John F. Kennedy on Leadership: The Lessons and Legacy of a President

I hate reacting to another post but to say that the VERY Irish JFK turned to Winston Churchill as spiritual father is a tale from another planet. It's like saying Oliver Cromwell inspired James Joyce (well, actually the EFFECTS of Cromwell's genocide inspired Joyce's suppressed rancor). Read JFK's Why England Slept? to find how he forever incurred ultimately fatal British enmity. Read the speeches in Ireland a few months before his murder by British intelligence services. That poster daring to breathe W in the same sentence as JFK recalls what this book most clearly delineates and contrasts with current commanders: JFK's brilliant and sharp intelligence and leadership and how we may apply that today. Simply replay the JFK Inaugural and ANYTHING since. THe greatest speech you will never hear is the Second JFK Inaugural. La lucha sigue! I realize this is no BLOG, but come on already!

This is a fascinating work of history as well as a superb business book. Among other accomplishments John Barnes reveals that JFK - who seems to us today to have been a natural-born political star - began his career as 'an awkward, self-conscous young man' who actually looked too youthful to impress prospective voters. His extraordinary charisma was in fact the product of an astonishing process of self-invention, one that required an enormous amount of work by Kennedy and those around him. He consciously made himself into the first 'movie-star president' and he did it after discovering through his own Hollywood contacts that many cinema stars had been formed out of materials rather less promising than his own. A former political speechwriter and columnist, Barnes' chapters on communications and speechwriting are especially good. Those who seek success cannot do better than by studying the efforts of those who have succeeded -- and this book is packed with valuable lessons for anyone interested in business and politics.

In the 40-plus years since John F. Kennedy's assassination, many people have forgotten how far American politicians have come in their public personas. Every candidate tries to use the media, savvy advisers, staged events and a winning personality to develop an authentic, vote-getting public voice. Kennedy was the first president to master these essential political tools. This made him one of America's most popular presidents, as well as a celebrity. Kennedy's political personality was so strong that it virtually transformed the presidency. In this rich historical and personal story, author John A. Barnes does a great job of showing how Kennedy operated. JFK was enmeshed in pivotal events and each circumstance tested his ability to lead. Barnes clearly presents Kennedy's triumphs and shortcomings as well as his formula for successful leadership. We recommend this to aspiring and current leaders, and to those interested in history - or in politics the way it used to be.

This is a really thought-provoking work. Just when you thought there could be nothing new to say about JFK, here's a really well-written & intelligent new take on JFK, which is somewhat different from the conventional. He emphasizes the role of Churchill as JFK's role model and mentor. (Interestingly, they never met.) Actually, like George W. Bush, JFK had a "father" problem. Just as George W. had to effectively "divorce" himself from his father's political legacy and become the political foster son of Ronald Reagan, so did JFK. Joe Sr.'s money was indispensable to Kennedy's political success, but it came with some seriously heavy baggage. (Appeaser, anti-Semite, etc.) So Kennedy had to "divorce" his actual father and "adopt" a "political" father: Winston S. Churchill. (For a decade after 1940, the navy blue pinstripe suit JFK had made in imitation of Churchill's was the only suit Kennedy owned.)

This is perhaps one of the best books I've read on leadership. Of course I always like learning a little history along with some business skills, which makes this particularly appealing (having not been around for the Kennedy years in person). The book takes us through the Kennedy years and shows how JFK changed the rules of compaigning, challenged tradition, turned weaknesses into strengths, worked positively with the media, wrote speeches that reached his audience, and crafted a particular image. At the end of each chapter is a summary of lessons to be learned if you want to do the same. For anyone doing anything entrepreneurial, political and otherwise high-profile, this is a very useful guide for building a following.