"Leaders Eat Last" is a must-read book for all the senior, second-level, and imminent leaders from every organization. The book is a classic management manual on how taking care of your people makes you a pure leader. But the chapters are narrated in a storytelling spirit to involve the reader fully in the reading process.
Mr. Simon is using various tools from military services, historical business models, and other analytical data resources to substantiate his points. He demonstrates that the organizations with leaders who were centered on the people had resulted in the organic growth of the institution. In the first three chapters, the author has explained the necessity to guard our people, the reality of how we are leading, and the expectations of the and from the leaders are embellished. The fourth chapter deals with the history of the "Baby Boomer" generation, ie. our generation, and the challenges in dealing with people of our generation.
In the latest version of the book, there is an extended chapter "A practical guide to leading Millenials", which I think is the workbook for the book. This guide is for both leaders and the millennials, where it gives hints for leaders on efficiently leading the millennials and also for millennials what is expected from them by the leaders.
The words I want to share the most from this book were:
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
Returning from work feeling inspired, safe, fulfilled and grateful is a natural human right to which we are all entitled and not a modern luxury that only a few lucky ones are able to find.
the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.
The significant takeaways for me from this book were:
Plant a "circle of safety" around you, but treating your team members in full essence, so that whatever happens your team will stand with you for all objectives.
Endorphin: the pain-masking chemical; Dopamine: the goal-achieving chemical; Serotonin: the leadership chemical; Oxytocin: the chemical of love. As per the author, these are the chemical responsible for human behavior. This book teaches us the effective management of these chemicals in our body (Simon describes Endorphins and Dopamine. as selfish chemicals and Serotonin and Oxytocin as selfless chemicals.
Always be a long-term leader- All our strategies should aim at the organic and sustainable growth of any organization.[ Something which is hard to find nowadays]
The book is narrated in a storytelling style that keeps everyone who perceives hooked. But I will recommend this book to those who manage people or those who want to be an actual leader. The book is having 350 pages and is available on amazon.
Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist who believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. He discovered remarkable patterns about how the greatest leaders and organizations think, act, and communicate. Simon may be best known for popularizing the concept of WHY in his first TED Talk in 2009. It rose to become the third most-watched on TED.com, with over 40 million views and subtitled in 47 languages. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why (global bestseller), Leaders Eat Last (New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller), Together is Better (New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller), Find Your Why, and The Infinite Game.
My Rating is 4.8 out of 5