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John C. Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Follow Them and People Will Follow You

Thomas Nelson, 1998

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

What's inside?

To strengthen your organization, add leaders instead of followers. The real leader leads leaders – and creates leaders.

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Recommendation

Frequent motivational author John C. Maxwell, a former pastor, squarely based these 21 laws of leadership on enduring values. These guidelines are meant to inspire, not innovate, as they offer techniques to make leading by principle a practical reality. Maxwell's straightforward, insightful rules are well worth the time you will spend reading them. getAbstract recommends this gem of simplicity as a game book for building stronger teams and becoming a better leader.

Summary

"The Law of the Lid: Leadership Ability Determines a Person's Level of Effectiveness"

Brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald had a talent for the restaurant business. As American culture became dependent on cars, they developed methods to serve food to customers on the run. They eventually streamlined their business, and primarily sold hamburgers. People in the restaurant business traveled to their hamburger joint to learn their efficient methods.

Yet, the McDonald brothers failed when they attempted to franchise their idea. Why? Because they lacked overarching leadership ability. Their partner, Ray Kroc, had the vision and skill to make McDonald's a marketplace phenomenon. Dedication to success is important, and so is talent and intelligence, but without leadership ability, you'll only get so far.

"The Law of Influence: The True Measure of Leadership Is Influence - Nothing More, Nothing Less"

True leadership cannot be bestowed, it must be earned. In 1996, a London Daily Mail poll showed that the public considered Mother Teresa and Princess Diana to be the most caring two people in the world, though neither held political office. People listened to them...

About the Author

Consultant and former pastor John C. Maxwell writes frequently about leadership and regularly gives workshops on leadership principles. He is the author of several other books, including The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork and Winning with People.

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T. W. 10 years ago

I have read the book and I will use the summery as a refresher. Best basic book on solid leadership I have come across.
J. O. 1 decade ago

This abstract is from the old version of the book. There is newer one available with couple of laws removed and merged. However, this is that kind of knowledge about leadership that it will probably never grow out of date. Therefore, I suggest reading this abstract and getting the newer version of the book, because if you manage to apply even some of these laws in your life, people around you will start noticing the difference! So, download it now and start learning! :)