What leadership lessons can we learn from General Eisenhower’s leadership of the Allied forces in Europe at the end of the Second World War? Geoff Loftus outlines what he believes the lessons are in his book Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies From the CEO of D-Day. The book tells the story of Eisenhower’s time in Europe from June 1942 until May 1945, and leadership principles arising from his conduct and decisions are highlighted as the story progresses.
The ten strategic lessons distilled by the author are: determine your mission; plan for success; stay focused; prioritize; plan to implement; communicate; motivate your people; manage your people; avoid project creep; and be honest. Whenever the book describes an action or decision relevant to one of these lessons, it is highlighted in a text box.
In my view the principles which the author has listed do not amount to a significant contribution to the field of leadership theory, and his portrayal of some of the characters in the story seems a bit limited. For example, Winston Churchill comes across as a time-wasting nuisance and General Montgomery as a pompous incompetent fool. The descriptions of Eisenhower’s interactions with such people appear to reflect poorly, and probably unfairly, on his leadership abilities, leaving me thinking that I might not want to “lead like Ike” after all. Notwithstanding these objections, I enjoyed reading the narrative parts of the book, and I think that the idea of seeking leadership lessons from Eisenhower’s career is a good one.
Disclosure: I received my copy of the book for free from BookSneeze.