Leadership A to Z

A Guide for the Appropriately Ambitious

By: James O'Toole

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Written by a master of leadership education and author of 13 books, Leadership A to Z is the ideal guide for individuals looking to quickly build or improve their leadership skills and for organizations looking to increase leadership capacity throughout their ranks. O'Toole's advice stems from his own personal experiences, the experiences of the many outstanding leaders he has known, and research conducted by the world's top business scholars. Think of Leadership A to Z as a leadership coach in audiobook form, whose only learning prerequisite, as author O'Toole points out, is a disposition toward "appropriate ambition."

©1999 James O'Toole and Jossey-Bass Inc. (P)2000 Penton Overseas Inc.

Critic reviews

"O'Toole's uncanny clarity and careful pacing of ideas make this one of the most thoughtful pieces on leadership in recent memory." (AudioFile)
"This sagacious advice is crisply organized, solidly narrated, and will well serve listeners looking for a terse summary of leadership." (Library Journal)

You Gotta Buy This One!

This book is a compelling read. Since the author focuses on the pragmatic aspects of leadership, he gives the reader the necessary tools to hone his or her leadership skills. The format of the book, although difficult to follow at first, lends itself to quick review. Successful leaders will find this book helpful as a review of the principles which brought them success. For those who wish to become leaders, this is the best resource I have found. It clearly states what leadership is all about in a format that is easy to read and digest. The ?no holes barred? approach to illustrations helps the reader see and understand the principles elucidated as O?toole names the names and tells the stories of corporate and non-profit leaders whose successes and failures he demonstrates.

Aside from a good review of the principles that I am trying to instill into my life, it has helped me in three ways. First, the discussion between strategic change and change management was very helpful. The author points out that every organization is faced with constant change, and change cannot be managed. Change management is short sighted and issue orientated, whereas strategic change looks for the long term and seeks to make change a part of the culture of the organization. Second, I appreciated the author?s repeated emphasis on the courage of leadership. Being a leader puts one at risk, and as O?Toole succinctly demonstrates, most ?leaders? would rather play it safe. Unless the leader is willing to risk failure and humiliation, he or she will never taste the fruits of leadership. Third, I will be using this book as a primer for my staff to teach them leadership principles. There are few books with such broad scope as this one.

Of course, with a review like this one, what else can I do but recommend this book. ***** Five Star Rating.

Unoriginal and Useless

This was horrible. I expected something good because of the prior reviews. The advice is unoriginal and uninspiring. And the narration was annoying