George Washington and the Art of Business
The Leadership Principles of America's First Commander-in-Chief
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- $37.99
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- $37.99
Publisher Description
George Washington ranks as one of the great military leaders in history. The character traits he exemplified, and the leadership skills he employed, enabled him to defeat what was then the world's most powerful nation.
In this marvelous book, Mark McNeilly shows today's managers how they can learn from Washington's career--both his triumphs and setbacks--to succeed as leaders in their chosen field. McNeilly paints vivid portraits of some of the crucial moments in Washington's military career, from the early debacle on Long Island Heights to the masterstroke at Trenton. There Washington, aided by his use of intelligence and disinformation, and by his great fortitude in the face of truly daunting conditions, routed the Hessians. McNeilly uses these stirring military encounters to underscore Washington's managerial genius: to persuade and inspire, to open up the decision-making process, to seize opportunities when they arise, to persevere when setbacks occurred, and to learn from his mistakes. Indeed, the true value of the book lies in McNeilly's brilliant ability to link military and business strategy, revealing that successful corporate leaders must possess many of the same traits that Washington did. Using examples from the NFL, Cadillac, Coke, Samsung, Embraer, IBM and others, McNeilly shows how business leaders can apply Washington's principles for success.
Blending colorful military and business history with crystal-clear commentary, George Washington and the Art of Business belongs of the shelves of all executives who want to hone their leadership skills.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While few American figures inspire like George Washington, this book's attempt to distill management wisdom from his career feels as wooden as Washington's mythic set of teeth. McNeilly, a former IBM executive with military experience, never fully applies Washington's life and lessons to current business leadership. While we learn that Washington was a successful businessman and brilliant military tactician and leader, he never fully comes to life. McNeilly spends too much of the text spinning the greatest hits of Washington's military career before dipping briefly into his career as a diplomat and, almost as an afterthought, first president of the United States. Washington's ability to organize and train the first Continental Army, comprising citizens and governed by merit, segues into a lengthy and irrelevant discussion of how Alfred Sloan created the modern General Motors and a puzzling digression about iconic automobile designer Harley Earl. McNeilly's generally-agreed-upon-best-business-practices lack novelty. We learn that Washington was not alone in scoring by collecting good intelligence on his enemies: McDonald's and Staples employed similar strategies against their competitors. This is a missed opportunity to present provocative and insightful ideas about the key to a legend's success.
