No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You

by Chris Hirst

"A brilliant set of leadership tools that will help you succeed whatever your goal" - Sir Clive Woodward Leadership is not some special club, open only to elites. It's not a gold star given to those with fancy titles and expensive degrees. Leadership is what we all try to do every day. Based on the author's hard-won experience, this smart, fun book delivers a step-by-step working manual on how to lead - for anyone. Full of simple and direct approaches, it demystifies an over-analysed subject to get to the heart of modern the life-changing, career-transforming power to get stuff done . These principles and actionable steps apply to every field, from small businesses to community initiatives, from schools to sports teams to global enterprises. You'll emerge with a clear understanding of culture and its importance, of how to confidently make decisions, and how to create teams that outperform the competition. Ultimately, you'll find that we can all be leaders, we just need to get on with it.

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

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2019

Reviews

[Mihir Gandecha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read this

[Anwar]

My summary:

No-bullshit leadership is all about keeping things simple.

1) Where are you and your organization at right now? What challenges are you currently facing?

2) Where do you want to go? Don’t get stuck in vague mission statements or a “vision” statement – these are time-wasting, bullshit approaches to leadership.

But leadership is about doing, not talking about it. Avoid endless pointless meetings where different strategies are discussed. Convince your team that "a hill is worth climbing".

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deserving winner of the best business book award. Written in a simple conversational tone. Tons of examples. Practical suggestions. Leadership is difficult but not complicated. Pretty much a must read for any aspiring leader.

[SS · Rating 4 out of 5]

The approach to leadership in this book resonated strongly for me and its concise manner, without copious amounts of examples/author's personal journey stories, made it a great read.

Some later parts of the book became a little sticky and not as relatable but overall nuggets of gold and wise and helpful insights for all of the emerging and current leaders of business.

[Kálmán Kéménczy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book says things I didn't dare say. This book tells us something we talk about in fear. And if everything it describes is wrong then why does it resonate with me so much? It was a great relief to read that I am not alone with the feelings I fear to feel about leadership.

Worth to try.

[Adam]

++++++
Wary of books that censor 'bad' words like shit. Seriously, grow up. I'm offended by it, and what's even more ironic is that this book claims to be about leadership - show some spine and change the * back in to an i as it should be. Fucking nancy PC freaks.

Plus, according to the Blinkist, GE's fake hero Jack Walsh is mentioned (in a positive light) in this book. This punk Jack Walsh is a fraud and most overrated specimen of a Piece of Shit CEO ever.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read on self-help and business!

Great frameworks to follow and implement; thought-provoking questions; and a push towards action throughout the book. Reading this has significantly helped me understand my role in the team, gaps in workplace culture and how to work towards mending processes.

Change is not a race but a marathon - 100% recommend for any reader in business, on a team or just wanting to learn how to lead people from point A to B.

[Ana DR · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt more like a waste of time

[Erica Basnicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I’m not a CEO, I’m not even a Team Lead, I haven’t studied business, I have no aspirations to climb the corporate ladder. I >am< a frustrated employee though, and I’ve been a grouchy one too. I read this book hoping to give myself an attitude adjustment, and I picked a flipping great one to read. I may not lead in a traditional way, but after reading this I can see where I have the opportunity to take a leadership role in small but significant ways in my current position, and maybe carve out a new opportunity for myself further down the line. That’s a powerful book. I’ve knocked one star off because, if I’m honest, I wanted a bit more. Not that this isn’t excellent, I guess maybe I wanted more examples to make things more concrete. But I think there is a power to the simplicity, and well, kind of the point of the book as well.

[Charlie Meneses · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a fine book. I think is for junior managers, and maybe medium experience managers. Definitely will help you to remember the important aspects on leadership. It is a good refresher for those that they are struggling with their teams. Easy to read, helpful ideas.

[Doug Harper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utterly generic

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it - the concepts in themselves are simple and well put together. I especially liked how the book is relatable and human relation centered.

[James Venables · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book, but completely mis-sold.

Although it had some decent chapters, and laid out various leadership concepts in an accessible manner, the book was at least three times longer than it needed to be.

Within such a saturated genre, it feels like Hirst missed a trick. A book which fitted the ''No Bullshit'' brief would 50-page long leadership 'manifesto'. Hirst was effective in making his key points in relatively few words, but they were all too jumbled in filler sections to be memorable.

This book identifies the value of diversity within teams, and takes a modern approach suitable for the modern workplace. It was a slightly more nuanced than the kind of hyper-masculine talk which I expected to hear, which was refreshing in parts.

It also pitches itself as being a book for the ''everyday leader'', although at no stage does this book, despite its wealth of pages, actually explore who or what an ''everyday leader'' actually is. This felt like a marketing ploy to maximise readership.

The use of accessible, monosyllabic language attempted to appeal to the everyman, but a large portion of case studies within the book come from boardroom-level discussions, and tended to focus on corporate or professional sporting environments. This felt inappropriate for the ''everyday'' brief - Hirst, a highly experienced CEO, needed to place a greater emphasis on teams whose values extend beyond ''high-performance'' in order to appeal to this market.

Perhaps this book is simply a case of poor titling - it is in fact a decent guide to leading corporate teams. The key point which Hirst sought to drive home was the simple reality that a leader needs to ''get stuff done''. A simple, but fair point; so here ends this review.

[Manuchi Gaudes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hätte kompakter sein können ,aber gibt ein par gute Schlüssel Punkte :

-Verlust Aversion (Entscheidungsangst aus Angst vor Verlusten statt neues zu gewinnen )

-Schnell & fehlerhaft > spät, perfektionistisch

-Action this day

-Take Note, take heart

-Ultimately all strategies devolve into work

-Aktion > Vision,Strategie,Inspiration.

-Talent „ist nur eine Ausrede um den Erfolg anderer zu erklären, und eigene Unfähigkeit zu rechtfertigen

-(Wort Talent,Genetik aus Vokabular streichen)

-Energy,attitude > skillset

-„Ever tried. Ever failed.No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better

-Verlieb dich 100% in den Prozess, genieß den Prozess (Tarantino Schreib Routine Flow & anschließendes Bad Deep work, Gary vee etc.

-Missglaube dass Athletehen viel für ihren Traum aufopfern und Ziele zu erreichen…Es ist kein Opfer für sie sondern sie lieben was sie tuhen.

-The Only thing I see that is distinctly different about me is that I‘m not afraid to die on a treadmill.You Night have more talent, might be smarter, might be sexier. You might be all of those things, you got it on me in Nine categories. But if we get on a treadmill together, Theres two things: Youre getting of first, or I‘m gonna die.Its really that simple -Will smith

Leadership is that. With a smile on your Face.

[Deogratias Rweyemamu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whenever I want something to inspire me towards great leadership, I usually look towards autobiographies of some of my best role models over the years. Other than that, I usually like to delve in military accounts of great leaders who were able to get a group of men across the toughest circumstances. This book falls in neither of my two usual categories, but boy has it been the most practical thus far!

The author, Chris Hirst, offers a refreshing and practical guide to leadership in the modern world. He cuts through the jargon and offers straightforward advice for aspiring leaders. With a no-nonsense approach, he emphasizes the importance of authenticity, empathy, and adaptability in effective leadership.

The book is filled with real-life examples and actionable strategies that empower readers to become everyday leaders who can make a positive impact. Hirst's engaging writing style and practical insights make "No Bullsht Leadership" a valuable resource for individuals looking to enhance their leadership skills and drive meaningful change in their organizations.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be redundant and Pep Talky. The first few pages were okay but I couldn't relate to it and it was all over the place for me so I put it off. I tried to read another book, then gave this book another chance, after 2 chapters, I felt it was a waste of my time and it irritated me with all the Pep talking about building the perfect team (the cursing made it sound even more childish and unprofessional for me).

But you do learn about the importance of team culture and finding quality people. But he keeps repeating that you should be like this, you should do this, and finding the most talented and motivated people and not telling us how. Sadly, this is the one of those self-improvement books that I didn't enjoy reading and couldn't finish.

I'll try to get back to it again after a few years.

[Ai Vandegeerde · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Leading yourself - “The successful leadership must be a selfish leader. To be consistently effective, she must take care of herself as much as she does of others”
- Excellence is the consistent performance of mundane actions. Superlative performance is really a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learnt or stumbled upon, which have been carefully drilled into habit and then are fitted together in a synthesized whole. There is nothing extra ordinary or superhuman in any one in these actions. Only the fact that they are done consistently and correctly and all together produce excellence. What we perceive as exceptional talent is actually the accumulation of many tiny quite ordinary actions and skills which when performed simultaneously, give the illusion of unattainable and innate ability
- Leader must be banging the drum longer after others toppled over

[Santiago Mas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new Bible of Leadership for those interested in the practical aspects of it. This is a manual full of insights to be able to put 21st Century-leadership into practice from day one.

For those interested in the subject but overwhelmed by the vast amount of academically and non-academical titles in the area. While other books on management will probably help attain a more rounded view of leadership framed within the historical evolution of the management theory, this one is for hands-on people merely interested in the practical application of it in everyday business life.

[Quinns Pheh · Rating 4 out of 5]

No-bullshit leadership is all about keeping things simple and get down to the core of leadership: leading. Your job is to lead people from point A and get them to point B. You and your team will definitely be faced with hurdles along the way, but it is the leader’s job to keep the team marching forward, no matter what happens. Even the most broken of organisations could rise again, with the power of no-bullshit leadership.

[Jerome Angeles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book doesn't provide a concrete strategy but really provides a backbone to a strategy that would work in you current situation. I believe that this book gives you the freedom to make your own strategy that will work for you and your team. This book will provide you the foundation of being a great leader and will give you the freedom to make your on strategies, making you think for yourself and be a even greater leader than the others :))

[Justas Butkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some narratives are rather windy and a part of “common knowledge”, for whatever measures as common on the management path.

Overall the book is very well structured. Towards the end it becomes clear how both more and less explored topics tie together to create a compelling narrative for aspiring and current managers of anything from school pottery club to those responsible for employing hundreds of people to employ.

Worth revisiting when taking on a new challenge.

[Aleks Baklanovs · Rating 3 out of 5]

No Bullshit Leadership is pretty good if you're looking for an overview of what other leadership books like "Leaders Eat Last" and "The Manager's Path" are talking about, but also like your sentences lightly sprinkled with words like "bullshit" and "fuck" for the fear of appearing to read too serious of a book.

Otherwise, it's fine. It's short. It's to the point.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

No nonsense book, as the title suggests, written by an experienced leader. Nothing particularly revolutionary, with a strong focus on taking action. Perhaps a useful reminder of the key ingredients for good leadership and managing change, with an interesting perspective on generating new leaders and the importance of diversity.

[Helen Derbyshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up in an airport many years ago when my team began expanding but never found the time to read this. Picking it up years later as part of my 2025 goal to read more non fiction, a few good pointers (maybe 10) that I wrote down, short enough not to get too bored, but also nothing ground breaking.

Leadership books are never the most engrossing unfortunately but it wasn’t painful 🤪

[Matthijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The points that are made in this book are good and a really good guide line . However and this is more a thing of taste I do not like the way it has been written. Just again I do like the points it makes.

[Michael Que · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mid, promotes lifestyle unnecessarily political . Describes vague principles that is explained by unrealistic scenarios. Claims to be no bullshit yet repeats itself a lot with a lot of filler sentences.

[L.C. Wolff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, upfront & well summarized. I just found some of the examples used were too much taken from sports backgrounds and less from corporate or every day backgrounds/enterpreneur backgrounds. If you have read other business books before it's also quite similar to what you can find in the genre.

[Abdulellah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a good and easy read - Christ Hart is a genius at creating insightful books that busy entrepreneurs can actually read! I loved it and learn’t so much in the short span of a week that I had the pleasure of reading this

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So to be fair, this rating is my post reading response. As someone who likes to chew over reading and management theory, the style maybe wasn't for me, but I think the proof will be in how the ideas resonate with me or stay with me in the long term.

[Samuel Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book in Romania last summer at a time when I was under a platoon sergeant who wasn’t liked by anyone in the platoon except for maybe the LT and one guy who liked to suck up to him. I was in a bookstore at a mall in Constanta with Cascaes when I saw this book