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(More customer reviews)In keeping with one of the themes of this book -- being big about small things -- I feel a need to be completely honest about four things: (1) Evan Offstein is a friend of mine, (2) if Evan Offstein hadn't been a friend of mine, I'm not sure I would have made it into the heart of the book, (3) if I hadn't made it into the heart of the book, I would not have had the opportunity of being deeply challenged about some tendencies in my own leadership style that probably needed to be challenged, and (4) if I hadn't had the opportunity of being deeply challenged, I wouldn't have grown. I did get into the heart of the book, I was deeply challenged . . . and I did grow.
There are two reasons why I almost didn't make it into the heart of the book. I found myself, first of all, struck by the degree to which Offstein sounds, at the beginning of the book, as if West Point is the greatest institution that has ever existed. Offstein is talking in this book about the importance of honor in leadership, and offers example after example of how West Point models and promotes a kind of honor that Offstein wants to commend to a wider world. In so doing, he sometimes sounds like a poster child for West Point, such as when (in the first chapter) he describes West Point as standing both geographically and methaphorically "on high ground." I came to learn, later on in the book, about the ethical standards at West Point, about the West Point Code of Honor, about the "Spirit of the Code," and about West Point's "Three Rules of Thumb" -- all of which illustrate the picture of the "high ground" that Offstein paints in the first chapter. In the heart of the book, he offers example after example of how these values are put into actual practice at West Point, in some truly impressive ways. But when I read the first chapter, and heard about this metaphorical "high ground" that West Point sits on, I wasn't convinced. I became convinced later on.
The second reason why I almost didn't make it into the heart of the book was because I also found myself struck by Offstein's fairly critical comments about leadership books, seminars, and pundits. Offstein suggests, for example, that the pundits "are emphasizing motivation rather than morals" and "communication rather than conscience" and "influencing others instead of integrity." He also states that "most leadership books propose quick fixes to serious and complex problems." I haven't canvassed the literature the way Offstein has (he has canvassed over 140 leadership books published over the last 20 years!), but the handful of leadership books I have found myself reading and wanting to digest don't fall into those categories. (Maybe that's because I just happen to be reading the good ones!) The tone of these comments sounded a tad on the arrogant side, as if Offstein was saying, "all those other books are wrong, and I'm right." I found that off-putting.
So by the time I had finished the introduction and the first chapter, I was feeling somewhat skeptical -- despite some tantalizing hints of good things to come. But then -- somewhere around page 28 or 29 -- the book really started to come alive for me.
The heart of Offstein's book is a wholesale proposal for leaders to not only act with honor (and, I would add, integrity), but to be people of honor (and integrity) in every facet of their lives. Offstein boldly discusses the ways in which we (dishonorably) tend to rationalize less-than-honorable actions. He points to the West Point Code of Honor ("A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do") as the "backbone" of a character-building program that West Point promotes which is intended to create (and, apparently, succeeds in creating) leaders with honor. This, Offstein argues, is what is desperately missing in our contemporary culture: leaders with honor. Offstein utilizes a seemingly endless supply of examples and anecdotes to demonstrate how the "backbone" is fleshed out in a wide variety of situations. The results, I must say, are truly impressive.
Personally, I found the central chapters in the book to be deeply challenging. Offstein presses his points firmly and aggressively. If other readers are anything like me, they will find their own honor being tested (and, hopefully, refined) through the process of reading this book. There came a point at which Offstein's comments struck home. Instead of thinking about leadership in general, I found myself suddenly thinking about me. I found myself wondering about specific behavior practices that I engage in, both consciously and unconsciously. I found myself wondering to what degree I truly seek the high ground to the extent that I could. I discovered, in the process, that I have a ways to go in my own efforts to lead with integrity.
Offstein writes in the preface about what a humbling experience it was to write this book. "In the writing of this book," he says, "I was slowly becoming a subject matter expert in the field of honorable leadership while simultaneously coming to grips with my own limitations as a leader." He says, "there have been times, quite frankly, that I missed the mark, meaning that I've not always led from the high ground. . . . Very plainly, while I'm on the right track to reach the high ground, when I look in the mirror, I still realize that I've got a ways to go. The journey, as it is for many, is on-going." The beauty of Offstein's book is that it, itself, serves as a mirror for the reader who seeks to lead honorably. It provides something of a "measuring stick" by which the rest of us are invited (encouraged? forced?) to take a good, hard look at ourselves, and at the degree to which we actually lead with honor. This book did that for me -- and a clear result is a renewed commitment on my part to make a more diligent effort to secure the high ground.
Thank you, Evan. I needed this book. And I think the world does too.
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