Lee on Leadership

Al Kaltman has assembled an interesting and refreshing book about issues General Lee faced during his entire life. More of the documented letters featuring opinions and Lee offered others during his military adventures through Mexico and the Civil War are intriguing. Kaltman takes Lee's approach to subjects on managing people or conflicts and offers advice on how to handle similar circumstances in business and personal life situations. This book is rather a quick read as topics such as preparing one's self, taking command, continuous improvement and the winning image are just a few of many that are featured. This book is one you can jump from chapter to chapter on and not read from start to finish if you wanted as it deals with leadership approaches for various subjects. This book I recommend to anyone involved in business be it a salesperson or manager looking to better themselves with great thought. Also it can be a book one could keep with them at work as a helpful guide to reflect back on for insight on how to deal with situations that arise. Lee's style of handling issues is usually the correct and friendly non-confrontational approach which many could benefit from reading. On another side of this great book, Lee's failures or mistakes are also covered and Lee offers his thoughts on how he should have handled things differently.

Obviously, Kaltman found in Lee's management strategies and tactics relevance to the contemporary business world. The book's subtitle reveals Kaltman's primary theme: "Leadership lessons for the outgunned, outnumbered, and underfinanced." That is probably true of almost all of the companies now struggling to survive. The material is carefully organized within 11 chapters which correspond in chronological sequence with the various stages of Lee's career. Kaltman has identified 260 specific "Lessons" each of which he summarizes within an appropriate context and is accompanied by a Lee quotation, followed by a brief "Advice" mini-commentary. Unlike so many other books which purport to draw such correlations between the battlefield and the marketplace (e.g. The Military Genius of Daffy Duck), this one is sensible. Granted, many of the "Lessons" are rather obvious and much of the "Advice" is somewhat simplistic. However, the content is quite substantial. I think this would be an excellent gift for someone about to begin or who has only recently begun a business career. Here are Kaltman's concluding comments: "Robert E. Lee led armies in battle, helped reconcile a people to their defeat, and built a great educational institution. Lee never worried about his legacy; he focused on the job at hand. He believed that our legacy is the work we do to improve the human condition and bring about better times: "We may not see them but our children will, and we will live over again in them." You may also wish to check out Kaltman's Cigars, Whiskey & Winning: Leadership Lessons from Ulysses S. Grant, Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership, and Hilton's Leadership Lessons from Robert E. Lee: Tips, Tactics, and Strategies for Leaders and Managers.

I never read a book in this style before. It is not a history of Lee, but a list of lessons illustrated by events in his career.The lessons are laid out chronologically in Lee's career. They highlight as much about his strengths as his weaknesses. More importantly for me, they give an insight into the Civil War that is uniquely from the perspective of General Lee.This is a book that can appeal to Civil War readers, or it can appeal to those interested in Management.It is an easy read, I like the style, and it is a book that you can stop and start as you like. No need to plough through it all in one go.

Al Kaltman has done us a great favor by writing, "The Genius of Robert E. Lee." His subtitle grabbed my attention immediately, "Leadership Lessons for the Outgunned, Outnumbered, and Underfinanced." Kaltman divides his work on leadership based on the chronology of Lee's life giving the reader 260 brief vignettes delving into the personal and professional life of this great American. The 260 entries gives the busy reader a kind-of "daily devotional" Monday through Friday for all 52 weeks of a single year. Also helpful is Kaltman's use of putting Lee's actual words in italics in each entry. The index at the conclusion of the work is also a helpful feature for quick and easy subject referencing. Kaltman brings a wealth of information together smoothly, from the idiosyncrasies of the man, and the historial events of the time, to the present day realities of leadership and management in the workplace. Students of Lee, Civil War enthusiasts, and the corporate leaders of today's business environment can all benefit from delving into Kaltman's treasure chest of thoughts, ideas, and principles gleaned from the fasinating life of this great man in history. For anyone who's ever felt like they were outgunned in life, or outnumbered in the cut-throat competition of the 21st century business world, Kaltman's work will introduce you to the genius of a man who was overwhelmed militarily, but who was never conquered in life or in the lasting legacy of leadership that he left to us all.