I recommended the book, “It Worked for Me” today to a young Second Lieutenant today as he walked through the Brigade Headquarters. This book was actually recommended to me by a former Brigade Commander one day after I asked him what he was reading. He went on to tell me some of his favorite books, in which this was one of them.
The book covers the author, Colin Powell’s famous “Thirteen Rules” of leadership. Through each of these rules the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State gives insight from his Army career—where the rules were truly developed and tested, and then some interesting State Department insights as well—which proves that leadership doesn’t look one way in the Army and another in the Civilian world, leadership is leadership. He does a great job of telling a compelling story while express a timeless leadership truth. The book is a very interesting from a historical perspective as he describes his thought processes in decision making and in the art and practice of leadership.
In many ways, the lessons learned are lessons that I have heard throughout my career from different commanders or leaders I have known. What makes this book great for young leaders is that the reader doesn’t have to wait until the end of his or her career to look back and see that they have learned these lessons, they can have them given to them at the beginning of their career.