It Worked for Me

In Life and Leadership

By: Colin Powell

Narrated by: Colin Powell

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Personal Development, 2013

It Worked for Me is filled with vivid experiences and lessons learned that have shaped the legendary career of the four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At its heart are Powell's "Thirteen Rules" - such as "Get mad, then get over it" and "Share credit" - that introduce his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and, above all, respect for others.

A natural storyteller, Powell offers warm and engaging parables with wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond. "Trust your people," he counsels as he delegates presidential briefing responsibilities to two junior State Department desk officers. "Do your best - someone is watching," he advises those just starting out, recalling his own teenage job mopping floors in a factory.

Powell combines the insight he gained in the military and four presidential administrations with lessons from his immigrant-family upbringing in the Bronx and his training in the ROTC. The result is a powerful portrait of a leader who is reflective, self-effacing, and grateful for everyone he works with.

A brilliant and original blueprint for leadership, Colin Powell's It Worked for Me is bound to inspire, move, and surprise readers.

Includes an interview with the author.

©2012 Colin Powell (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Nothing could have been better

I already respected the man but this blew me away. Life lessons everyone needs to hear. Wish he could have been president! But he probably made the right choice.

Thank you, sir,

Inspirational stories and lessons for a lifetime. How beautifully written. How very much we miss you, General.

General Powell

This is not Gen Powell best book but since I think he can do no wrong, it gets extra stars.
I was surprised to hear his take on conversations with Pres Regan and Pres George W -- my take was completely different! Still, Gen Powell is a proven leader and diplomat so maybe his take it the correct one even though it gives me fits of eye-rolling. The good Gen doesn't mind people disagreeing with him, in fact he encourages debate. That keeps me from feeling disloyal. Phew!

He does add interesting details to both Iraq wars and the war in Afghanistan. Add this information to that found in The Art of Intelligence by Henry Crumpton and an interesting picture of D.C. decision making develops. It's especially interesting for those who participated in those wars.

Best book I have listened to in a long time.

Where does It Worked for Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I normally listen to Sci-Fi books, but I am ex military and wanting to move up into a leadership role at work. Mr. Powell has always been a role model for me so I thought I would take a listen to his book. I was pleasantly surprised that he is the narrator of this book. By far this is now my favorite book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Busy Bastards, because my work is full of them. They are not who you think. Read the book.

Have you listened to any of Colin Powell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would love to have the time to sit down and hear this book all at one time. His answers fit perfectly into the military mantra that is already installed within me. I have listened to parts over already because I was in awe of how he expanded to deal with a situation.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Powell’s book is a great read for any veteran that is transitioning into the “real world”.

A Hard disk of knowledge

A beautiful journey.
How else could we ever, ever learn some of what he has experienced.
Clear concise knowledge, straight from the gut.
Even though I'm not very aware of the American history, this book will be a companion for time to come.
Thank you Mr Colin, thank you very much

Admired

I enjoyed this book very much and wish I had read it before I went into the workplace. There was excellent advice that could be carried into private or public sector. I've always admired Secretary Powell but especially appreciate him now, knowing his persistence to work as a teen and how it grew into the brilliant work ethic he carried through life.

Good book on Powell's leadership strategies

If you could sum up It Worked for Me in three words, what would they be?

Leadership, Ethical, Strategy

Would you recommend It Worked for Me to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recomend this book to anyone who is in business and is looking for the building blocks to step up your game.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. However, I never listen to one book in a sitting.

Loved it

Great advice for anyone in leadership. I have "read" it at least 3x. & he is reading it. Always a better "read" when the author narrates.

Great Book...

This is the first book I have listened to in 1 day; I started it on my drive to work this morning, left my office at lunch so I could continue, closed my office door for an hour, to continue & finally again after my team & everyone left the office for the evening... On my drive home and for a couple hours after I arrived home. It had some amazing stories & generated many thoughts. Thanks for sharing...

Great Leader, Teacher and Story Teller

First of all thank you General Powell for sharing your life and your leadership and for narrating this book!

This book is powerful! There is something for everyone to learn from this book. Whether you love the government or not, whether you are in the armed forces or not, and whether you are or want to lead people or not. You can learn about strength, empowerment and how to move forward from any failure.

I plan to apply many of the lessons I learned immediately. For example, the approach to solving problems, the importance of verifying verified facts, conducting meetings and after action reviews, knowing your followers, taking walk abouts, how not to be a busy bastard.

There were good laughs throughout. I don't have a mentor, but if I could select any leader of my choosing, it would be General Colin Powell. Okay, since that's wishful thinking I'll use this audio as a second choice!

I know this book has been out for a while. It's never too late to catch up or to learn!