The Bible on Leadership: From Moses to Matthew -- Management Lessons for Contemporary Leaders by Lorin Woolfe

Product Description

Millions have been inspired by the Bible's spiritual lessons. Now, Lorin Woolfe provides a unique way to view the Bible . . . for leadership lessons that can be applied to our modern business world.

Consider David's courage and innovation in slaying Goliath with just a stone and a sling; Moses' outstanding "succession planning" in picking Joshua; Joseph and the political skills that brought him to the seat of power; and of course, Jesus' compassion, communication skills, and vision that launched Christianity (a long-term success by any measure).

These are leaders among leaders. Their achievements -- and their inspired methods of achievement -- offer a wholly different perspective on business leadership. For the dozens of Biblical stories presented, the book provides:

* A concise retelling of each story * One (or more) leadership lessons suggested by each story * Examples of contemporary business leaders who exhibit some of the inspired traits of these ancient leaders, including: Fred Smith of FedEx, Howard Shultz of Starbucks, Tom Chappell of Tom's of Maine (a "toothpaste with a mission"), Roy Vagelos of Merck, and many more. The chapters cover these universal topics: Courage * Purpose * Communication * Honesty and Integrity * Power and Influence * Performance Management * Team Building * Humility * Compassion * Justice * Encouragement and Consequences * Wisdom * Creating the Future

Each topic concludes with a list of key points to keep in mind as readers continue on their own leadership journeys.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #323156 in Books
Published on: 2002-06-18
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
208 pages
Editorial Reviews

Laurie Beth Jones, Author of Jesus, CEO; The Path; and Jesus, Inc.
Lorin Woolfe has built a sound and sturdy bridge between modern day business challenges and Biblical lessons.

Rabbi David Baron
"The Bible on Leadership" provides keen insights into management and stewardship from a timeless resource.

Review

Christian Retailing: "Woolfe provides a unique way to view the Bible -- a leadership tool to be applied to the modern corporate world. Rich in business insight, readers will enjoy the leadership lessons gleaned by biblical and modern day readers."
Customer Reviews

Biblical & Business Leadership
If you are looking for a well-written, easy-to-read, "non-bible-thumping" biblical perspective on leadership that can be applied to today's modern business environment, you have found it.

Each of the ten chapters of this extensively-researched book focused on a different commonly-recognized leadership trait (honesty and integrity, purpose, kindness and compassion, humility, communication, performance management, team development, courage, justice and fairness, leadership development). Within each chapter, inter-related sub-chapters featured many leadership-related vignettes about biblical icons (Jesus, Moses, David, Solomon, etc.) and modern business leaders (Jack Welch (General Electric), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), Jack Stack (Springfield Remanufacturing), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ben & Jerry's), etc.). The final page of each chapter was a summary listing of the biblical leadership lessons highlighted throughout the chapter.

I am not as great a student of the Bible as the author, and I believe my relative ignorance limited my appreciation of his impressive biblical knowledge and experience. I would have preferred a less ambitious approach with less diverse leadership material and more time spent setting up and presenting the Bible's 'case studies.' Still, the book provided many excellent leadership lessons from the Bible and the current business world that were informative and relevant to leaders at all levels.

KING DAVID IN THE BOARDROOM

Lorin Woolfe does a masterful job of exploring the bible for themes that should have relevance for both today's leaders and those aspiring to climb the proverbial ladder of success. Concentrating on everything from integrity, to team building to exhibiting fairness he explores the old and new testaments for shining examples of truely courageous leadership and draws parallels to modern day figures. In doing so he lends deeper meaning to such issues as finding "purpose", "effective communication" and "humility" in the workplace. It is an inspiring read for anyone yearning to travel his or her path with wisdom and fortitude.

Biblical Examples Worth Emulating
I am always wary of books built around the "lessons" of the Bible, Shakespeare, or any other major source unless I know the author well. Since I have read the Bible, Shakespeare and many other sources, I feel capable of drawing my own conclusions.

This book grabbed my attention after I realized that relatively few people do read the entire Bible these days. It could clearly be a good thing if people learned more about the Bible because they were interested in some other subject.

With that thought in mind, I launched into The Bible on Leadership. I was glad that I did.

Mr. Woolfe does a solid job of drawing on both the old and new testaments to exemplify honesty and integrity, purpose, kindness and compassion, humility, communication, performance management, team development, courage, justice and fairness, and leadership development. To these examples, he adds contemporary business leaders as well. From his small list of modern leaders as exemplars of good practices, you will get a sense of how much we need people to read and apply this book.

Like many books that attempt to use current examples, you will find yourself faulting some choices (possibly including the references to Jack Stack as being too much, Warren Buffett's possible reinsurance-fraud awareness, Ray Gilmartin's honesty preceding the Vioxx debate, and various other one-time icons who have since fallen from public grace).

As a result, I suggest that you focus on the Biblical leaders and mostly ignore the rest. You will be on sounder ground if you do. If you are primarily looking for modern examples, you will probably be disappointed in this book. There are too few of them, and many good choices are omitted.

Mr. Woolfe writes well and he makes Biblical leaders come to life. If you only strive to emulate one of his many examples, you will be a better leader.