Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis & Clark's Daring Westward Expedition

by Jack Uldrich

If life is an adventure, no one will ever live it more fully than Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the rumored Northwest Passage, Lewis and Clark instead discovered a seemingly endless land whose very existence foretold a future America infinitely different from what had been imagined.

May 2004 marks the beginning of a two-and-a-half year bicentennial celebration of their incredible journey and its significance to the history of America. Against staggering odds, these unique men inspired such absolute loyalty in each other and in their group that they are still widely regarded as the most successful leadership team in American history.



Today's leadership adventures unfold in the rugged terrain of business, and who better than Lewis and Clark to lead us through its toughest challenges? Their story resonates with business leaders of our time because they had to:



* Think strategically * Make tough and timely decisions * Surround themselves with good people * Manage resources * Motivate the team * Deal with different cultures * Assimilate information from many sources * Balance long-term goals against short-term realities * Learn from their mistakes * Try new approaches



Most importantly, they had to persevere and change course in the face of adversity. Their lessons will inspire business leaders to take their teams to new adventures of great discovery.

Genres: Business

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2004

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and useful dissection of the 10 elements of leadership that led to the success of the 8,000 mile adventure of Lewis & Clark. Each chapter first reviewed the history of the men that had a direct relation to an aspect of leadership, which was then related to modern-day business practices. For myself, having a relatively minuscule knowledge of the story of Lewis & Clark- this was a precise, practical & absorbing read that conceptualized the important lessons learned from the pioneering duo. "Learning from history" epitomized.

[Psikowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting perspective of Lewis and Clark and their leadership style during their westward expedition. I read this as part of a training class and found that it provided interesting insights into the leadership principles used by these pioneers who were way ahead of their time. As a teaser, there were two members of the expedition who did not voluntarily join the team - Sacajawea and York. By the end of the expedition, they were full members of the party highly respected for their skills and had voting rights equal to the other members. Definitely one of the better reads.

[Gregr209 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book that teaches current business leaders some of the principles that helped make the Lewis and Clark expedition a success. By mixing the history of the Lewis and Clark adventure with current business history todays managers can get an idea on how to lead a team successfully. If you like history and you like business books then this will be a good fit for you. It can get dry at times but whenever it goes into the Lewis and Clark adventure it picks back up again.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too full of cliche platitudes to be a good leadership book, and too cursory to be a history book. Nice idea, poor execution. I didn't find any fresh insights in this book, although there were some good points on discipline. Don't recommend it unless you just want a summary of their story.