The Book of Leadership – A Review

Over the course of the past week, I have been reading Anthony Gell’s (Twitter @AJAnthonyGell) The Book of Leadership. I had noticed the book a few times before I decided to buy it, it’s bright red cover made it noticeable, and the chess pieces on the front reminded me of a shrewd game of chess between the market leader and close second, where each was trying to out-think and out-maneuverer the other. I bought the book from Waterstones in the Merry Hill centre, which is rather apt as the story of Tim Waterstone’s success is featured quite heavily throughout the book.

The book is divided into 3 parts; self, team and organisational leadership. This works well and there are many references to other chapters if you decide that you would rather pick and choose chapters. Personally, I read the book from start to finish, as Covey said, “First things First!”

From the introduction, I knew that I would be in good company with the author and enjoy the book. Anthony uses 2 of my favourite statements on leaders:

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 “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence is then not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

“I am often asked if leaders are born or made. The answer, of course, is both.” Jack Welch

The book is very easy to read. Often business books have a section where the author is trying to bang home a point that was made early in the book, and you are saying to yourself “I get it, now move on!” The book moves systematically through all the point that the author wants to make and does not dwell on any particular section. The book is made up of 38 relatively short chapters, so new content is ever around the corner. The book is so readable, I struggled to put it down, even with my busy schedule!

The book is so readable, I struggled to put it down, even with my busy schedule!

The author often refers to his time as a regional CEO, this shows that he has real world knowledge of management and leadership. In my opinion, the best points of this book are:

-          It is made up of many shorter than usual chapters

-          The book flows nicely

-          There are loads of references to other sections of the book

-          The chapters include real world examples and quotes from CEO’s

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anybody who is looking at getting into leadership or would just like to sharpen their skills.