the Author

Book editor Major Doug Crandall serves at the U.S. Military Academy as executive officer to the dean of the Academic Board. Twenty past or present West Point teachers, graduates or serving officers contributed to this book. Crandall, who taught a variety of leadership courses, received an Excellence in Teaching Award at West Point.


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