Jeff Eggers

Stanley McChrystal

Jay Mangone

An instant national bestseller! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: “What makes a leader great?” He came to realize that there is no simple answer. McChrystal profiles thirteen famous leaders from a wide range of eras and fields—from corporate CEOs to politicians and revolutionaries. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. With Plutarch’s Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance. . . · Walt Disney and Coco Chanel built empires in very different ways. Both had public personas that sharply contrasted with how they lived in private. · Maximilien Robespierre helped shape the French Revolution in the eighteenth century; Abu Musab al-Zarqawi led the jihadist insurgency in Iraq in the twenty-first. We can draw surprising lessons from them about motivation and persuasion. · Both Boss Tweed in nineteenth-century New York and Margaret Thatcher in twentieth-century Britain followed unlikely roads to the top of powerful institutions. · Martin Luther and his future namesake Martin Luther King Jr., both local clergymen, emerged from modest backgrounds to lead world-changing movements. Finally, McChrystal explores how his former hero, General Robert E. Lee, could seemingly do everything right in his military career and yet lead the Confederate Army to a devastating defeat in the service of an immoral cause. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.

Myth and Reality

Leaders

Jason Mangone

The bestselling author of Team of Teams dismantles the Great Man theory of leadership, by profiling leaders whose real stories defy their legends. In Leaders, retired four-star general Stan McChrystal explores what leadership really means, debunking the many myths that have surrounded the concept. He focuses on thirteen great leaders, showing that the lessons we commonly draw from their lives are seldom the correct ones. Leaders featured in the book include: Founders: Walt Disney and Coco Chanel Zealots: Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab Zarkawi Powerbrokers: Margaret Thatcher and Boss Tweed And other leaders profiled include geniuses Albert Einstein and Leonard Bernstein, reformers Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr., and heroes Harriet Tubman and Zheng He. Ultimately, McChrystal posits that different environments will require different leaders, and that followers will choose the leader they need. Aspiring leaders will be best served not by cultivating a standard set of textbook leadership qualities, but by learning to discern what is required in each situation. 'Leaders rexamines old notions of leadership - especially the outdated view that history is shaped by great men going it alone' - SHERYL SANDBERG, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.Org 'Leaders takes us deeper than most other leadership books into the true and often messy mechanics of leadership. Anyone who considers themselves a student of leadership must read this book' - SIMON SINEK, optimist and author of Start With Why and Leader Eat Last

Stanley A. McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal and Jeff Eggers

Retired four-star general Stan McChrystal has studied leadership his whole adult life, from his first day at West Point to his most recent work with the corporate clients of the McChrystal Group. In this follow-up to his bestsellers My Share of the TaskandTeam of Teams, McChrystal explores what leadership really means, debunking the many myths that have surrounded the concept. He focuses on thirteen great leaders, showing that the lessons we commonly draw from their lives are seldom the correct ones. These include- Founders- Walt Disney built his empire thinking he was a man of the people, but was actually a bit of a tyrant to the working man. Coco Chanel hid her humble background to pretend she was an aristocrat, but was obsessed with making clothes for the common people. Zealots- Maximilien Robespierre whipped his revolutionaries into a frenzy through his writing, while Abu Musab Zarkawi moved on the front lines of the battlefield, winning over his followers through his personal charisma. Powerbrokers- Margaret Thatcher and Boss Tweed, whose respective reigns depended on the networks they cultivated. Other leaders profiled include geniuses Albert Einstein and Leonard Bernstein, reformers Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr., and heroes Harriet Tubman and Zheng He. Ultimately, McChrystal posits that different environments will require different leaders, and that followers will choose the leader they need. Aspiring leaders will be best served not by cultivating a standard set of textbook leadership qualities, but by learning to discern what is required in each situation.

Als ehemaliger General und Kommandeur der Afghanistantruppen kennt sich Stanley McChrystal bestens mit Führung aus. Er zeigt, dass Führung nicht das ist, was man gemeinhin denkt – das es das auch nie war! Führung ist dann herausragend, wenn sie einen unkonventionellen Weg einschlägt. 13 bekannte Führungspersönlichkeiten aus verschiedenen Bereichen und Epochen belegen dies in seinem Buch: Walt Disney und Coco Chanel erschufen beide auf ihre Weise Unternehmensimperien. Margaret Thatcher gelangte an die Spitze von Großbritannien und die Geistlichen Martin Luther und sein Namensvetter Martin Luther King jr. führten beide zu ihrer Zeit weltverändernde Bewegungen an. Anhand der einzigartigen Erfolgsgeschichten räumt der Autor mit gängigen Mythen auf und zeigt, was gute Führung in der Praxis tatsächlich ausmacht.

Jeff Eggers

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