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The Law of Explosive Growth: Lesson 20 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Summary
How did a man in a developing country take his organization from 700 people to more than 14,000 in only seven years? He did it using leader's math. That's the secret of the Law of Explosive Growth.
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Reviews
The Leader-Follower Model is so last century!My name is David Marquet, from Practicum, Inc and we help our customers structure their organizations to maximize the potential of their people. We call this leadership. One of the basic tenants we have found is that thinking about your people as “followers” limits their enthusiasm, energy, and commitment. The result is the need to empower them. Better is the organization that refuses to dis-empower them in the first place!Unfortunately, it is through this centuries old leadership model that breaks the world into “leaders” and “followers” that Maxwell views the world. As such, the book has limited value for those moving to post-industrial age leadership models.
Begins with a comparison between Mother Teresa and Princess Diana. M/T, of course, gets dropped and doesn't get mentioned again for 100+ pages - when he visited her orphanage but was too pressed for time to pay respects at her memorial. That pretty much says it all about Maxwell's concept of leadership success. More than anything else, this book made me ask what 'success' really was, and led me to the realization that bigger, busier and more is not really what I want out of life. Of course, if you're into that sort of thing, this is a pretty effective 'how-to' manual on growing your leadership role. In the end, however, it just seems to me like another manifestation - albeit a subtle one - of the prosperity gospel. I'm trying not to sound harsh - it's very well written and effective in it's own realm - Maxwell is a prominent Christian leadership guru for a reason - it's just not where I am.
John C. Maxwell has had a long and storied track record in leadership positions. As a pastor and businessman, he has had the ability to step outside just the church or business spheres individually and look at what leadership principles work regardless of the context in which they are administered. In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Maxwell enumerates those principles he has found to be most important for any leader's success.The book itself is a quick read. The basic content in each chapter is a few explanatory paragraphs about the principle in question, followed by lots of illustrations. This makes the book fun, lighthearted and engaging, and as you read you begin to ask yourself how you are doing in each area. This is the lasting benefit of Maxwell's work--taking those two or three nagging questions the book raised in your mind and committing to working on them as you lead.This is not an exhaustive list of all of the traits a good leader needs, nor should it be viewed with a formulaic approach (even though the subtitle suggests that these are the case). Rather, it is a list of one leader's insights over a lifetime. If you will allow yourself to read instrospectively with the motive of becoming a better leader, there can be benefit to the book. If you do not intuitively recognize many of the "laws" in the book, you may need to step down from leadership entirely!
As far as leadership books go, this is one of the better ones. I think all his other books are kind of the same thing over and over, but this has good principles. Lots of common sense things, and ones that will help you as you lead.
One of the best-selling leadership books of all time, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by dr. John C. Maxwell, was left unread somehow, until I discovered the audiobook version, which led me in 3+ hours through its content, while commuting. John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach, and author who has sold over 19 million books. Dr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company, organizations that have trained more than 5 million leaders worldwide. His lessons, packaged into 21 laws of leadership, traits of leaders or competences are important for every leader out there, that wishes to improve. According to Maxwell it’s enough to to pick and practice just one law and see improvements, though it would be even better to apply more laws. In the updated 2007 version of The 21 Laws of Leadership every law has been sharpened, illustrations and stories added, and an evaluation tool provided.1. The Law of the Lid—Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness: leadership is different from management. What’s been done succesfully on a local basis needs leadership to bring it further. The McDonald’s case is a powerful illustration here.2. The Law of Influence—The True Measure of Leadership Is Influence—Nothing More, Nothing Less. It’s not enough to be upfront, you have to have followers, influence people’s behaviour.3. The Law of Process—Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day. Leadership has to be practiced, developed and challenged every single day. Think of it as a process, not an instant success formula.4. The Law of Navigation—Anyone Can Steer the Ship, But It Takes a Leader to Chart the Course. Which of the two exploration teams reached the South Pole first? Amundsen or Scott? Why? Amundsen was a true navigator, planning the whole journey, not just the next action.5. The Law of E. F. Hutton—When the Real Leader Speaks, People Listen. Same as the influence principle. A real leader connects and engages. People will recognize that and react by listening and following.6. The Law of Solid Ground—Trust Is the Foundation of Leadership. Difficult to obtain, easy to loose.7. The Law of Respect—People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger than Themselves.8. The Law of Intuition—Leaders Evaluate Everything with a Leadership Bias. People attact like-minded, in leadership as well. Maxwell shares his experiences in a church, formerly made up of artists, after his assignment neglecting them, while attracting people with leadership skills.9. The Law of Magnetism—Who You Are Is Who You Attract. It’s the leader people trust. Actions speak louder than words.10. The Law of Connection—Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand. And if they do so, people will follow….maybe automatically.11. The Law of the Inner Circle—A Leader’s Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him. The importance of the right staff members.12. The Law of Empowerment—Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others. You can’t do it all by yourself. Leadership needs followers, not a position or CxO title.13. The Law of Reproduction—It Takes a Leader to Raise Up a Leader. Leaders raise other leaders.14. The Law of Buy-In—People Buy Into the Leader, Then the Vision.15. The Law of Victory—Leaders Find a Way for the Team to Win, at any costs.16. The Law of the Big Mo—Momentum Is a Leader’s Best Friend. You need some luck. And if you’re a strong leader with momentum within reach, there’s no guarantee you will succeed in your next position.17. The Law of Priorities—Leaders Understand That Activity Is Not Necessarily Accomplishment. Execute and finish what you start. Being busy is not enough, deliver results. Prioritize and get things done.18. The Law of Sacrifice—A Leader Must Give Up to Go Up. Lessons of dr. Martin Luther King are used as illustration of this. No pain, no glory.19. The Law of Timing—When to Lead Is As Important As What to Do and Where to Go. Lessons of the Katrina hurricane in 2005 available for everyone. Momentum and need for leadership when an organization, city or country is in crisis.20. The Law of Explosive Growth—To Add Growth, Lead Followers—To Multiply, Lead Leaders. Grow other leaders. Maxwell does this through the Million Leaders Mandate: offering leadership training globally.21. The Law of Legacy—A Leader’s Lasting Value is Measured by Succession. Start with the end in mind. What’s your legacy as a leader?
Rated: B-Good stuff, but rather generic. Wouldn't really call these "Laws" as just as concepts -- good ideas. A little disjointed. I expected more.
Good read, but need to go over the various laws several times to see how they inter-relate.Read this in 1998. Still have to map out the connections between the laws. The arrangement of this work could have been better written, in order to understand the content. The content itself is wonderful.
Good insights, Heavy on the What, Lite on the How.
My favorite leadership book by Maxwell- all the others are pretty much a rehash of this one.
Each leader whether politics or religion should all get a copy of this book and READ it! Maxwell has provided awesome principles in a simple yet powerful way.
This is an awesome book about Leadership. I learnt a lot from the author, I had no clue about Leadership until I volunteered for a non-profit. Every organization needs leaders, leadership is simply influencing people, more of being a servant from what I learnt.
Leadership is not dictatorship, it is being with people.
I think history can teach us a lot. Take Gandhi, he was a great leader.
But the greatest of all leaders is Jesus, He was the epitome of leadership, he gave his own life for the Gospel. He was not self-seeking, he said, "he came to serve and not to judge." (this is not in the book)
Leadership is not dictatorship, it is being with people.
I think history can teach us a lot. Take Gandhi, he was a great leader.
But the greatest of all leaders is Jesus, He was the epitome of leadership, he gave his own life for the Gospel. He was not self-seeking, he said, "he came to serve and not to judge." (this is not in the book)
I found this to be an entertaining rather than serious book. There are actually lots of different leadership styles, and some work better than others in different situations.
I use to think of leardership as being for business, but this book has opened my eyes and made me understand the leadership can be in anything you do or are. This is one book that will stay in my libary for future reference. I recommend this book to everyone.
A typical book on leadership by a "Christian" writer--but not only for church or Christian leaders. These "laws" or principles can apply to leaders in most any organizational context, but seem geared toward the larger organization.Maxwell includes a number of interesting biographical vignettes to illustrate his principles. I'm skeptical that he has reduced leadership to "the" 21 laws -- and "irrefutable" seems a tad overreaching -- but his ideas make sense and his writing style is engaging.Is the book worth what I paid for it? Well, as a higher education administrator (and former pastor), I learned a few helpful things I can apply to my particular context, so, I suppose, the answer is yes. If you are looking for a good, basic primer in organizational leadership, you probably ought to consider this one.
Good organizing principles of leadership.
This is a must have book to have in general. One never knows when the right business opportunity comes along until it's there and if your not ready for it, it will move on to the next person in line. This is a great book for managers, manager trainees, public speakers, and those looking to take public office. But in today's economy, this is the perfect book for everyone because it explains and tells you what you need to do to get to the next level personally. Building leadership qualities in yourself makes you more marketable and will bring you more opportunities in life.
TO ADD GROWTH, ADD FOLLOWERS; TO MULTIPLY, ADD LEADERS. Phenom!
awesome in leadership skills...... love it.
thank you like them
thank you like them