History lessons: what business and management can learn from the great leaders of history

Modern organisations need great leadership not only from the chief executive officer or their equivalent, but at every level of management. Arguably, as high-calibre management skills are inferred from every successful twenty-first century operation, what sets the truly great organization ahead of its competitors is the quality of its leadership. The personal qualities and abilities that great leaders possess cannot be taught in the same way that the skills and techniques of good management can. Leadership is an intensely human activity, and great leadership takes many different forms.

From Pericles of Athens to Nelson Mandela, from Horatio Nelson to Chiang Kai Shek, History Lessons examines the great leaders of history and asks, What was it that set them apart and enabled their dramatic successes? The lessons to be learned from history are rich and varied, throwing the light of two thousand years of human experience on the challenges facing the decision-makers of today.

Anyone who is called upon to lead in any sphere, whether the president of a multinational corporation, or the organiser of a local charity event, will find History Lessons informative, inspiring and potentially life-changing.