Great leaders have a great deal to teach those of us who aspire to leadership. But their lessons are as diverse and sometimes contradictory as the leaders themselves; we have to pick and choose among them, matching our own talents, temperament, and shortcomings with those of the models we aim to copy. Here are studies of six business titans of the recent past who offer a wide range of precepts for leadership: Warren Buffett, the most successful investor in history, who combines vast wealth...

America's former First Lady Michelle Obama, the direct descendant of slaves, lived in a house that was built by slaves. This daughter of a nurturing if demanding family grew up on Chicago's South Side, where she developed discipline and diligence, two traits that carried her to Princeton and then to the Harvard Law School. She turned her back on wealth and prestige to follow her idealism into the public sector. Together, she and Barack Obama accomplished the seemingly impossible - electing...

Sir Winston Churchill's blend of talents made him uniquely suited to carry Great Britain through the ordeal of World War II. It was his determination to rally his fellow citizens that not only saved his country but, in all likelihood, all free peoples. Leaders everywhere can benefit by emulating him. This short-form book shows how.

There is no arguing J.P. Morgan's monumental influence. As both the guardian of America's financial sturdiness and a well-appointed exploiter of the system's regulatory shortcomings, his actions raised questions that still resonate: What does it mean for Wall Street to be out of control? How best can government and business collaborate when it comes to buttressing a fragile economy? Should private enterprise be allowed to profit from government bailouts? By delving into Morgan's attitudes ...

This book - Will Peters's second volume of leadership lessons - puts the spotlight on six great political leaders whose lives offer endless lessons for people who aim to lead, whether they want to go into politics, start a business, or take over the local school board. Every leader is unique, and these six - Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher - each faced his or her own problems and found creative ways to deal with them...

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 after a ten-year exile, he wasted no time. He immediately eliminated any ill-conceived products that were dragging the company down. Then he fired dozens of people, curing what he termed Apple's infestation of "bozos" and paring down his team to a list of "A" players. A year later, Jobs introduced the revolutionary and colorful iMac computer. In the years that followed, he gave us the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. In 2011, he died of pancreatic cancer. H...

It would be difficult to overstate the impact that Sam Walton had on business. The stand-alone box stores he pioneered changed America and the world. His innovations in supply-chain management and distribution reshaped the relationship between suppliers and retailers and took wholesalers out of the equation. He altered customers' expectations as well as the prices they paid for everything from socks to soda. Like few leaders before or since, Sam Walton changed the world. Here, in this shor...

From soda jerk to billionaire restaurateur, Ray Kroc exemplified American entrepreneurship at its best. In a fascinating career of building McDonald's into the world's biggest fast service restaurant chain, Kroc adhered to certain virtues he considered indispensable for success - passion, persistence, simplicity, trust in frontline employees, and partnering with suppliers. Plus: Smile, smile, smile. Here, in this short-form book by bestselling author and consultant Will Peters, is what lea...

Alfred P. Sloan Jr. was an undisputed titan of the auto industry. He outsmarted legendary carmaker Henry Ford, essentially invented marketing as we know it today, and pioneered the very concept of corporate management. He personified the twentieth-century Organization Man, whose work was his life, and he built General Motors into the world's most successful industrial enterprise, dominating the Fortune 500 for half a century. Despite these accomplishments, Sloan remains an elusive and tant...

Pope John Paul II was a towering figure - a prime actor on the world political stage who brought his church through a troubled time with his strength, charisma, and sense of mission. Because of his leadership, the Catholic Church, though its rifts weren’t fully healed, grew in numbers and influence during his papacy. Here, in this short-form book, is his extraordinary story with lessons for leaders worldwide.

As the thirty-fourth president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower confronted the most critical issues of the last century - from McCarthyism and school desegregation in the South to the Cold War and the build-up of the military industrial complex. As a leader, he worked quietly behind the scenes while disarming friends and foes alike with his broad smile. "There is no limit to the good you can do," he believed, "if you don't care who gets the credit." Here, in this short-form book,...

Nelson Mandela is one of history's truly remarkable figures, the father of the new South Africa and an inspiration to all. A shrewd realist whose leadership was not just based on character and charisma, he keenly observed the examples of others and had a deep understanding of friends and foes alike. Here, in this short-form book, is what leaders the world over can learn from his example.