The 17 Indusputable Laws of Teamwork

Best selling author John Maxwell has written extensively on the topic of leadership and influence. His titles have so far revolved around the topic of the individual and how he can make himself an indispensable at work. But what’s a leader without his team?

Maxwell has finally delivered on this much awaited yet crucial element with this work titled The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork. Here, Maxwell examines team dynamics at work and why it takes every individual member for a team to truly move forward.

Several excellent examples and anecdotes have been quoted in this book including high-profile corporate success and failures. An overall interesting and pleasant read despite the seemingly dry title.

Developing the Leader Within You

Reading Developing the Leader Within You, one cannot help but notice the unchanny resemblance between the phrases used in this book and the clichés that our leaders love to repeat in the parliament. One can’t help but wonder if the ministers have been reading up John Maxwell during their free time.

Developing the Leader Within you tries to position itself as a sequel to the original hit by Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. As the norm with the author, the work is peppered with plenty of colorful anecdotes and first hand accounts that deliver the lessons in an unforgettable package.

Overall the work offers very little from the original 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership reviewed earlier last month. It is by far the most classic product by John Maxwell and I figure that it will take a while before its dethronement.

Becoming a person of Influence

Like it or not, we grow up being influenced by plenty. It may be events, experiences or even places. But one thing that shapes our character more than any other factor is the people around us.

But more importantly just as much as you will be influenced by others, you will be doing some influencing yourself. Recognizing influence as one of the most important ingredient in the leadership cocktail, author John Maxwell has devoted an entire book on this subject. Becoming a Person of Influence will cover the different levels of influence and bearing that you will have over your subordinates. Peppered with lively anecdotes, lessons taught in this book would pleasantly stick with you for a while.

A handy guide for young executives and those starting out in leadership positions within their organization.

Developing the Leaders Around You

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership may have blazed you the path to being a great leader. But few great leaders leave a legacy.

In order to do that, best-selling author John Maxwell argues that it is necessary to develop leaders as you groom yourself into one. Just as a teacher reinforces her knowledge every time she teaches, leaders just similarly become greater each time they nurture one. This in turn would have the inevitable result of propelling your company, organization or even family onto new heights that would never be reached in any other way.

Plenty of anecdotes but it gets a little preachy towards the end. Good for bedtime reading, especially when you need to fall asleep fast.

The Winning Attitude

The Winning Attitude could have been one of the greatest works by John Maxwell. But instead of tailoring it to cast a wider audience, the author has decided to make this very much a closed loop discussion on the bible and the virtues of Christianity.

Barely 3 pages would go by without Maxwell quoting a verse or two from the holy book. Reading The Winning Attitude, you could be forgiven for mistaking it as a seminary disguised as a self-help title.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Follow Them and People Will Follow You

Despite his popularity, I have consciously avoided Maxwell’s work for his titles smell smack of those corny self-help books.

My foray into the John Maxwell series only started with my previous book review of Leadership 101. I was pleasantly surprised as his works are more towards business and management instead of self-help baloney. After taking in the condensed version of this title, the most natural progression was to read the actual 21 laws itself.

Despite his profession as a preacher, Maxwell’s narrative style surprisingly will not put you to sleep. Each chapter comprises of generous doses of anecdotes, historical accounts and personal experiences. These include real time stories of business gurus like Jack Welch to military leaders such a Collin Powel and George Patton and on to sporting legends such as Michael Jordan.

Each of these personalities has a unique quality that makes each of them a leader in his own field. Digesting each one of this as a lesson will go very far in one’s personal development as a leader.

I particularly enjoyed the Law of the Lid which I found to be undeniably true.

Leadership 101

What Every Leader Needs to Know

Never one to decline a free reading material, I took the book in gladly when my boss offered to lend it to me. Besides, John Maxwell is an author that I have heard of widely. But the loan is not a free lunch though; I will be summarizing some key points and anecdotes in Leadership 101 to share with the entire branch, and perhaps the entire organization where I work currently.

John Maxwell is a celebrated pastor and author who has written on many topics including relationships, career and pretty much about life in general. In the industry of self-help books filled to the brim with whiny and dubios authors, Maxwell has stood the test of time to be the real McCoy.

But Leadership 101 is not a regular of his works. The book has been designed so that it can be devoured in just one sitting. With just 108 pages, just an hour was needed for me to finish the book. Surprisingly the work is not filled with overused clichés about leadership. It actually does contain some fresh insights and theories with regards to leading your men and some of them can be proven to be useful should you choose to have an open mind. I particularly liked his jargonless style. In summary, a pleasant reading ineed.