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Eisenhower on Leadership

Ike's Enduring Lessons in Total Victory Management

by Alan Axelrod

Jossey-Bass, 2006

Category: Leadership & Management

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Eisenhower on Leadership

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In this summary you will learn

  • Why General George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, chose Dwight David Eisenhower over hundreds of more senior American generals to be the Supreme Commander of Allied military forces in Europe during World War II
  • What made Eisenhower such an able military leader
  • How to apply Eisenhower’s clear-headed, commonsense leadership approach to your organization

Why you should read Eisenhower on Leadership

U.S. Army General Dwight David Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II. A brilliant strategist and an expert in logistics and organization, Eisenhower planned Operation Overlord, the successful 1944 invasion of Europe by way of the English Channel. D-Day remains history’s largest amphibious assault. In 1945, at the height of his military power, Eisenhower commanded more than four million troops from five different nations. He functioned as a manager of managers, directing all military activities in Europe. He was, in effect, the “CEO” of the war in Europe – and indeed, in a letter to Lord Louis Mountbatten of Britain, Eisenhower described his role of Supreme Commander as that of a “chairman of a board.” How he successfully planned and coordinated the Allied military effort is the subject of this fascinating military history cum informative treatise on management by business writer Alan Axelrod. Axelrod applies Ike’s down-to-earth thinking to the management of organizations, people or important projects in a series of lessons – 232 of them, to be exact. This long, unprioritized list is more than most readers can really absorb. Nevertheless, getAbstract suggests that managers who want to learn what inspired, successful leadership truly means study this history of the European conflict from the uniquely informed perspective of Eisenhower, the ultimate insider.

About the Author

Alan Axelrod, a former English professor, is the author of two bestsellers, Patton on Leadership and Elizabeth I, CEO, and more than 60 other books on management and business topics.

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