The Secret: What Great Leaders Know--And Do
- Book Review,
by John C. Maxwell (Foreword), et al
From Publishers Weekly
Debbie, the heroine of this insipid business novella, is an archetypal customer relations executive who fails to wring improved performance from her micro-managed and dispirited subordinates. CEO Jeff takes her under his wing to impart the wisdom of "servant leadership" as exemplified by such figures as Jimmy Carter, Spartacus and, most of all, Jesus of Nazareth. Under his mentor, Debbie realizes that a leader’s role is to inspire and empower underlings both in the workplace and in their personal lives. She learns to delegate so that she can focus on "vision" and "values." She commits herself to a project of "Reinventing Continuously" and she comes to understand that, since people are essences, not constructs, it’s better to leverage employees’ strengths rather than trying to fix their shortcomings; hiring decisions are therefore all-important and should involve no less than four exhaustive interviews. Armed with these principles, Debbie makes a spectacular new hire, gets her team to come up with the slogan "From Worst to First" and enlists them in continuous improvement of the work process. Soon performance skyrockets (exactly how remains somewhat mysterious), garnering Debbie a standing ovation and promotion to head of Leadership Development. Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, and Miller, an executive at the Chick-fil-A fast food chain, construct a rickety fictional matrix to support their high-minded but rather familiar leadership nostrums. Written in stilted business-school lingo ("‘Hi Deb! Looks like you’re managing by walking around today!’"), the narrative and dialogue elements come off as awkward filler that only accentuates the staleness of the truisms on offer.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
The Secret answers the question, "What do I need to do to be a great leader?" Books on leadership abound, and most of them emphasize one or another of the ideas explored here. But only The Secret pulls all of the five essential concepts together into a coherent plan for achieving leadership success. The core idea, based on the authors' years of experience and drawn from examples of the best leaders, is that leadership comes from service. The five ways in which leaders can succeed through service are seeing and shaping the future; engaging and developing others; reinventing continuously; valuing results and relationships; and embodying the values. Each strategy is explained in detail, with exercises and tips for integrating them into the leadership matrix. The Secret is not dry dogma; the authors show their ideas at work by following the example of a struggling leader who enrolls in a mentoring program at her company. It traces her progress in understanding and applying these concepts, and her subsequent transformation into a respected and effective leader.
From the Publisher
In The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown). Debbie decides that all she needs is the answer to one question, "What is the secret of great leaders?" She is convinced that if Jeff will tell her, she can apply the secret in her leadership. Over the next 18 months Jeff explains to Debbie that the secret is rooted in an attitude. He tells her that she must be willing to become a serving leader rather than a self-serving leader. The secret is that all great leaders serve. After Debbie learns the secret she still doesn’t know what to do next. Jeff explains that great leaders serve in at least five ways. They… • See and shape the future • Engage and develop others • Reinvent continuously • Value results and relationships • Embody the values The story unfolds as Debbie learns and applies each of these imperatives with her team. As a result, Debbie’s team goes from worst to first. They become the highest performing team within the company. In the end, Debbie understood that all the changes and improvements were the result of the choices she made as a leader. She realized that to SERVE is a choice. Debbie decided once and for all, she would no longer be a self-serving leader, she would be a serving leader!
About the Author
Ken Blanchard: Few people have impacted the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard. A prominent author, speaker, and business consultant, Ken is characterized by friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate men in business today. When Ken speaks, he speaks from the heart with warmth and humor. He is a polished storyteller with a knack for making the seemingly complex easy to understand. Ken’s impact as a writer is far reaching. His phenomenal bestselling book, The One Minute Manager, coauthored with Spencer Johnson, has sold more than ten million copies worldwide and is still on bestseller lists. The One Minute Manager has been translated into more than 25 languages and is regarded as one of the most successful business books of all time. Ken has received several awards and honors for his contributions in the field of management, leadership, and speaking. In 1991 the National Speakers association awarded him its highest honor, the "Council of Peers Award of Excellence." In 1992 Ken was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training Magazine and Lakewood Conferences and received the 1992 Golden Gavel Award for Toastmasters International. In 1996 Ken received the Distinguished Contribution to Human Resource Development Award from ASTD. Ken is chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, formerly Blanchard Training and Development, Inc., which he and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, founded in 1979 in San Diego, California. The Ken Blanchard Companies provides expertise in organizational change management through training programs and processes, seminars, and consulting. Ken is also a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees. Mark Miller Mark Miller began his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member at the company’s Southlake Mall location in 1977. In 1978, Mark joined the corporate staff working in the warehouse and mailroom. Since that time, Mark has held several leadership positions. He has served in Corporate Communications, Field Operations, and Quality & Customer Satisfaction. Today, he is the Vice President, Training & Development. He is also a member of the Operations Council, and the Strategic Planning Team for Chick-fil-A, Inc. When not working to sell more chicken, Mark is active in supporting his local church and building the church around the world. He has taught on numerous occasions in Asia, Africa, India, Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central America, and all across North America. Mark is a frequent teacher for the Willow Creek Association. He has also taught for the International Mission Board, and the International Bible Society. Mark is currently partnering with John Maxwell and EQUIP to train one million Christian leaders in the international community. Mark teaches on a wide array of topics including: Leadership, Creativity, Team Building, and Evangelism.
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