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The Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment Mike Useem 9780812990584 Books

Download As PDF : The Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment Mike Useem 9780812990584 Books

The Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment Mike Useem 9780812990584 Books

When reading through leadership books I have found most are fluff and could be summed up in a one pager. This book used real world experiences in stories to express the examples and ideas it tried to convey and did a good job of it. It managed to keep my interest which for me is a challenge with these types of books but it did it well and the Leadership Guide at the back of the book was the "Ah-ha" moment in the direction the book went. In stead of presenting you with the goals of each chapter at the start, he gave you the story with tidbits of what you should get out of it. At the end the leadership guide summed it all up and I was able to read it and understand based on the examples in the stories what each was about.


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The Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment the Leadership Moment Mike Useem 9780812990584 Books Reviews

The leadership concepts that can be extracted from this book are good which is why it doesn't get a one star, and some stories are great stories of genuine leadership struggles such as Arlene Blum's. However, theres too much emphasis on finance leadership which to me is just corruption especially at the highest echelons of the banking industry. It felt like I was reading a cirlclejerk at moments, one banker dude talking about all of the high qualities of some other banker dude. Whatever, thats all ego stroking and it really spoiled the book because it felt like a waste of time a lot of times and it glorified the world of finance which is a real turn off.
I bought this book used for a dollar (hardback discard from a library) so I am not complaining, but the insights gained and flow of the text didn't match the thickness of the book. My favorite section in the book was reading about Joshua Lawerence Chamberlain, the hero of Gettysburg and defender of Little Round Top. I am fascinated by the little things that one person does which end up being the domino that changes the course of history. Defending Little Round Top was one of those moments, and it was great to get new insights into the leader that did it. For instance, I had no idea that Chamberlain had zero military training or experience prior to signing up to fight in the Civil War. He was a faculty teacher at a college in Maine with two little children. He just felt like it was the right thing to do---so he did it, and within a year of joining he was commanding the Regiment on the far left of the flank defending Little Round Top. At the end of the day, his bold "swinging gate" bayonet charge turned out to be the decisive winning moment of the battle that turned the tide of the war. Fascinating.

At end of the war, Grant chose Chamberlain to be the commanding officer over the ceremony of Lee's surrender and to receive the flag of the South. Not bad for a professor from Maine. You can't make this stuff up.

The best feature of this book is the Leadership Guide that starts on page 273 and runs for 10 pages. On these 10 pages, Useem sums up the key leadership lessons from each of the leaders featured in the book. These leaders are Roy Vagelos, Wagner Dodge, Eugene Kranz, Arlene Blum, Joshua Chamberlain, Clifton Wharton, John Gutfreund, Nancy Barry, and Alfredo Cristiani.
As the author best captures it in the introduction, the book's premise is as follows "We all need to be ready for those moments when our leadership is on the line and the fate or fortune of others depends on what we do...It is my view that one of the most effective ways of preparing for such challenges is by looking at what others have done when their own leadership was on the line. By examining their experience and asking what they did and what they could have done, and by wondering what you would have done yourself, you can better anticipate what you should do when faced with your own leadership challenges. This book presents accounts of nine such experiences. "

The experiences are diverse, and so are the perspectives and wisdom that are shared. The reader will naturally find herself reliving them and reflecting on what she would have in these situations. Am action gripping and learning filled read on leadership!

Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful

1- "Collectively, these stories and the principles drawn from them offer a threefold prescription prepare yourself, prepare your colleagues, prepare your organization."

2- "1) Powers of the office power to reward, power to punish, power of budget. 2) Organizational Leadership empowerment, reorganization. 3) Personal Leadership expertise, character."

3- "The single most important lesson from these moments is the overwhelming significance of vision and action. Without a clear sense of destination, we are apt to flounder about, and without knowing how to get to that destination, we will never reach it even when we see it."

4- "Nine Leadership Moments, Nine Leadership Principles - Know yourself, Explain yourself, Expect much, Gain commitment, Build now, Prepare yourself, Move fast, Find yourself, Remain steadfast."

5- "It is not just how many followers one has; it is also how many leaders one has created among them. The more leadership in the ranks, the more effective is one's own."

6- "Achieving an organization's imperative is a leader's calling, but sometimes we confront moments when we must do otherwise. Such moments must be relatively unique, otherwise inconsistency in our organizational leadership will be evident for all to see; but if they are unthinkingly bypassed, our value as a leader may be doubted by everyone, including ourselves."

7- "If you expect those who work for you to exercise their own judgement, provide them with the decision-making experience now."

8- "If you have difficult decisions ot make and insufficient time to explain them, a key to implementation may be loyal allies who are sure to execute them through thick or thin."

9- "A clear sense of common purpose and a well-formed camaraderie are essential ingredients to ensure that your team, your organization, or your company will perform to its utmost when it is most needed."

10- "Expecting high performance is prerequisite to its achievement among those who would with you. Your high standards and optimistic anticipations will not guarantee a favorable outcome, but their absence will assuredly create the opposite."

11- "Recognizing people's diverse motives for participating is an essential first step in mobilizing their contributions. Creating an opportunity for all to succeed - whatever their motives - is an essential second step in harnessing their contributions even when the room at the top is not big enough for all."

12- "Some of today's small actions in mobilizing others may prove of little value, but others may have great results. Since you often cannot know which will later become critical, you cannot afford to avoid or ignore any now."

13- "Buy-in by all those affected by an organization's change hastens its achievement. Consultation with them, engagement of them, and appeals to them are the critical steps for building acceptance of the change."

14- "Inaction can be as damaging to leadership as inept action."

15- "Realizing your leadership potential depends on making a match between your vision and an organization. The challenge is to find the right opportunity, pick the right moment, and make the right move."

16- "Consistent, unrelenting efforts to hear and reconcile diverse positions, even when rooted in deeply entrenched and immensely powerful interests, are prerequisite to overcoming any conflict and mobilizing the resources that the contending parties are withholding."
When reading through leadership books I have found most are fluff and could be summed up in a one pager. This book used real world experiences in stories to express the examples and ideas it tried to convey and did a good job of it. It managed to keep my interest which for me is a challenge with these types of books but it did it well and the Leadership Guide at the back of the book was the "Ah-ha" moment in the direction the book went. In stead of presenting you with the goals of each chapter at the start, he gave you the story with tidbits of what you should get out of it. At the end the leadership guide summed it all up and I was able to read it and understand based on the examples in the stories what each was about.