Most Influential Books on Leadership Essay Example for Free

Most Influential Books on Leadership Essay Leadership is an issue which has been in the limelight in every aspect of human governance. Human development has been linked with management and directions which are part of leadership. Various characteristics of leadership have therefore been identified from various areas in life. This paper aims at identifying three different types of books on leadership which are recognized to be the most influential. The first choice is the book â€Å"Talent Is Never Enough: Discover the Choices That Will Take You beyond Your Talent† by John C. Maxwell . The author holds that talent is never enough in leadership. There are many different people in the whole world , thus showing that talent will never end. Nevertheless if acquiring that talent were just enough for everybody, then we would all be at a higher level and being full of potentials. There are therefore other things that need to be included in our talents so as to be able to discover those opportunities especially when it comes to business. People need to come up with other discoveries which would take them more steps beyond the talents they have. In businesses today, most leaders mostly concentrate more on the talents they have alone. The writer of this book, who in this case is a known expert in leadership John C. Maxwell argues that this is not the right way to achieving success. In his discourse, he describes how highly talented people who are globally known would be very successful if talent was the only contingency for that matter . That is not however the case. The book goes on to place more emphasis and support the writer’s decision by highlighting the fact that society is full of people who could have been great men and women if only they used other ideas apart from what they call talent. The author talks of prominent people like Jefferson, Nameth, Churchill, Bono, Oprah, and Dickens whom, apart from their talents, went steps ahead to the next level of increasing their talents and maximizing it to improve the world. They employed more efforts to what they discovered as their talent to capture other opportunities in life. That is why they are the talk of the world. According to Max, talent should therefore be present. It should however be followed by other measures that improve it. With different examples given of those people who maximized their talents, there are a few who did not. The author thus goes ahead to encourage the reader to support the authors views and improve their lives by giving thirteen key choices one can adopt to become a person with advanced and maximized talent (Maxwell J. C(2009). The second selection of the most influential leadership books that I would recommend is â€Å"The Skinny of the Art of Persuasion† by Jim Randel. In leadership, persuasion is one of the most important skills that a leader should posses. This book provides sound and detailed information on persuasion in leadership. Moreover, it offers other important recommendations on persuasion from various prominent leaders. The book advices on persuasion thanks to the fact that the author is an attorney besides being well experienced in the field. Further, apart from his experience Randel quotes people like Kevin Hogan, James Speakman, Dave Lakhani, Dale Carnegie, Robert Cialdini, Tom Hopkins, Malcolm Gladwell, and others in his discussion on persuasion in leadership. This approach puts more emphasis on the author’s concept. He states that persuasion basically involves integrity. To add to his topic, Randell gives his personal life stories regarding leadership which still bothers him till then. To understand and get acquainted with what he is insinuating, his book finalizes with tips which are easy to understand about a good persuader in leadership (Alegre M. 2010). The third influential book on leadership is John Ferling’s new book on â€Å"The Ascent of George Washington. † It talks about the relationship between leadership and education. It is very important -especially in the current world to link leadership with the educational backgrounds of those aspiring to be leaders in future. George Washington was an educated man in leadership. He had focus in his politics due to the great boost from his education. This is an ideal model of how leaders should learn to lead others. The author in this book goes ahead to reveal Washington as a political genius due to the fact that he was politically focused, ambitious, and was driven to succeed. Although described by the author as the most untactful and indecisive in times of crises, Washington was the only right person to lead Americans to independence. His character, boldness, judgment, industriousness, determination, and skillful political thinking were remarkable. It is a book that explains how one does not need to be perfect to achieve greatness (Alegre M. 010). Therefore, these books cover some of the most important aspects of leadership which most people fail to identify while leading others. Since most of us are leaders in one way or another, it is equally important to consider reviewing such influential leadership books to acquire various tips of leadership and also as stated by Maxwell to improve our talents in leadership. This strategy will not only boost our leadership qualities, but will also enable us to identify new opportunities in life and be able to pursue only the best of them.

Graduation Speech: What Lies Ahead :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I cried on my 18th Birthday. I cried because to me it signified that my childhood was over -- That I would never be able to relive some of the greatest moments of my life. I remember that day after school I was talking to one of my good friends, Betty Lou, and I mentioned to her how sad it was that we would all soon be leaving County HIgh. Betty smiled and looked at me and said, "But there is so much more in store for us ahead." Last October I was sitting in Mr. Fooler's British Literature class and he had us read this poem by Louis MacNiece: Birds flitting in and out of the barn Bring back an Anglo-Saxon story: The great wooden hall with the long fires down the center, Their feet in the rushes their hands tearing the meat. Suddenly high above them they notice a swallow enter from the black storm and zigzag over their heads Then out once more into the unknown night; And that, someone remarks is the life of man. As that poem had compared life to that of the flight of a swallow that enters a room, stays shortly and leaves, our teacher wanted each of us students to come up with their own analogy "What Life Is Like!" Life is Like a flower, which sprouts, and blooms, and finally withers with age. Life is Like a candle, which sparks, flickers briefly, then fades. Life is like a box of chocolates! you never know what you're going to get. Life is like a poker game, each person is dealt different circumstances and we have to make the most of what we have. Life is like the sun, which rises, keeps moving constantly and finally sets on each new life. And as I tried to draw an analogy to lives that all of us have led and the paths we are about to embark on, I could not find a metaphor that accurately depicts all that has happened to us and all that will. There is no way to lump together the feelings of the first time you rode your bicycle without your father holding onto the handle bars, with the time you brought home an "A" on the essay you spent many sleepless nights perfecting. The embarrassment you felt when you fell down at recess in a mud puddle and your mom had to bring you clean clothes to change into and the lesson you learned when you set your binder on the top of your car, forgot about it, and drove off only to see your papers flying all over the road in the rear view mirror.

Benefits of Playing Team Sports

Thesis OUTLINE Benefits of playing team sports: 1. Traveling 2. Working Together 3. Learning New Techniques 4. School Scholarship THE FIRST THESIS We say that playing team sports are something good for us to keep us the youth of Belize doing the positive things in life. Belize has a population of 333,200 persons and of that amount 232,700 are of under the age of 35 where at the age of 35 you are still call a youth. This represents approximately 70%. Some benefits of playing team sports are by Traveling around the world, working together as one, Learning New Techniques and to be able to get a Scholarship to go to any school of their choice.So do you think that playing team sports is good for the youths of Belize? PARAGRAPHS Paragraph one will be talking about how sports can make you travel around the world and making new friends. Paragraph two is talking about the youths working together as one to be a good sports team. Paragraph three will be telling you about how team sports can mak e you learn new techniques. Paragraph four tells you about getting a school scholarship to go to any school of our choice. REWRITE ThesisBelize has a population of 333,200 persons and of that amount 232,700 are under the age of 35 where at the age of 35 you are still call a youth. This represents approximately 70%. We say that playing team sports are something good for us to keep us the youth of Belize doing the positive things in life. Some benefits of playing team sports are by Traveling around the world, working together as one, Learning New Techniques and to be able to get a Scholarship to go to any school of their choice. So do you think that playing team sports is good for the youths of Belize? OLD THESISWe say that playing team sports are something good for us to keep us the youth of Belize doing the positive things in life. Belize has a population of 333,200 persons and of that amount 232,700 are of under the age of 35 where at the age of 35 you are still call a youth. This represents approximately 70%. Some benefits of playing team sports are by Traveling around the world, working together as one, Learning New Techniques and to be able to get a Scholarship to go to any school of their choice. So do you think that playing team sports is good for the youths of Belize?

Socrates s Method Of Questioning Others - 1565 Words

Socrates method of questioning others is his way of getting individuals to live a more philosophical life; which drastically fails in the end. In this paper, I will explain and evaluate Socrates method of questioning others. I will be explaining and evaluating on why I think that Socrates fails at trying to convince people to live philosophically. Socrates’ method is not helpful in convincing others to live philosophically because he turns off individuals in simple conversation, he is put to trial for his method, and he is sentenced the death penalty for his ways of teaching. To start my paper, I am first going to explain Socrates style of persuasion. Secondly, I am going to discuss Socrates encounter with Euthyphro. Lastly, I am going†¦show more content†¦With this being said, Socrates method of teaching philosophy is to go around the town and prove people how little they actually know. In other words, Socrates tries to make an individual feel as if they know nothi ng. To the people of Athens, this is a nuisance. This brings me to my second point, where I am going to introduce Euthyphro. Euthyphro is a professional priest and he claims to know everything there is to know about the holy manners. Long story short, Euthyphro wants to prosecute his father and Socrates wants to ask questions about Euthyphros decision. Socrates brings up the idea of piety and asks him what it is. Socrates, already knowing what piety is, only does this to get Euthyphro to realize he actually has no idea what he is talking about. In Plato Five Dialogues on page 7, Socrates says to Euthyphro, â€Å"†¦For now, try to tell me more clearly what I was asking just now, for, my friend, you did not teach me adequately when I asked you what the pious was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here, Socrates is trying to get him to realize that everything that he is saying is wrong. He is trying to make Euthyphro feel as if he knows nothing about what he is talking about. Socrates is trying to get him to realize how arrogant he is. Instead of telling Euthyphro his view isn’t right, Socrates questions him about it instead. Instead of acting like he knows what he is talking about, Socrates pretends to admire Euthyphros’ â€Å"wisdom†. Socrates states â€Å"†¦I am so desirous ofShow MoreRelatedThe Similarities Between Socrates And Moore933 Words   |  4 PagesAgitators that had similar motivations and ways of achieving them. An example would be philosopher Socrates and filmmaker Michael Moore. Despite some small differences in approach, these two have many significant similarities as Agitators. The most obvious similarity between Socrates and Moore is that they are agitators, but it’s more than them just advocating social and political change, it s the methods in which they did so that were so similar. Both of them seemed to address issues or put forth informationRead MoreEssay on The Nature of Socratic Philosophy516 Words   |  3 Pagessteams from the Greek word philosopha,meaning love of wisdom. Although Socrates himself never claimed to have any answers to the questions he raised, his views and methods of philosophy are the cornerstone of what philosophy is today. The nature of philosophy, as viewed by Socrates, is centred around the wellness of the soul, virtue being defined as knowledge and the pursuit of truth through the questioning of beliefs. Socrates heavily subscribed to a dualistic view of the body and the soul.He sawRead MoreSocrates s Value Of Athenian Law1586 Words   |  7 Pagesspeed limit are not real laws because everyone breaks them. In 399 BC, Socrates would have disagreed with this assertion, and died in part to keep this idea from spreading. Socrates was sentenced to death by an Athenian court, though the punishment did not fit the crimes he was accused of. We assume that any knowingly innocent person would have escaped this sentence if given the opportunity and support to do so, yet Socrates refused to and died soon after. Over 2,000 years later, Martin Luther KingRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From A Birmingham Jail1493 Words   |  6 Pagesspeed limit are not real laws because everyone breaks them. In 399 BC, Socrates would have disagreed with this assertion, and died in part to keep this idea from spreading. Socrates was sentenced to death by an Athenian court, though the punishme nt did not fit the crimes he was accused of. We assume that any knowingly innocent person would have escaped this sentence if given the opportunity and support to do so, yet Socrates refused to and died soon after. Over 2,000 years later, Martin Luther KingRead MoreThe Philosopher And The Filmmaker Michael Moore983 Words   |  4 Pagesthat had similar motivations and ways of achieving them. An example would be the philosopher Socrates and the filmmaker Michael Moore. Despite some small differences in approach, these two have many significant similarities as agitators. The most obvious similarity between Socrates and Moore is that they are agitators, but it is more than them just advocating social and political change. It s the methods in which they did so that were so similar. Both of them seemed to address issues or put forthRead MoreCyrus The Great And Socrates1687 Words   |  7 PagesDespite the fact that Cyrus the Great and Socrates led exceedingly different lives in different areas of the world, both of these men were very much free thinkers and prospered in their respective endeavors as a result of the extraordinary knowledge they possessed. In particular, to better understand Cyrus’s ascension to and maintaining of the throne, it’s useful to draw parallels between his knowledge and the knowledge of Socrates presented via Plato’s Gorgias. I will argue that Cyrus’s successRead MoreA Life Sketch of Plato and His Works905 Words   |  4 Pages(Until Ariston died.) Born in an aristocratic and rich family, Plato s childhood was indulged within luxury. But his life changed when he came across Socrates. Socrates, a Greek philosopher who lived from 470-399 BC. He devoted all his time with young citizens discussing philosophy and questioning their confidence in the truth of popular opinions. As a young man, Plato grew up wanting to be a politician. However, after Socrates execution in 399 BC had a profound effect on Plato, and was perhapsRead MoreEuthyphro1547 Words   |  7 Pagesquest for wisdom by his mentor, Socrates. The time that The Euthyphro takes place is preceding a trial that Socrates is in concerning some allegations that he was corrupting the youth of Athens, and ultimately leads to his demise. But it is a very important dialogue due to how it shows the methods Socrates used to try to gain wisdom, and gives some insight on his and or Platos view on holiness altogether. In all, the Euthyphro is a display of how the Socratic method of obtaining wisdom works andRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1223 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr.’s, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will argue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civilRead MoreStrengths And Weaknesses Of Socrates1663 Words   |  7 Pages Socrates is known in today’s world as one of the greatest philosophers in history. Born in 469 BC just outside of Athens, Socrates was properly brought up and thoroughly educated, he developed both physical and mental strengths. Socrates spent time with the philosopher Archelaus, where he studied astronomy, mathematics, and was introduced to philosophy. Archelaus taught with a scientific approach. Socrates turned from this approach and created his own. He decided instead of trying to understand