Failures of Leadership: History's Worst Rulers and How Their People Suffered For It

by Frederick Parker

Bad leaders never learn from their mistakes. Better leaders learn from their mistakes. But the best leaders learn from the mistakes of others, so they do not make them themselves.This exciting new book from historian and entrepreneur Frederick Parker looks at the 20 worst failures of leadership in history and the consequences it meant for those under their rule. Through these entertaining historical snapshots, you will learn about their failures so that you can avoid similar pitfalls on your path to success. This book is useful for business executives, managers, and any other type of organizational leader. You will learn about...- Emperor Caligula letting Rome fall into civil war for spending more time inviting his horse to dinner and appointing him senator then tending to the matters of the state- Sultan Ibrahim I almost bankrupting the Ottoman Empire with his plans to decorate the palace in expensive furs- Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, an organizational disaster in which he ordered that all harvested crops go to the cities before the villages, resulting in tens of millions of peasants starvingStories from the lives of these three historical figures and 17 others fill this book. Learn about how they failed their people so spectacularly and what we can learn from their negative examples about successful leadership.

Genres: History, Leadership

116 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ross Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fredrick Parker's informal book about the 20 worst leaders in history describes everything from the leaders birth to the leaders death, without having unnecessary information. He has all of the important information that may have something to do with their lack of leadership. The book is very elegant and well written and successfully captures a central idea of what all of these leaders have in common.

Right from the start, Parker is comparing all of the characteristics of the leaders in the introduction. He claims that the two qualities of a terrible leader are brutality and insanity. Almost every leader in this book had mental issues during their reign, which effected how they handled punishments. An example of this is Henry VIII (found in chapter 10). Henry VIII had many wives, many which he executed after divorce because of his mental illness. He had over 72,000 people beheaded for reasons such as rumors of treason, even if they were false. He did not want anything to come between him and the throne.

This book was exceptionally written for people of all ages. Parker describes the most important aspects of these leaders and why they were so insane and brutal.

Rating: 5/5

[Debbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and concise

Quick read, enjoyed the author's quips. Really tho? 18 words required for this book? Wait .. what 6 more words required for this book .. come on guys .. it was a quick okay read .. jeez

[Andy Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy to read accounts of some of the worst leaders of all time... Ruthless, selfish and crazy...