Leadership 101: Inspirational Quotes and Insights for Leaders
Leadership 101: Inspirational Quotes and Insights for Leaders , John Maxwell. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2002. 109 pages
By Ben Miles
John C. Maxwell is smart as well as practical. But don’t just take this reviewer’s word for it—certainly not when you can quickly and easily gather this in Maxwell’s own words. Dr. Maxwell, founder of the Injoy leadership group, is author of the REAL Leadership Series: four hardcover booklets, each around 100 pages long. This rather portable collection’s title is, of course, an acronym: Realistic, Equipping, Attitude, Leadership.
Maxwell’s credentials and reputation are built upon his expertise in leadership. We begin with the theme book of the series, Leadership 101 , which is also the first published of the four topics. The good news is that Maxwell’s rundown on leadership is concise, simple, accessible, and immediately applicable. For example, Maxwell informs us early on that at a minimum, each of us influences ten other people in a lifetime. The author suggests that “it’s not whether you influence someone, but how you will use your influence.” Inspirational? Yes, indeed. Axiomatic? Perhaps. Maxwell regularly utters such proclamations, but offers no bibliography and few scholarly references. Nevertheless, we can be grateful for the short-list of endnotes that he has made available. After all, how many hundred-page readers offer direction to further resources?
Maxwell’s approach may often seem trite, clichéd and, at times, like corporate propaganda, but there is often truth within his examples. The hoary and dubious account of Ray Kroc’s buyout of the McDonald brothers’ Central California hamburger stand that made him the golden child—or perhaps the Golden Arches child—of fast food comes to mind. The author’s grasp of leadership technique and models of human potential are more than one might bargain for in what amounts to an old-fashioned essay.
Full of stories and examples that embody his notions of leadership—the anecdote on Teddy Roosevelt raising himself from sickly little boy to uberoutdoorsman and then on to the American presidency is memorably mythological and super-patriotic in tone—Maxwell’s theological (he’s also a Christian minister) and USA-centric biases radiate throughout the tiny tome like light through a porous napkin. Yet, there’s no question as to Maxwell’s purpose and message: we all influence others; leadership is nothing more than the ability to influence; leadership skills can be learned, improved, and continually increased. Each chapter begins with an opening statement. Chapter 7 (out of ten) begins as follows: “The true measure of leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.”
For readers interested in a brief read and a sturdy lesson on leadership, Maxwell gives a taut tutorial on the perplexing subject that requires a minimum investment of time. That’s a smart and practical approach to the topic.