The guidelines was too general. What I really wanted was to see real life examples of how to act in certain situations.

Max Depree is the chairman of Herman Miller, the successful family furniture business. Depree writes Leadership is an art, as a quick and concise manner to run a company and more importantly lead people who want to work for your organization. There are ancdotes of workers and business people, with each story telling something valuable. I think this book will be a reference book for me to gather bits and pieces to motivate me and my work ethic. Depree stated "We must become, for all involved, a place of realized potential." Can you imagine if we all did that?

As the author said, it's less of a book and more of a collection of thoughts. Overall it was an easy listen. I can appreciate the focus on the idea of a leaders job being to support and build their team. This means talking to them, and putting them in positions to be successful.

It's pretty short overall (maybe like 4 hours or something) so not a big commitment. Good ROI.

“Leadership is an Art” is not a book I would have read if it was not part of a course I took for work. Having finished it, I can only reiterate that point.
The best value from this book is when the author, Max DePree, quotes other people (Gandhi, etc.). Their words have depth and value. His own are mostly pleasant clichés. When DePree is telling an anecdote I found myself paying attention, but much of this slim volume is trite clichés or lists. Nothing wrong with clichés and list, two things I like a lot, but they need to have some depth to be valuable. Worst of all is the chapter “The Making of Elegance” which is one cliché after another, with no attempt to construct a coherent idea around them.
However the chapter “Why Should I Weep” was a nice one, as it came across as just an honest simple idea and DePree resisted the urge to doll up its essence with more than what it was.
I read it, it is what it is. I won’t need to read it again.

Believers throughout Church history – the early fathers, the Reformers, the Puritans – have been inspired by Scripture to reduce spirituality to two lists known as “the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues” of saintliness. The former includes pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust. The latter includes wisdom, justice, courage, temperance, faith, love and hope.

tEven though it finds its origin in one whose life was not centered on Christ our Lord, Mahatma Gandhi’s own list of “seven deadly sins” in the form of contrasts deserves our attention: Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle. –

Max DePree, Leadership Is an Art.

read during MBA, a great story, I quote from it every now and then

Maybe I’m the wrong audience for this one, but it did little for me. People rave about Leadership is an Art and it had been on my reading list for a while. So, when I saw a copy @ the America’s Thrift Store over in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, I snatched it up. I’m still puzzling over what I missed.

Leadership is an Art is very short and can be read without much of an investment of your time. Also, DePree has some good insights about the nature of teams and organizations.

But the slow sections are deadly dull. Too often, DePree devolves into interminable lists of bullet points. Readers will not want to read this material - it’s like reading a particularly-dry textbook.

So, even knowing that I’m in the minority on this, I’m sticking with my opinion - skip Leadership is an Art. My copy’s going right back to the thrift store.

From what I have read, this is refreshing leadership book. This book is not a giant collection of quotes, but antidotes from his own experience. He seemed to genuinely care about people and practice servant leadership. Short, well written, and will be valuable to return to in the future.

Dr. Dub spoke often about this book. I see a lot of his leadership style throughout these pages & am encouraged to hear more of the heart behind it. Great read for leaders!

This book helped my identify what TYPE of leader I am. That was powerful enough for me. It also showed me that the level of care you put into others in the work place matters!

Leadership is an art is a masterpiece. Max the Pree, the CEO and son of furniture company Herman Miller, shares the learnings of leading a fast growing company, dealing with crisis, and becoming an inclusive corporation in the late 80s. Long after the book has been published the furniture company is being one of the most respected companies in the world.

Time magazines reviewed this book as a valuable lesson in grace, style, and the elements of success. I could not agree more. It’s one of those books that helps to understand how to be more effective, more elegant, more clear and convincing in taking decisions, developing corporate culture, building management skills and stimulating staff potential for the long run.

I would put this book very close to High Output Management from Andy Groove, because it touches a lot of corporate development, management aspects, and people issues with a lot of thought! Both books are must-reads for the business professionals in terms of how to develop successful business philosophies.

In the end here is one quote from the book that worths reflecting on: “In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are.”

Enjoy!

Max DePree is the son of D.J. DePree, who was the founder of the furniture maker company, Herman Miller. Herman Miller has been widely recognized as a “brilliantly-managed” organization, dedicated to producing exquisitely-designed and crafted furniture. Max DePree wrote this book to share the ideas, beliefs and principles that have guided him and his father in their business dealings, but that have wide applicability to just about any group activity.

Throughout the book, DePree uses analogies and stories to shape his messages and intent. The reader is treated to “theory fastball,” “pink ice in the urinal,” and “tribal storytelling.” An underlying philosophy of compassion, courage and competence comes through.

The best way to describe the flavor of this endearing book is to quote the ending paragraph in Max DePree’s introduction:

Many years ago Herman Miller was building an addition to one of its plants. The steel was up when the job superintendent noticed that something was wrong. He discovered that the addition was eight inches too high. All the columns had to be cut off. I had two of the ends chrome plated. They stand in my office, as a kind of folk sculpture, to remind me that no one is perfect. That goes for books, too.