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Title: Elizabeth I, Ceo: Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire by Alan Axelrod ISBN: 0-7352-0357-1 Publisher: Prentice Hall Press Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (32 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Elizabeth 1 from an Interesting Perspective
Comment: This book will appeal to readers who want to get some leadership tips and be entertained by the fascinating history of Elizabeth 1. I gave it a 5 star rating because I enjoyed reading the book and came away with useful information.
It is not a chronological account of Elizabeth 1. It reads more like one of the typical CEO self-help books out there using illustrations from the life and reign of Elizabeth 1 to make the point. For those interested in the history of Queen Elizabeth 1 this book provides a very interesting perspective because it analyzes Elizabeth 1 as a leader from a modern-day corporate leadership point of view. This is something you'll probably not find in any history book.
For those interested in a book to help them be a better leader, this book is a refreshing change from the numerous CEO guide books out there. There's no doubt Queen Elizabeth I was one of the greatest leaders England ever had. What is even more amazing is that she achieved this greatness during a time when women were considered far less capable than men. The book shows how Elizabeth worked around her weaknesses and used her weaknesses to her advantage. In the 500 years or so since her reign is interesting to note that human nature has not really changed. I would not recommend this as the sole CEO self-help book you read, but together with others, it provides a memorable and interesting addition to helping you be better leader.
Rating: 1
Summary: Poor rendition of history leads to not-so-useful conclusions
Comment: This book is a follow-up to Axelrod's book on leadership lessons for executives drawn from the example of George S. Patton. Here, he's picked another historical figure, Queen Elizabeth I of England. This had the makings of a potentially valuable book, save for the slight problem that the history is so poorly rendered that little of value can be gleaned for anyone facing the unrelenting pressures of running an actual business.
Axelrod portrays the Elizabethan period with such rose-coloured glasses that he fails to impart a useful or realistic message here. The book has numerous references to the queen's fiscal management of the country, to the Spanish Armada, to the outpouring of literature of Shakespeare and his fellow masters of the pen, with little bits of wisdom relayed in the process. All well and good.
But in recognising and deriving lessons from the queen's many undoubted successes, he should have been balanced and also discussed where things went wrong. There is scant if any attention paid to Elizabeth's policy in Ireland, which had a particularly bloody legacy and in which England's undertakings gave rise to failure at every turn from the 1570s onward. The consequences of this policy failure are still with us today. Nor is there mention of England's military defeats against Spain after the Armada, which devastated English plans to settle the new world and gain control of trade routes. Nor does Axelrod note the cases of financial mismanagement and corruption that plagued Elizabeth's reign in the late 1500s. And where is this empire he talks about in the book's title, "the leader who built an empire"? Axelrod skips the specifics on this because there was no empire by the time King James I succeeded Elizabeth in the early 1600s. England would not have an empire to speak of for another 150 years.
There is nothing wrong or unexpected about these setbacks in Elizabeth's reign-- she had many successes and, like any monarch, some missteps as well. If one wishes to use such a monarch as an example for a business, it is a disservice to readers to trumpet the successes while ignoring the failures. What business, after all, turns in profitable quarters with every fiscal year and pleases its investors and even competitors with its every move? You'd be hard-pressed to find any such firm gracing the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Real businesses learn from their failures as much as their successes, and Axelrod has denied his readers a valuable example by focussing too much on the latter and too little on the former. This book would be more valuable with a little more depth and a little more perspective in its treatment of its historical subject.
Rating: 4
Summary: Historical Leadership Lessons
Comment: After reading this book, I took away a few key points. One, don't mess with a woman who is a good leader. Two, always play your cards close to your vest. Three, if you lead, truly lead, people will attack you and you need to be prepared. Four, this was a very useful book.
I serve in a leadership/management role currently and much of this book applies univerally to any leadership situation. I have read other books of this type, (Lincoln on Leadership), and have really enjoyed studying past leaders. It also should push current leaders to see how it stacks up to now, and what we need to do better.
I recommend this book. B
Joseph Dworak
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