Military Leadership

Red teaming. It is a practice as old as the Devil's Advocate, the 11th-century Vatican official charged with discrediting candidates for sainthood. Today, red teams - comprised primarily of fearless skeptics and those assuming the role of saboteurs who seek to better understand the interests, intentions, and capabilities of institutions or potential competitors - are used widely in both the public and private sector.

Civil War historian Earl J. Hess presents a compelling biography of Braxton Bragg, the commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the summer of 1862 to the end of 1863.

This second of three volumes of Patton’s War picks up where the first one left off, examining General George S. Patton’s leadership of the U.S. Third Army. The book follows Patton’s contributions to both the Normandy and Brittany campaigns—the closing of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy, and racing to the port cities in Brittany. It ends with Patton and his corps rescuing the besieged town of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. As he did in the preceding volume, Hymel relies not only on Patton’s diaries and letters, but countless veteran interviews, sur­veys, and memoirs.

In Hope Is not a Method, Sullivan and co-author Colonel Michael Harper tell us how they kept the army well-trained and equipped for traditional functions while preparing it for a wide range of new and complicated missions, all in the midst of a dramatic reduction in both human and financial resources. Their approach is based on continuity and change: maintaining their focus on the army's historic vision and values while introducing new problem-solving techniques and training methods.

Napoleon. Bill Gates. George W. Bush. Osama bin Laden. Leaders and leadership are perennial topics of debate. What is leadership? How does one become a leader? Do we actually need leaders? In this Very Short Introduction, Keith Grint offers provocative answers to these questions, prompting listeners to rethink their assumptions about what leadership is.

The lives of Hannibal and his Roman enemies are the stuff of legend. But these classic stories contain truths with relevance today: The seeds of our successes lie in our failures, and within our successes are the kernels of our failure. Knowing how to recognize these paradoxes will help us to be more effective at work, at school, at home, and with others. A big new idea book that springs from ancient history, Hannibal and Me explores these exciting ideas by analyzing the experiences of Hannibal and others who made their mark on history.

After he was selected to be NATO's 16th Supreme Allied Commander, the New York Times described Jim Stavridis as a "Renaissance admiral." A US Naval Academy graduate with a master's degree and doctorate from Tufts University, conversant in both French and Spanish, this author of numerous books and articles impressed the Navy's leaders and senior Pentagon civilians. The Accidental Admiral offers an intimate look at the challenges of directing NATO operations in Afghanistan, military intervention in Libya, and preparation for possible war in Syria.

With its gripping narrative and relatable takeaways, The Grit Factor is both inspiring and pragmatic, a book that will energize and enlighten current and aspiring leaders everywhere - whether male or female.

For the first time in any modern language, a female scholar and translator reimagines The Art of War. Sun Tzu’s ancient book of strategy and psychology has as much to tell us today as when it was first written 2,500 years ago. In a world forever at odds, his rules for anticipating the motivations and strategies of our competitors never cease to inspire leaders of all kinds.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the fifth century BCE). The work, attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (Sunzi), comprises 13 chapters, each devoted to an aspect of warfare and its application to military tactics and strategy. It contains a detailed analysis of the Chinese military, from weapons and strategy to rank and discipline as well as the importance of intelligence and espionage in war.

What can the military teach all of us about success? Plenty. Col. Mark Bender's Operation Excellence shows how to harness the success strategies of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and apply them to every facet of our lives: wealth and success, business and leadership, health and well-being, personal relationships, and more.

The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show, the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen - Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - to reveal the surprising answer - the politicians. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture.

The 7 Secrets of Neuron Leadership offers a diverse collection of wisdom and practical knowledge to help you build and lead your most effective team yet. Written by a former US Navy diver, this book draws from the author's experiences and beyond to reveal key truths about the nature of teamwork, and expose the core of effective team leadership. You'll go back to ancient Greece to discover the nine personality types and the seven types of love that form the foundation of human interaction, and learn how to use this wisdom as a scaffold for communication within your own team.

The author of the classic best seller Lincoln on Leadership answers the question: How would President Lincoln handle the pressing crises of our modern world? Abraham Lincoln is recognized as one of history's finest leaders, a great president when the United States was under tremendous strain. But suppose he were alive today. How would Lincoln deal with today's high-pressure issues, from politics to business?

Mike Hayes has lived a lifetime of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. He has been held at gunpoint and threatened with execution. He’s jumped out of a building rigged to explode, helped amputate a teammate’s leg, and made countless split-second life-and-death decisions. He’s written countless emails to his family, telling them how much he loves them, just in case those were the last words of his they’d ever read. Outside of the SEALs, he’s run meetings in the White House Situation Room, negotiated international arms treaties, and developed high-impact corporate strategies.

Every year, about a quarter of a million veterans leave the military - most of whom are grossly unprepared for the transition. These service members have developed incredible leadership, problem-solving, and practical skills that are underutilized once they reach the civilian world, a detriment to both themselves and society. Mission Transition guides military personnel through the entire process of making a successful move into civilian professional life.

In Lead Like Ike, business journalist and communications guru Geoff Loftus explores 10 essential business strategies leaders can glean from Ike's role as a commander overseeing the Normandy invasion. Weaving a fly on-the-wall narrative from Ike's perspective, Loftus sweeps listeners into a gripping story that honors the sacrifice of all who fought and died on D-Day and explores the prevailing significance of fundamental leadership principles often forgotten by managers, like listen to your people, set your vision, be consistent about your message, and let your managers manage.

The 7 Secrets of Neuron Leadership offers a diverse collection of wisdom and practical knowledge to help you build and lead your most effective team yet. Written by a former US Navy diver, this book draws from the author's experiences and beyond to reveal key truths about the nature of teamwork, and expose the core of effective team leadership. You'll go back to ancient Greece to discover the nine personality types and the seven types of love that form the foundation of human interaction, and learn how to use this wisdom as a scaffold for communication within your own team.

When Donovan Campbell's platoon deployed to Ramadi in the spring of 2004, they believed they'd be spending most of their time building schools, training police, and making friends with the citizens. But shortly after arriving, when Campbell awoke to the chilling cry of "Jihad, Jihad, Jihad!" echoing from minaret to minaret across the city, he knew they had an altogether different situation on their hands.

Robert E. Lee scholar H. W. Crocker III is an esteemed Civil War historian. Skillfully summarizing Lee’s life, Crocker clearly extracts leadership lessons from the storied career of the South’s beloved leader and applies them to today’s business worldUnder General Lee’s management, a rag-tag army of poor farmers—vastly outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and under-fed—consistently routed Union troops. Brilliantly seizing strategic opportunities, Lee stunned his foes and inspired his soldiers. He was decisive, focused, and humble.