The Bowden Way : 50 Years of Leadership Wisdom

From Booklist
Florida State's Bobby Bowden is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Unlike some of his coaching peers who use self-help books as a way to promote their own careers, Bowden makes a sincere and mostly successful effort to equate his years in a leadership position to what readers face in the anonymous workaday world. Presenting his thoughts with refreshing humility, he delves into time management, hiring and firing, management ethics, salaries, and promotions. Early in his career as a junior college coach, he dealt with a problem player by lying to him; Bowden was troubled by his dishonesty and vowed never to lie to a player again. Readers won't find any groundbreaking management theories here, but they won't find any shortcuts, either. Bowden's success as a leader has been predicated on hard work, honesty, and consistency with his coaches and players. Sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to lose sight of; Bowden helps bring them back into focus. Wes Lukowsky
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Book Description
As head football coach at Florida State, Bobby Bowden has won two national championships and compiled an astounding resume of all-time credentials. Filled with personal anecdotes, famous names, and fascinating stories, The Bowden Way promises to be the leadership book that will redefine the game.


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Why will The Bowden Way leap to the forefront of the crowded field of leadership books? Because Bobby Bowden is not an academic, not a professional consultant, not a hired management expert. Because Bobby Bowden is, quite possibly the best college football coach of all time, a man who for half a century has been phenomenally successful in one of the world's most merciless and cutthroat professions. Because Bobby Bowden, to put it simply, has walked the walk. Most people assume the Florida State has always had one of the premier football programs in the country. In fact, FSU's cumulative record for the three years prior to Bowden's 1976 arrival was 4-29. Bowden saved the program and built it from the ground up. That's how he leads: not from the top down, but from the bottom all the way to the top. And, based on his own experience, The Bowden Way is full of hardcore, grassroots, common sense advice on the nuts and bolts of leadership: hiring and firing, motivating, facing adversity, managing success, and much more. Filled with personal anecdotes, famous names, and fascinating stories, The Bowden Way promises to be the leadership book that will redefine the genre. Author Info: As head football coach at Florida State University, Bobby Bowden has won two national championships and compiled an astounding resume of all-time credentials: best bowl-winning percentage of all-time, most consecutive top-four finishes, most consecutive ten-win seasons, most consecutive bowl wins, and ACC conference championships every year since joining the conference in 1992. He is on track to become the winningest coach in the history of college football. A family man, lay minister, and nationally sought public speaker, Coach Bowden and his wife Ann (parents of six children) live in Tallahassee, FL. Steve Bowden, the oldest son, holds a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion. A former university professor and college dean, he is now in private business.


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