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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (25th Anniversary Edition): Follow Them and People Will Follow You
The Best-Selling Leadership Book of All Time Just Got Better! HarperCollins and John C. Maxwell are celebrating the milestone anniversary of Maxwell's New York Times bestselling book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership with the publication of a new revised and updated 25th Anniversary Edition. Maxwell has gone through every word of this book and updated it for the next generation of leaders. He has added new insights to these timeless laws and included lessons learned since he originally wrote the book. He removed dated stories and replaced them with fresh ones that apply to today's world of business. What Maxwell didn't change are the powerful leadership truths that have been helping people become better leaders for the last quarter century. This is still the best book on leadership people can buy, whether they want to learn leadership on their own, develop as leaders in a group, or teach leadership to others as a mentor. Readers new to Maxwell, as well as lifelong fans will want to get this new edition of the leadership book that has sold millions of copies in the United States and around the world.
- GenresLeadership
1 pages, Audio CD
Published May 4, 2022
12 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
John C. Maxwell
998 books5,843 followersJohn Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Some of his books have been on the New York Times Best Seller List.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 13, 2024
Mixed feelings about this; content is not bad but disliked the Author's approach and style
This is the 25th Anniversary edition of John C. Maxwell's classic leadership guide, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership--revised and updated in 2022. I read this because, as a former Army Officer, Progam Manager, and Church Leader, I have participated in a lot of leadership and management programs, and read quite a few books on the subject.
This book is well-written and often challenging. I found some good material to chew on. Many of the examples are inspiring and the leadership anecdotes are interesting.
But it's overrated as a leadership manual. It might motivate but it won't do much to help nascent leaders better do their job.
The title is a bit bold: Irrefutable is a word meant to declare what? That you can't disagree with the premises and conclusions of the 21 laws identified here, apparently. John C. Maxwell left out the Law of Communication, i.e. you need to clearly define your goals and objectives to those you lead. And the Law of Flexibility, a military idea that the best plans don't survive contact with the enemy. And I am not so sure I agree with all of the "Irrefutable Laws" in this book.
In the Law of Magnetism, Maxwell writes that you attract what you are. This is weird coming from a former church pastor. In the church, you need to attract all kinds of people, including those different than you. And in the military and most other jobs, you are stuck with the people you are assigned to lead. You don't get to influence recruiting. SIGH
This is why I have a problem with this book.
Again, there is some good stuff here, and you SHOULD read authors who challenge your thinking, style or approach regarding things like leadership.
But much of Maxwell's leadership lessons are based on his experience running companies that basically promote him, his books, and his speaking engagements. Very much NOT the kind of leadership arena most of us will find ourselves in.
Because John C. Maxwell has such a cult-like following, anyone who has read his books tends to gush about him. But I can't buy it. If you work in a factory, in retail, in first responder or military organizations, or a small, local church, you might enjoy this book and gain some insights, but a lot of it will not pertain.
I think my problem is more with his style.
John C. Maxwell says he lives to develop leaders. He left the ministry to pursue public speaking, training and writing about leadership. His companies promote his public speaking, books, and the seminars run by his John Maxwell Certified Trainers. The cost of the John Maxwell certification program is between $4,000 and $6,000 (not including travel to the live event) and he makes $100,000 to $200,000 per speaking engagement. That in itself says a lot about Maxwell and his target audience.
As a result, this revised version of his classic is meant to appeal to the widest reading audience possible. Which makes it a celebrity anecdote-fest. It's designed to appeal to people who like American success stories and look up to successful motivational speakers who spout fluff that never deals with the nitty-gritty of leadership problems faced by those in the trenches. And any book on leadership that drops little pandering lines about BLM or paens of affection to Mother Theresa may make some readers feel all gooey inside but it's weak material for a leadership manual.
Motivational speaking is what Maxwell is really about. But you can't develop leaders with just public speaking, books or classroom. Leadership development is based on realtionships. In the church it's called discipleship, in the military it's called mentoring, and in much of the other arenas of leadership, it is not done at all. Instead, people are sent to seminars to hear motivational speakers, buy their books and enroll in their seminar. And as John C. Maxwell candidly admits while describing his attempts to develop leaders in the Third World, he had to come up with a new training program after returning to places where his regular program had been run previously only to discover among his previous trainees that most of them had failed to accomplish anything with their previous training! In other words, it wasn't attracting people who wanted to lead, only those who wanted to take a course on "self-improvement."
There is a foreword written by Stephen Covey, another writer/motivational speaker that traffics in similar material. This only adds to my conspiracy theory that these sorts of books appeal mostly to people who like motivational speakers, or who enjoy anecdotes told about other successful people. Not by people who are trying to learn to lead the shift crew they were just promoted to supervise at the aircraft factory where they work.
If you love this kind of stuff, go ahead and read it. But I doubt I'll pick up anything more by John C. Maxwell.
This is the 25th Anniversary edition of John C. Maxwell's classic leadership guide, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership--revised and updated in 2022. I read this because, as a former Army Officer, Progam Manager, and Church Leader, I have participated in a lot of leadership and management programs, and read quite a few books on the subject.
This book is well-written and often challenging. I found some good material to chew on. Many of the examples are inspiring and the leadership anecdotes are interesting.
But it's overrated as a leadership manual. It might motivate but it won't do much to help nascent leaders better do their job.
The title is a bit bold: Irrefutable is a word meant to declare what? That you can't disagree with the premises and conclusions of the 21 laws identified here, apparently. John C. Maxwell left out the Law of Communication, i.e. you need to clearly define your goals and objectives to those you lead. And the Law of Flexibility, a military idea that the best plans don't survive contact with the enemy. And I am not so sure I agree with all of the "Irrefutable Laws" in this book.
In the Law of Magnetism, Maxwell writes that you attract what you are. This is weird coming from a former church pastor. In the church, you need to attract all kinds of people, including those different than you. And in the military and most other jobs, you are stuck with the people you are assigned to lead. You don't get to influence recruiting. SIGH
This is why I have a problem with this book.
Again, there is some good stuff here, and you SHOULD read authors who challenge your thinking, style or approach regarding things like leadership.
But much of Maxwell's leadership lessons are based on his experience running companies that basically promote him, his books, and his speaking engagements. Very much NOT the kind of leadership arena most of us will find ourselves in.
Because John C. Maxwell has such a cult-like following, anyone who has read his books tends to gush about him. But I can't buy it. If you work in a factory, in retail, in first responder or military organizations, or a small, local church, you might enjoy this book and gain some insights, but a lot of it will not pertain.
I think my problem is more with his style.
John C. Maxwell says he lives to develop leaders. He left the ministry to pursue public speaking, training and writing about leadership. His companies promote his public speaking, books, and the seminars run by his John Maxwell Certified Trainers. The cost of the John Maxwell certification program is between $4,000 and $6,000 (not including travel to the live event) and he makes $100,000 to $200,000 per speaking engagement. That in itself says a lot about Maxwell and his target audience.
As a result, this revised version of his classic is meant to appeal to the widest reading audience possible. Which makes it a celebrity anecdote-fest. It's designed to appeal to people who like American success stories and look up to successful motivational speakers who spout fluff that never deals with the nitty-gritty of leadership problems faced by those in the trenches. And any book on leadership that drops little pandering lines about BLM or paens of affection to Mother Theresa may make some readers feel all gooey inside but it's weak material for a leadership manual.
Motivational speaking is what Maxwell is really about. But you can't develop leaders with just public speaking, books or classroom. Leadership development is based on realtionships. In the church it's called discipleship, in the military it's called mentoring, and in much of the other arenas of leadership, it is not done at all. Instead, people are sent to seminars to hear motivational speakers, buy their books and enroll in their seminar. And as John C. Maxwell candidly admits while describing his attempts to develop leaders in the Third World, he had to come up with a new training program after returning to places where his regular program had been run previously only to discover among his previous trainees that most of them had failed to accomplish anything with their previous training! In other words, it wasn't attracting people who wanted to lead, only those who wanted to take a course on "self-improvement."
There is a foreword written by Stephen Covey, another writer/motivational speaker that traffics in similar material. This only adds to my conspiracy theory that these sorts of books appeal mostly to people who like motivational speakers, or who enjoy anecdotes told about other successful people. Not by people who are trying to learn to lead the shift crew they were just promoted to supervise at the aircraft factory where they work.
If you love this kind of stuff, go ahead and read it. But I doubt I'll pick up anything more by John C. Maxwell.
September 23, 2024
The 25th Anniversary Edition of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell was published in 2022. Adding new insights into these laws that have helped shape leaders for decades, the reader will find updated stories and special audiobook only content as they develop their leadership skills.
I've always found Maxwell's words inspiring, and this book is no different. His value-based leadership style resonates with me. Though I find it hard to appreciate a book like this fully when listening to it instead of having a paperback copy to earmark, Maxwell clearly outlines each law and explains it in depth.
This is not the first revision of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, but based on Maxwell's engaging introduction, he learns new things in the years that pass between editions, and he enjoys refining the laws despite how timeless they truly are.
If you are a leader or aiming to be a leader, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a must read. The discussion questions will get you thinking, and learning more about these laws will empower your leadership journey.
I've always found Maxwell's words inspiring, and this book is no different. His value-based leadership style resonates with me. Though I find it hard to appreciate a book like this fully when listening to it instead of having a paperback copy to earmark, Maxwell clearly outlines each law and explains it in depth.
This is not the first revision of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, but based on Maxwell's engaging introduction, he learns new things in the years that pass between editions, and he enjoys refining the laws despite how timeless they truly are.
If you are a leader or aiming to be a leader, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a must read. The discussion questions will get you thinking, and learning more about these laws will empower your leadership journey.
Read
August 4, 2025This book has helped me identify gaps in my leadership, my strengths and weaknesses. I'm now approaching leadership with confidence, and the things I used to wonder how people handle, or how they come innately to certain people, I've learned and already applying them. Some laws, I was already implementing them but didn't have a term for them, now I understand them, and I'm intentional with how I approach leadership from now on. It's been a great experience reading The 21 Laws of Leadership. Thank you, John!
December 1, 2025
I have read a ton of leadership and business books. It is rare that I find one with so much new and relevant insights as this one. I loved this book from start to finish, not only the philosophies in the 21 laws but also the examples and suggestions. I found it very inspirational and I believe the learnings from this book will help me in the next phase of my career to maximize my success and fulfillment. One of the best books I’ve read all year hands down.
October 16, 2025
Get the updated and revised 25th anniversary edition, 2022. I think this is an excellent book on Leadership that we could all learn from. Well worth re-reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews