1 of 365 books in 365 days

(2004). Be, know, do: Leadership the Army way: adapted from the official Army leadership manual.

I had originally read this book in 2006. It is a direct look into the US Army Issued field manual 22-100 "Army Leadership". Unlike most organizations the military cannot recruit generals, lieutenants, and the like, from the other competing armies of the world. Their leadership quality depends on the soldiers they recruit, the training they give them and the leaders they develop within!
This is a great book for those individuals that want to understand the fundamentals on how to develop leadership from within the ranks. It helps to understand that you need to work with what you have and the importance of having a depth of leadership within the organization. There are several facets of this book that can be applicable in today’s corporate environment. Most notably being the point that success is only achievable through teamwork. All too often, in the corporate world, we find there is a lack of core fundamentals for successful teamwork. According to the manual the US Army lists six core components in order to have a successful team: trust, communication, loyalty, selfless service, respect and discipline. "Teams don't come together by accident..."(p.93).
It doesn't matter your point of view of war, the army or politics in general. The fact remains that in any organization there are core components for a successful team. Since the dawn of time there have been armies and the US Army figured it out on creating successful teams. For centuries the armies of the world require that the soldier/the team respond immediately to given orders and do it without question. A leader, in the military, needs to know that the last thing they need to account for is insubordination. Because the fact is that it may cost someone their life if an order isn't followed. Then again it's the leader’s responsibility to only give orders that will benefit the team, the mission and the nation for which it serves. Being ethical and moral will create undying loyalty from ones followers. The challenge is to create leaders that will be ethical, moral and be able to create teams that will bring about success for the organization. A leader must also create leadership that can take ones place, without hesitation, if one should leave, fall or fail. This book can help one gain insight into the understanding of these concepts. The book is 159 pages and took me 3 hours to read. Good read.