Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

I was very surprised and educated.

There is much more to this book than the philosophy and methods of leading an army. It shows keen insights into basic human psychology. As a school teacher, I found that many of Attila the Hun's insights into the thinking of adult warriors apply very much to children and teens. (This review is based on the 1985 edition). Let's consider some examples. Attila the Hun wrote: "Discipline is not always welcomed by Huns...Discipline never allows deviation from order...Huns seek discipline in their lives." (p. 36). We can realize how this applies to children and teens who, despite all their protestations of parents and teachers being "mean" and "unfair", actually crave discipline. We also see why parents and teachers will be ineffective if they apply discipline inconsistently, and why it is a big mistake for adults to eschew discipline in favor of becoming "buddies" to children and teens. Attila the Hun recognized that too much free time causes problems: "Never allow your Huns too many idle moments. These give rise to the beginnings of discontent." (p. 42). (During the American Revolution, General (later President) George Washington reputedly had his men built a fort, during the winter lull, for no other reason than to keep his men busy so that they would not drift into grumbling.) The modern tendency to praise children for almost anything, all in the name of "self esteem", would not have found favor with Attila the Hun, who wrote: "Never reward a Hun for doing less than is expected of him. Otherwise, he will doubt your sincerity in rewarding appropriate acts and, even worse, expect reward for performing deeds for which you hold no approval." (p. 78).

While this book is over 20 years old, it is a classic read for business professionals who seek more knowledge and different points of views from business books. Leadership skills and ways to improve them are always a "hot topic". This book takes lessons from a great warrior and interprets them into stories that relate to the modern day corporate executive. If you have made it this far in reading my review, take the next step and buy the book! thom

Business is a battle, and while it is no longer accepted to "kill the hun" that is under performing, the advice, when put in the proper perspective is very robust.I recommend reading this book when you are tired of the same wordy, self complimenting "normal" management book that saturates bookstores. This book will take what little you have learned out of those books and help put it into a context that is useful.

It has been a while since I have read this cover to cover, but I find myself, as a USAF officer, constantly referring to the contents of this book for guidance. The simplistic and humorous approach taken by Dr Roberts makes this a fun read and breaks down leadership into simple common sense which most people already know but don't use. Throw away all of those other complicated and over rated books that try to tell you how to get more out of people and just lead them using the information given in this book. Remember LEAD PEOPLE and manage things. It is a great gift for anyone in a leadership position. Enjoy.

I liked this book so much i bought one for all my Huns who could read. Makes me want to take Dogbert out to the woodshed and beat him soundly about the head and shoulders with his top secret management handbook. Alas, poor Babylon, I long for Thee....