Heroic Leadership

Proven leadership strategies used by combat and business leaders to accomplish impossible goals

Heroic Leadership examines military leadership principles as they apply to business and life. Leadership expert and retired general William Cohen describes the eight universal laws of leadership and explains why heroic leadership has worked so successfully and ethically for thousands of years despite severe conditions of risk, uncertainty and hardship. He also shows how to implement Heroic Leadership to attract fellowship, use influence tactics, develop self-confidence, build, coach, and motivate a team, take charge in crisis situations, and take action.

• Includes real-world examples from business as well, as battle, that follow the eight universal laws
• Contains proven strategies and techniques to apply the universal laws and multiply the productivity of any group or organization
• Suggests little-known, but highly effective methods for building teamwork and esprit de corps
• Based on the classic, bestselling books on leadership The New Art of the Leader and the Stuff of Heroes
• With a timeless approach to leadership, Heroic Leadership offers innovative ideas for motivating people and helping them to achieve new heights of personal and group performance

Introduction: The Concept of Heroic Leadership 1

Part One The Eight Universal Laws of Heroic Leadership 9

1 Maintain Absolute Integrity 11

2 Know Your Stuff 25

3 Declare Your Expectations 36

4 Show Uncommon Commitment 47

5 Expect Positive Results 59

6 Take Care of Your People 71

7 Put Duty Before Self 80

8 Get Out in Front 89

Part Two The Eight Basic Influence Tools 101

9 Direction 103

10 Indirection 110

11 Redirection 118

12 Deflection 125

13 Enlistment 131

14 Persuasion 139

15 Negotiation 146

16 Involvement 152

Part Three The Eight Competencies of Heroic Leadership 159

17 How to Attract Followership 161

18 How to Develop Your Self-Confidence 171

19 How to Build a Heroic Team 181

20 How to Build High Morale and Esprit de Corps 192

21 How to Motivate When Times Get Tough 200

22 How to Take Charge in Crisis Situations 210

23 How to Develop Your Charisma 221

24 How to Solve Problems and Make Decisions 231

Epilogue 243

Notes 247

About the Author 259

Index 261

William Cohen, Ph.D., is president of the Institute of Leader Arts and the first graduate of Peter 's executive Ph.D. program. About him Drucker wrote: "My colleagues on the faculty and I learned at least as much as we could teach him." Cohen served as major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, has held executive positions in several companies, and was president of two universities. He is the author of many management books, including The Art of the Leader, A Class With Drucker, and Drucker on Leadership.

For more information, please visit: www.stuffofheroes.com

PETER F. DRUCKER, the "father of modern management," promoted the concept of Heroic Leadership throughout his long career, saying, "The Army trains and develops more leaders than do all other institutions together—and with a lower casualty rate." In Heroic Leadership, leadership expert and retired general William Cohen, a former student and personal friend of Drucker, reveals what Heroic Leadership entails—leading a group with absolute integrity while raising individual performance to a personal best, and building a team spirit of sacrifice for the common good. It requires tough standards, but as Cohen shows you, achieving those standards is not impossible.

Heroic Leadership examines military leadership principles as they apply to business and life, and draws on Cohen's research with more than two hundred leaders from the military, who after leaving the military went on to very successful careers in civilian life. In this book, Cohen maps out the eight universal laws of leadership, and explains why Heroic Leadership has worked so successfully and ethically for thousands of years despite severe conditions of risk, uncertainty, and hardship. He also shows how to implement Heroic Leadership to attract fellowship; use influence tactics; develop self-confidence; build, coach, and motivate a team; take charge in crisis situations; and take action.

Throughout the book you will find:

• Real-world examples from business as well as battle, chosen to give you the knowledge and confidence to lead in any situation you may confront
• Proven strategies and results-oriented techniques to apply the principles of Heroic Leadership and multiply the productivity of any group or organization
• New ideas for motivating people and helping them achieve new heights of personal and group performance
• Little-known but highly effective methods for building teamwork and esprit de corps
• Methods for developing yourself as a leader and reaching your full potential

Based on Cohen's early best-selling books on leadership, now out of print—The Art of the Leader, The Stuff of Heroes, and The New Art of the Leader—Heroic Leadership is a timeless guide on what it takes to be an authentic, high-performing leader. This book will challenge you to apply the principles of Heroic Leadership, and in turn enable your organization to dare the impossible and achieve the extraordinary.

Heroic Leadership

PETER F. DRUCKER, the "father of modern management," promoted the concept of Heroic Leadership throughout his long career, saying, "The Army trains and develops more leaders than do all other institutions together—and with a lower casualty rate." In Heroic Leadership, leadership expert and retired general William Cohen, a former student and personal friend of Drucker, reveals what Heroic Leadership entails—leading a group with absolute integrity while raising individual performance to a personal best, and building a team spirit of sacrifice for the common good. It requires tough standards, but as Cohen shows you, achieving those standards is not impossible.

Heroic Leadership examines military leadership principles as they apply to business and life, and draws on Cohen's research with more than two hundred leaders from the military, who after leaving the military went on to very successful careers in civilian life. In this book, Cohen maps out the eight universal laws of leadership, and explains why Heroic Leadership has worked so successfully and ethically for thousands of years despite severe conditions of risk, uncertainty, and hardship. He also shows how to implement Heroic Leadership to attract fellowship; use influence tactics; develop self-confidence; build, coach, and motivate a team; take charge in crisis situations; and take action.

Throughout the book you will find:

• Real-world examples from business as well as battle, chosen to give you the knowledge and confidence to lead in any situation you may confront
• Proven strategies and results-oriented techniques to apply the principles of Heroic Leadership and multiply the productivity of any group or organization
• New ideas for motivating people and helping them achieve new heights of personal and group performance
• Little-known but highly effective methods for building teamwork and esprit de corps
• Methods for developing yourself as a leader and reaching your full potential

Based on Cohen's early best-selling books on leadership, now out of print—The Art of the Leader, The Stuff of Heroes, and The New Art of the Leader—Heroic Leadership is a timeless guide on what it takes to be an authentic, high-performing leader. This book will challenge you to apply the principles of Heroic Leadership, and in turn enable your organization to dare the impossible and achieve the extraordinary.