Tesco
The Secret
Book

The Secret

What Great Leaders Know and Do

Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
Berrett-Koehler, 2009

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Editorial Rating

7

Recommendation

With more than 20 million copies of his books in print, One-Minute Manager author Ken Blanchard is one of the world’s most popular business authors. You will immediately understand why after you read this inspirational business novel that he wrote with Mark Miller, training and development vice president of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. They tell the fictional, motivational story of Debbie Brewster, a newly appointed manager of corporate client services for a division of her company. As the narrative opens, Brewster is down for the count and sprawled out on the canvas. Her business unit is the company’s worst and she’s failing miserably as a leader. She worries that she will lose her job, but the firm’s president becomes her mentor and gives her a crash course on leadership. He’s a savvy leader and she is an apt pupil. He walks her through the “SERVE” leadership model and brings the reader along. You’ll feel the uplift as the book closes with Brewster’s staff cheering her as she moves up to a new executive position. getAbstract warmly recommends this short, nicely written parable on the meaning of leadership.

Take-Aways

  • Great leaders serve others, as exemplified by the SERVE model of leadership.
  • S stands for “See the future.” To be a great leader, you must have a vision of where you want the company to go and you must share it to guide your team.
  • View problems as opportunities and look “Heads Up” at the future.

About the Authors

Ken Blanchard is the author of more than 40 books and the “chief spiritual officer” of The Ken Blanchard Companies. He is co-founder of Lead Like Jesus ministries. Mark Miller is in charge of training and development for Chick-fil-A, a quick-service restaurant chain.

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    M. C. 9 years ago
    I like the "SERVE" leadership concept. This is a win win model for Managers, staff , internal and external customers.
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    J. S. 1 decade ago
    another winner from the Blanchard stable!
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    K. D. 1 decade ago
    So many people look at leadership as an opportunity to lord over others or prove themselves. However, this teaches the opposite. It teaches that real leadership proves the vision and gives up control by delegating the vision. Also, many leaders are reluctant to serve. Lots of times you get leaders who fill that they have paid their dues and refuse to do certain tasks. However, what I get from this is that we must be quick to serve other in the company and customers with the same humility as before.