The Busy Bee

Vol. 2, Issue 10=========================================================March 12, 2013 ---------------- Lifestyle ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Book Review: Lincoln on Leadership Words and Photograph by B. Thao Lompoc, Calif. Im reading this book as part of a club, a book club. Unfortunately, I havent found a book worth reading with these people. They have a tendency to read the same material over and over again; not that the books are the same, but each book provides the same information. This is the third fulllength book that I have read with this group, but their discussion of leadership remains unchanged. This particular book will no doubt reinforce the self-proclaimed accolades of the people I unfortunately must associate with. Unfortunately, this particular book also only provides similar leadership information from every other book on leadership, but from a slightly more biased point of view. Perhaps four years in the military has shown me things that normal civilians havent seen in leaders, but when I open any book on leadership and management, the table of contents all read fairly similarly: go out and mingle with your subordinates; build trust and relationships; persuade rather than force; be honest; be logical; be decisive; lead by example; encourage innovation; set goals and preach a vision; master the art of communication. Any good military leader has these tools at his or her disposal, and Lincoln was no different. Lincoln on Leadership examines the leadership decisions of our president before, during, and after the American Civil War. It is neither a good history book, nor is it a great book on leadership. It merely discusses Lincolns actions and how it affected the maintenance of the Union and the defeat of the Confederacy. The book is touted as a bestseller, but whether it became a best seller because of the content of the leadership information or whether it was the only book discussing Lincoln and leadership can be debated. I wager that the book is a novelty. People tend to equate Lincoln with greatness, as they rightly should; but people tend to forget that (Continued on Page 2 On Leadership)

Vol. 2, Issue 10=========================================================March 12, 2013 --------- Lifestyle (cont.) ------------------------------On Leadership (cont.) if the Union had not been in such upheaval, Lincoln never would have won the presidency. People also forget that as a result of his leadership actions, he was shot in the head. Perhaps it means that to be a good leader, you must give your life for your beliefs, and you must work unceasingly towards your goals. I believe that is the one item which most people never seem to take away from their leadership classes: youre not paid a salary to sit on at your desk and do your job, youre paid a salary to be about the workers, 24 hours a day, making sure that theyre being as productive as possible. Being a leader isnt easy; in fact, its the hardest job there is. Yes, it is something you can learn, but not something you can do without effort.

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