(Disclaimer: I received this book as a promotional deal with Thomas Nelson. I do have full liberty regarding the content of my review post).
I finished Dr. Tim Irwin’s new book, Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures in Leadership, recently. I LOVED reading this book. I love Irwin’s focus on and description of the character necessary to lead effectively in times like these.
Irwin describes the derailment of six different corporate leaders: Carly Fiorina at HP, Robert Nardelli at Home Depot, Durk Jager at Procter & Gamble, Steven Heyer at Starwood Hotels, Frank Raines at Fannie Mae, and Dick Fuld at Lehman Brothers. These profiles functioned as mini-biographies, full of intrigue, along with unbelievable and incredulous details about prominent and wealthy executives whose character lapses led to their dismissal at these corporate giants of America.
After chronicling the rise and fall of these leaders, Irwin describes the common features that these leaders lacked that led to their derailment – authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage.
He also shares five critical lessons he learned through this process:
1. Character trumps competence
2. Arrogance is the mother of all derailers
3. Lack of self-/other-awareness is a common denominator of all derailments.
4. We are always who we are - especially under stress
5. Derailment is not inevitable, but without attention to development, it is probable.
Finally, Irwin shares five critical habits of the heart – more like disciplines – that enable the leader to stay on track – openess, authenticity, self-/other-awareness, listening to early warning systems, and resiliency.
Irwin is a follower of Jesus, but he was not overbearing or cliched in his writing. This book is a relevant read for any person who is responsible for managing, overseeing, or leading others. The mix of case study, anecdotes, and principles were a nice blend and the book stayed tight and pointed, coming in at just under 200 pages. I heartily recommend adding this to your stack for the first part of 2010.
