The book being discussed today breaks my heart. Not because I didn’t enjoy it. On the contrary, I loved it! Totally enjoyed the message. It breaks my heart because the topic is of such importance that — in my opinion — the title must accurately reflect the message… I don’t believe it does.
Leadership Is Dead: How Influence Is Reviving It is by Jeremie Kubicek, President and CEO of GiANT Impact, a global leadership company. Among their many impressive achievements is the Chick-fil-A Leadercast.
Leadership Is Dead. The title wouldn’t offend me…IF that was the actual premise of the book. But, it isn’t.
His premise — as is obvious throughout the book and as he describes in a brief video on his Amazon.com book page — is that “Leadership is dead when focused on you!” In fact, at he top of the back page of his book, it clearly says, “Leadership is alive when it is used for others. It dies when it is all about you.”
I totally agree. That is the basic message of Law #3, “The Law of Influence” in The Go-Giver. And, being that the title of John David Mann‘s and my next book is, It’s Not About You, obviously, I have no disagreement whatsoever with Jeremie’s premise.
My only challenge is with his title. In a recent post I discussed the challenge I have with people, in trying to find a contrarian title that will attract readers, misrepresenting (unintentionally, as I 100% believe is the case here) the actual body of work. And, in my opinion, this holds true whether an article or a book.
Being contrarian is fine and I certainly believe in using headlines that attract readers. However, it seems that the two should be congruent.
The book itself though? Beautiful! Jeremie shares lessons of leadership and influence I found to be powerful, helpful and enjoyable. And anyone who is a student of this topic and/or would like to be an effective leader and influencer will gain much through reading this book. The author shares personal stories that provide insight into his heart, and he provides numerous examples of other great leaders and the lessons they can teach us.
There were many excellent points throughout, and my highlighter and pen both got some serious workout time. I felt his list of ten points under the subhead, “The Attributes of a True Influence Leader” on page 77 was terrific. And, my favorite quote of all was on the very next page where he wrote:
“Leadership is influence. Influence is power. How that power is used
comes from the intent of the leader, from the motives of the heart.”
I could fill an entire page with his many “takeaway gems.” Instead, I’ll suggest you purchase the book and be ready for an exceptional lesson on leadership and influence that you’ll hopefully enjoy and benefit from as much as I did.
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I guess that’s why books, nowadays, have long subtitles. The “hook” is that “Leadership is Dead” but the subtitle and graphic of the heart monitor suggest that it is being revived.
Unfortunately, a lot of books on bought on the strength of the title and cover art. In fact, I have bought many a book that caught my attention through the title and cover art (and testimonials) only to find the content to be ho-hum, at best, or a total waste of time/money, at worst.
My beef is not so much with book titles as it is with well known and respected “thought leaders” who lend their name and reputation to books through two sentence blurbs on the book jacket. If some of these folks had actually read the book they are “recommending” through their testimonial, I’m sure they would think twice.
Knowing you, perhaps they will listen and change the name! 🙂
‘Intentional Influence
Lessons From Leaders’
Thanks Bob for the book review. The title “Leadership is Dead” title does provoke a response which is marketing!
The attributes that a leader must have can vary based on the business model and the culture of the organization.
Many leaders who have been successful through “command & control” are realizing that this approach is not as effective or efficient. Vision, communication, and inspirational skills are strategic to get the entire organization tribe and ecosystem to collaborate, compete,, and win in this interconnected world.
Hi Rob, I’m fine with the title being for marketing purposes. In my opinion, it should be. The title and subtitle help sell the book. Certainly all of my titles are comprised with that in mind. I just believe the title needs to accurately represent the message of the book. I don’t believe this does. His message on being a more effective leader is very well-written with great information. What he is really saying is that the traditional model of the leader having an “I focus” and being domineering, controlling, etc., is no longer effective in today’s world. What he is teaching in the book is leadership…done right. Leadership done right has always worked, works now, and – thanks to books such as Jeremie’s – will continue to work. My only problem was with the title.
Hi Ken, thank you for your comments. I love the book. And, I understand the title and subtitle. I just don’t agree that it’s representative of the message in the book which, again, I loved. I agree with your thoughts that those who endorse books should actually read the manuscript first. And, that is something I *always* do when endorsing a book. Cannot imagine not doing that.
Amy, you’re too sweet. Thank you (though, I don’t see that happening) LOL
Is it possible the title is a reflection on the current state of affairs in the USA? From my perspective living outside the USA I hear the refrain where is the leadership today in the USA? The leaders in the news appear to be practicing ‘It is all about me.’ Not having read the book there are many who will pick it up for validation and maybe buy it.
Hi Michael. I appreciate your question. My response is that it is a big country and, for all the news reports of those leaders who are indeed all about themselves (and MUCH of that is true), there are also many who are not. There are also some terrific leaders. Thus, leadership is not “dead.” I certainly don’t think the overall leadership is anywhere near where it should be, and can be. And, books such as Jeremie’s can go a long way towards helping get it back to a much higher level.
Bob,
Great article – and I love that you read it and recommended it based on its merits. What is interesting is that so many, as Ken stated above, judge a book by its cover (or an author by his or her connections). I remember a suggestion from the first publisher I interviewed: “We don’t like the title: call it (italicized) The Seven Levels of Marketing and it will sell much better”. Perhaps, but I had to be true to myself and those who enjoy my materials – business is not about marketing to strangers, but much more about communicating with your Community – and I believe the future will see this become even more prevalent.
We, of course, both agree on the servant leader mentality and that isn’t the gist of your article.
Wonder how many other titles don’t make the materials… some books that fail with the title… Seth Godin’s All Marketers are Liars was one I disliked. He tried to counter the thought of the title throughout the entire book, but the title set just a negative tone. What are some of the best titles ever? I’d start with How to Win Friends and Influence People (of course the success of the book with that title probably taints my judgement). Thoughts?
Bob, thank you for another insightful article. Can’t judge a book by its cover OR its title. Isn’t it amazing how books are like people? 🙂
Michael
Hi Michael, as human beings, we do often judge a book by it’s cover. Sometimes we are aware (conscious) that we are doing that and can adjust our judgment based on that awareness, but I suspect that most of the time we (meaning I) 🙂 do it unthinkingly.
Regarding other titles, the book you mentioned by Seth is one of the few of his I have not read; (not because of the title; just one I didn’t happen to read).I must admit to being disappointed in the title when I first heard it because I don’t believe it is true. And, since I’m such a huge fan of his…).
Another book that was terrific, though mis-titled, was Joe Girard’s classic, “How to Sell Anything to Anybody.” It’s a title that I believe was very hurtful to the selling profession, even though the message and teaching was very helpful to the profession.. And, again, the title (selling to anybody and everybody) wasn’t even what the book was about.
Regarding “How to Win Friends and Influence People”…I think it was a spectacular title. It’s a title that would attract any person who was interested in accomplishing what the title says and it’s exactly what the book was about.
Thanks again, Michael!
Hi Bob,
I agree with you. And based on the title probably wouldn’t give the book a read. There are a lot of leadership books out there. I want to read one about how to lead or improve my leadership. Why would anyone want to read a book about leadership being dead?
For those who say this is effective marketing, what do you find appealing about it. Does it get your attention in a way that makes you want to pick it up and read it? Especially when the book is on a shelf with a lot of other leadership books (or on a webpage with many search results)?
To me it seems like an invitation to skip the book.
Larry