- ISBN13: 9780385512466
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
LEADERSHIP IS AN ART has long been a must-read not only within the business community but also in professions ranging from academia to medical practices, to the political arena. First published in 1989, the book has sold more than 800,000 copies in hardcover and paperback. This revised edition brings Max De Pree’s timeless words and practical philosophy to a new generation of readers.De Pree looks at leadership as a kind of stewardship, stressing the importance of… More >>
#1 by Robert Wynkoop on April 12, 2010 - 10:23 pm
Max Depree basic theme is that although there are leadership principles to be learned, there is a certain mysticism about leadership that is more tribal than scientific and more a weaving of relationships than a amassing of leadership.
Depree talks about diversity, issues of the heart and spirit, integration, being vulnerable and empowerment, but he does so as a business man who realizes that the purpose of a business is to make a profit. Depree discovered that by taking care of his employees, and making them owners in the process he can achieve greater employee loyalty, more creativity, and hence, greater prophets. The danger is that non-businessman (i.e., politicians and pastors) will take these noble ideas and abdicate their leadership.
Rating: 3 / 5
#2 by Erin Engle on April 13, 2010 - 1:10 am
As I was reading this book, I heard the author speaking to me and reading the words on the page. Unfortunatly, this author is not a good story teller. His sentences are short and undescriptive. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that leadership is not the most exciting topic to write about; however, DePree didn’t make it very exciting to read about either. DePree states in the introduction that, “the book is not filled with anecdotes.” It is my experience that when a book does not include working examples of its main ideas,(other than examples within the company that the author works for) it becomes more of a textbook than an entertaining read. However, DePree seems to be a very intelligent man with many good insights into the aspects of leadership. In my personal opinion, the book is filled with intelligent thoughts about leadership, but could use a bit more “color.”
Rating: 3 / 5
#3 by Joel DePree on April 13, 2010 - 1:20 am
This Book was great every single section had a buitifull story to go along with it. The lessons about leadership were right on. A couple of the sections were draged out, but other than that this book had true meaning. This is the kind of leader all buisness need.
Joel DePree Johnson Wales University
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by K. Foster on April 13, 2010 - 2:46 am
Despite what appears to be the vast majority of opinions on this book, I found this book very difficult to get through. What De Pree writes as “authoritative” leadership concepts, I see as nothing more than common sense. Perhaps I have been blessed to work in a company that touts similar values and beliefs or perhaps I am just a person that already believes that it is the diversity of people that is what makes a company successful. But I found dredging through De Pree’s long lists of leadership principles exhaustive and frustrating. I didn’t find this book revolutionary (which is how he seems to write it) or even particularly interesting. “Man’s Search For Meaning” is a FAR more compelling leadership read….
Rating: 2 / 5
#5 by Phil A. on April 13, 2010 - 3:20 am
“Leadership is an Art” is double-spaced, large type and only 148 pages long and yet it is so thin on content that it still feels like the author is struggling to fill the pages. The five pages of the introduction cover basically everything the author has to say while the rest of the book is filled with redundant anecdotes and pointless religious musing. The few actual points the author does make seem so common sense to me (treat the people who work for you with respect, what a concept) that it actually kind of disturbs me that so many people seem to find his ideas revolutionary.
Rating: 1 / 5