People First Leadership: How the Best Leaders Use Culture and Emotion to Drive Unprecedented Results

by Eduardo P Braun

The book that redefines leadership for our time―inspired by personal interviews with Jack Welch, Bill Clinton, George Lucas, Madeleine Albright, Pope Francis, and others . In this insightful book, former director of the World Business Forum, Eduardo Braun, introduces a new vision of The New CEO―someone who puts people, cultures, and emotions first. Through thousands of hours of conversations with world-class leaders, Braun has identified 5 Key Roles leaders can use to inspire people to strive for greater success, and in turn change the world for good. With this refreshingly human approach, you’ll find it easy to integrate the 5 traits into your work and your life. The author shares intimate stories and practical life lessons from CEOs like Jack Welch and Tony Hsieh, who trusted their instincts, followed their passions, and shared their visions with others. Leaders at all levels will learn how to make stronger connections that get better results―and create a culture of inspiration and success.

Genres: Business, Leadership

304 pages, Hardcover

Published October 19, 2016

Reviews

[Florencia Maceratini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic human approach to leadership that can be adopted to everyday life. It puts people and emotions first to achieve excellence in a respectful way while ensuring a high performance culture.

[Kari Olfert · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

People first Leadership is a great top level but also an in the trenches style leadership book. I found the examples outdated (a lot of Clinton quotes and references) and had to double check the release date twice lol (2017). Overall this book is a great read if you're looking to improve your leadership skills and abilities, as the stories reinforce the concepts perfectly.

[Carol Sente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent leadership book that focuses entirely on the “soft variables” within an organization like building a strong culture where people are respected as the most valuable resource. The author argues that the CEO should be the organization’s “Chief Emotions Officer” and lead through emotion, which means fostering a strong culture. He explains that the two pillars of business are strategy and culture, yet while most organizations have a strategic plan, few have a culture plan. And while many CEOs have felt that focusing on strategy and hard functions of the business, for example finance and marketing are the biggest drivers of success, the author argues that focusing on culture can produce exponentially greater success. He spends the bulk of the book talking about the 5 elements that create strong emotions to perform in a company including:
1 - Define and ignite the Vision.
2 - Recruit and take care of People.
3 - Establish systems for people to Communicate.
4 - Design a Decision-Making system that empowers people.
5 - Develop and leverage the appropriate Culture.

Not enough books talk about the very real benefits of culture on an organization’s success. So while this book has some dated examples from past leaders, their legacies remain irrefutable and true principles are timeless.

[Luis Fernando Muñoz Araujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

People should always be first

Excellent book that explains how leadership is about people, vision, communication, culture, decision making and strategy. Lots of good insights that will make you think about how to become a better leader closer to people.