Do Lead: Share your vision. Inspire others. Achieve the impossible. (Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship Book, Gift for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and College Graduates)

by Les McKeown

For those who dream of starting their own company, influencing decision-making, or expertly managing a team, here is an easy-to-follow guide to all aspects of leadership. Author Les McKeown draws on his decades of experience as a CEO and leadership consultant to deliver expert advice on what it takes to be a visionary leader, blending practical advice with illuminating examples from a range of industries. Encouraging and empowering, Do Lead is an essential tool on the path to becoming a great leader.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Self Help, Personal Development

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Les McKeown is the president and CEO of Predictable Success. Les has launched and managed over forty businesses and is the cofounder of an incubation company that helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch businesses employing thousands worldwide. Since moving to the United States in 1999, Les has helped founder-owners, CEOs, C-level executives, and their teams identify and eliminate personal and organizational barriers to growth.

Les lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his wife and two dogs, and receives occasional care packages from his three children.

Contact Les at Lesm@predictablesuccess.com and read more at Predictablesuccess.com

Reviews

[Luca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part of a series of books published by the Do Book Co, which is an independent publishing house that publishes books by speakers of Do Lectures. All of the books intend to spark positive change, and are all fairly short, because Do Book Co keeps the focus on doing rather than the theory behind it.

Do lead is about leadership. In this book Les McKeown defines leadership as “helping any group of two or more people achieve their common goals”. He elaborates a bit on different leadership styles, how to recognize good leadership, leadership skills and how to overcome failure. It is brief, and definitely not all encompassing, but it has a few useful insights and it gets you excited for more. And if you would ask me, that is exactly the job this book was meant to do.

[Dali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is amongst the books that you can't just read and move on to the next. It is a little guide that you will go back to it every once in a while to review and get direction. It helps you asking the right questions and give you answers and encourage you to think more about your own answers. I was afraid in the beginning that this would be a book with too many stories and not much of anything else. It wasn't and I'm grateful for that.

[Adam Whiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I was impressed with Do Lead. I found that it was a quick page turner and with only 100 pages managed to finish it within a couple of hours.

It opened lots of ideas and notions I hadn’t considered and got my brain going on tangents about ways do describe leadership and to understand my own personal leadership style. I understand better now what it means and how I can lead from the front and from within for now and in the future - when it matters most.

I would certainly reccomend!

[Tomas Milasauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Distilled and example based pearls of wisdom on leadership. Very nice guide on main leadership types and how to apply them in real situations.

[Jolita · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Do Lead” by Les McKeown falls short in providing the necessary depth and comprehensive exploration of leadership principles. While there may be some value in certain chapters, the book as a whole pales in comparison to classic works on leadership. For those looking to truly enhance their leadership skills, turning to established authors like Dale Carnegie and John C. Maxwell would be a more rewarding choice.

[Mike Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Leadership is almost always an un-glorious, mundane activity.” One of my favorite leadership books, McKeown’s challenge to lead by removing barriers and adding value in addition to his Leadership Types (Visionary, Operator, Professor & Synergist) continues to challenge me as well as inform the structure of my teams. Tremendously helpful brief book on leadership.

[Read More · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly written, practical book. Les McKeown demystifies leadership the way that makes you want start practicing it immediately.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun little book on leadership is readable in just a few hours and packs a large amount of wisdom within it. It is engaging in many ways, including narratives, a charming writing style, illustrations and web-based supplements. Perhaps my favorite element of the book is the link to the quiz on leadership types, which I forwarded to my office staff as a team-building exercise. McKeown's experience in many sectors of leadership and renown as a speaker and writer gives him a ton of credibility in this present enterprise. However, that is also this book's shortfall. McKeown does not appear to lean on any research other than his own experience. His arguments would be bolstered if he had backed up his claims by at least quoting other noted leadership gurus, if not providing hard data. For instance, the reader has no indications about where the leadership types come from outside of McKeown's own experience. Also, another quibble kept rearing its head as I read. One of the foundations of this book is that anyone can lead. Yet he also notes several times qualities important in leaders that are innate to the person (i.e., communication skills, the "synergist" leadership style, etc.). So on this point, he seems to talk about of both sides of his mouth. But in sum, it's worth a read, especially for the time it takes.

[Jim Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lot of business books, while reading this I tended to feel like I was being lectured on things that mostly appeared to be common sense, but there are a few gems and noteworthy takeaways here, it's very concisely written, and doesn't ramble-so I would recommend it to anyone moving into a leadership role or trying to figure out how to be a better leader. It's a short and easily digestible read, why not?

When I took the leadership test I was surprised to discover that I leaned more towards visionary than anything else, and operator a fair distance behind. Having spent over a decade in the trenches as a code slinger I rather assumed I would identify as pure operator. Not so, it seems. I had to take the test a couple more times to check I hadn't made an error. You may be similarly surprised. Give it a try.

This seems like a book to keep within reach as you lead your team towards a milestone, hit a roadblock or face some kind of failure. It's easy enough to scan through and pick out the parts that will be relevant again at a point in time after you've read through it all once.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good refresher of some leadership techniques and beliefs. Easy to consume, and worth a couple of hours if you haven't embarked on the topic before. Also good as a reminder.

I particularly liked the section on different leadership styles of visionary, processor, operator and synergistic. A little self awareness is a good thing as farr too many of us think that our style is the only style, and that our path is the only path to success. Specifically, those who have been successful in the past.

[André Bernhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels quite generic - not convinced - sadly.

ps.: Check out the free ressources here to get a glimpse whether it works for you: https://predictablesuccess.com/do-lea...

pps.: Do not take the quiz - final results are hidden behind a mask fishing for your emails address. Publisher do not do this. I paid for the book and if you offer something in there, I expect it accessible for free. Otherwise do not offer it, because I feel used afterwards.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting. Good book to get you excited about leadership in a short amount of time. It's a shame the links in the book didn't work but I'm not sure how old it is now. There is a part which talks about different leadership types which I found useful and also the ending was quite inspiring to get you going.

[Thiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical and easy reading. Perfect for whoever is on the go. I liked the fact that it offered quizzes and external readings, though if you want all info in more depth then you might be able to find it in other books, though it's a very good starting point for whoever is starting and a refreshing knowledge for current leaders.

[Lovebell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend to everyone to pick it up and read it. If nothing else, I think it prompts you to self reflect. It’s an easy read (I finished it in one sitting) but the ideas by no means simple or easy to execute and I think one will constantly come back to it as a guide in our personal journey of leadership.

[Noëlle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise but incredibly powerful. Actually gave me a lot of insight in my natural talents and that I should do something with them. One of those ‘eye-opening’ books for me personally. Came at the perfect time.

[Jarkko Laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read and call to action to encourage people to lead. There were also some good insight in very distilled form to remind us about what good leadership is about.

I really liked the framing of leadership as helping a group of two or more people achieve its common goal.

[Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do Lead is not bad, it shares wisdom from the authors consulting experience in business ; but I’d skip this one. This 2014 book felt largely out of sync for 2022. I found the book discounted a lot perspectives of leadership and was a bit dogmatic in its effort to be concise and stylish.

[Bailey M · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad made me read this book. It talks a lot about leadership, and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it is very hard for me to stay focused on this kind of vague, abstract writing without a story attached.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary but a bit short!

[Charlotte Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Motivating overview.

[Andrew Pribram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Do not think it delivers on promise on cover. This is for people who need to step into leadership. Not for people doing it but needing coaching.

[Gaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, and short. A few simple, digestible tools for thinking about leadership.

[Adam Sojka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the format and the shortness of the book. Author breafly explains his own method of leader typologi which can help you indentify your strengths and weaknessess.

[Riccardo Richiardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small book, powerful message. 10/10

[Joseph McBee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book for first time managers or those who would like to transition into a leadership role.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon finishing a mind numbing book club book, I needed to read a book that engaged my mind. I picked up Do Lead and encountered an inspirational, engaging and thought provoking view of leadership. Do Lead was just what I needed. Accessible and actionable, I highly recommend this leadership book. It reinforces without a doubt that leadership is for everyone. You don't need to be larger than life or have a title......Do. Lead.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read with clear points of action. The best kind of leadership book.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great practical no nonsense guide to leadership