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Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day
Who was the greatest CEO of the 20th century? A persuasive case can be made for General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, who undertook history’s most harrowing executive Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on June 6, 1944. In Lead Like Ike , business journalist and communications guru Geoff Loftus weaves a fly-on-the-wall narrative from Ike’s perspective as supreme allied commander overseeing the Normandy invasion. While swept into a gripping story that honors the sacrifice of all who fought and died on D-Day, you’ll also be drawn to a cache of battle-tested strategies and tactics with direct applications to modern-day business leadership.
Audio CD
First published December 1, 2010
About the author
Geoff Loftus
15 books2 followersGeoff Loftus is the author of the Jack Tyrrell novels: The Devil's Vacation, Purgatory, Turn From Evil, Casual Slaughters, Fracture of the Soul, No Traveler Returns, Dangerous Purpose, The Last Thing, Dark Mirage, and Murderous Spirit. His upcoming Jack Tyrrell thriller is Repentance. He has also written the thrillers: The Dark Saint, Engaged to Kill, and Double Blind.
Geoff has also written non-fiction, blogging for Forbes for almost 8 years and writing Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day. All of Geoff's books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
He was the 2010 Keynote Speaker at the Eisenhower Legacy Dinner at the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library. He has been gainfully employed in business journalism and corporate communications for more than a quarter-century. Working both freelance and on staff, he has worked for Condé Nast, Deloitte Consulting, Fairchild Publications and News Corp., as well as non-profit organizations such as The Conference Board and the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals.
Like many writers, Geoff once dreamed of writing the great American novel but gave that up in an attempt to write the great American screenplay. The closest he came to that lofty achievement was writing Hero in the Family with John Drimmer for The Wonderful World of Disney. He has been a member of the Writers Guild of America, East for more than thirty years.
He lives in Scarsdale, New York with his wife, Margy.
Geoff has also written non-fiction, blogging for Forbes for almost 8 years and writing Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day. All of Geoff's books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
He was the 2010 Keynote Speaker at the Eisenhower Legacy Dinner at the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library. He has been gainfully employed in business journalism and corporate communications for more than a quarter-century. Working both freelance and on staff, he has worked for Condé Nast, Deloitte Consulting, Fairchild Publications and News Corp., as well as non-profit organizations such as The Conference Board and the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals.
Like many writers, Geoff once dreamed of writing the great American novel but gave that up in an attempt to write the great American screenplay. The closest he came to that lofty achievement was writing Hero in the Family with John Drimmer for The Wonderful World of Disney. He has been a member of the Writers Guild of America, East for more than thirty years.
He lives in Scarsdale, New York with his wife, Margy.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 28, 2018
Ufff qué genialidad!
He aprendido historia y habilidades de liderazgo coorporativo en un solo libro.
Cómo se preparó el desembarco a Normandía y lo que siguió después, con casos empresariales que muestran una situación similar.
He aprendido historia y habilidades de liderazgo coorporativo en un solo libro.
Cómo se preparó el desembarco a Normandía y lo que siguió después, con casos empresariales que muestran una situación similar.
February 19, 2017
An unorthodox but highly interesting look at Eisenhower's performance as C-in-C in the ETO.
It's hard to tell whether Loftus wants to teach managers history, or historians business skills, but some of his mantras can be used for anyone's life-improvement.
It's hard to tell whether Loftus wants to teach managers history, or historians business skills, but some of his mantras can be used for anyone's life-improvement.
July 15, 2023
A gimmicky concept for a book, taken way too far.
It is one thing to analogize how General Eisenhower's leadership methods are applicable to a senior leader in today's business world. I can respect this premise and am prepared to read a whole book about it.
It is another thing to re-tell the entire story of the D-Day invasion by mass substitution of terminology: D-Day = "D-Day Inc."; Germany = "the competition"; soldiers = "employees"; soldiers en masse = "the workforce"; JCS = "the board of directors" and so on. Gag me with a freakin spoon. And from what I can tell, the story told is surface-level and facile, adding nothing to one's understanding of the actual history (unless you never read anything at all about WWII before,) while drawing out purported business insights that could only be applicable in a very elite business context.
Like. Can't you at least wink, now and then, at the liberties you are taking with language? It's just downright offensive, now that I think of it, to dumb the Nazis down to "the competition". No, goddammit, there was a moral dimension to WWII that you cannot analogize in this way, and even setting that aside, you cannot trivialize the bravery and sacrifice of thousands of SOLDIERS by re-telling the story where they are "employees." Minus one hundred stars.
It is one thing to analogize how General Eisenhower's leadership methods are applicable to a senior leader in today's business world. I can respect this premise and am prepared to read a whole book about it.
It is another thing to re-tell the entire story of the D-Day invasion by mass substitution of terminology: D-Day = "D-Day Inc."; Germany = "the competition"; soldiers = "employees"; soldiers en masse = "the workforce"; JCS = "the board of directors" and so on. Gag me with a freakin spoon. And from what I can tell, the story told is surface-level and facile, adding nothing to one's understanding of the actual history (unless you never read anything at all about WWII before,) while drawing out purported business insights that could only be applicable in a very elite business context.
Like. Can't you at least wink, now and then, at the liberties you are taking with language? It's just downright offensive, now that I think of it, to dumb the Nazis down to "the competition". No, goddammit, there was a moral dimension to WWII that you cannot analogize in this way, and even setting that aside, you cannot trivialize the bravery and sacrifice of thousands of SOLDIERS by re-telling the story where they are "employees." Minus one hundred stars.
June 18, 2023
Interesante la visión del libro, aplicar el pensamiento de la estrategia de la guerra a la gerencia empresarial.
En la vida profesional tienes que trabajar con personas que tu no eliges, tienes que tomar decisiones en base al panorama general que sacas de las reuniones, en base del conocimiento de la empresa.
Le quito una estrella porque redunda demasiado el libro, puede ser bueno para llevar a nuestro inconsciente los conocimientos que aporta.
Le quito la segunda estrella porque el libro no termina de convencer por que uno debe tener cierto conocimiento de la segunda guerra mundial.
Lo leí en el tiempo de 15h 20m.
Aproximadamente 2 meses.
Algunas frases marcadas:
“Como Ike, Amazon fue directamente al corazón de su competencia y aseguró su futuro”.
“Céntrate en lo que necesitas para tener éxito y consíguelo.”
“No pierdas el tiempo echándote flores a ti mismo. Tu éxito hablará más alto y de forma más persuasiva de lo que tú probablemente puedas.”
“Su estilo de liderazgo como ejecutivo era reunir todos los hechos posibles, escuchar atentamente las opiniones de los demás, y decidir.”
En la vida profesional tienes que trabajar con personas que tu no eliges, tienes que tomar decisiones en base al panorama general que sacas de las reuniones, en base del conocimiento de la empresa.
Le quito una estrella porque redunda demasiado el libro, puede ser bueno para llevar a nuestro inconsciente los conocimientos que aporta.
Le quito la segunda estrella porque el libro no termina de convencer por que uno debe tener cierto conocimiento de la segunda guerra mundial.
Lo leí en el tiempo de 15h 20m.
Aproximadamente 2 meses.
Algunas frases marcadas:
“Como Ike, Amazon fue directamente al corazón de su competencia y aseguró su futuro”.
“Céntrate en lo que necesitas para tener éxito y consíguelo.”
“No pierdas el tiempo echándote flores a ti mismo. Tu éxito hablará más alto y de forma más persuasiva de lo que tú probablemente puedas.”
“Su estilo de liderazgo como ejecutivo era reunir todos los hechos posibles, escuchar atentamente las opiniones de los demás, y decidir.”
June 8, 2018
this has a curious mixture of applying corporate structure on Eisenhower's prosecution of World War II and interpreting his leadership style within that structure. I was largely ignorant of World War II European theater so this was good background for me and I enjoyed it regardless of the leadership principles advanced. the author makes a big deal out of Bernard Montgomery's lack of effectiveness that Eisenhower was reluctant to take on... such a big deal in fact that I thought the author was making a great case for Eisenhower not being a good leader.
May 27, 2021
BUENÍSIMO! De lo mejor que he leído... Y las analogías que hace del mundo de los negocios y la guerra... Ufff... Full recomendado
January 16, 2023
Interesting history, but I wasn't really interested in how the author was trying to apply it to teaching leadership.
August 9, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed "Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies From The CEO Of D-Day" by Geoff Loftus. As a former soldier and someone who studies all things martial, and as someone with business and law degrees who speaks on the topics using military and warrior references, this book was extremely informative and enjoyable to read.
The book is part history, part business lessons. Loftus takes the reader on a journey through what he calls the world's most daunting business initiative. He writes about General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower as the CEO of D-Day Inc. He uses this military metaphor for business to examine Eisenhower's leadership style, including his relationship with his Board of Directors (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and other chiefs of staff), his C-level staff (Senior commanders like Bradley, Patton, and Montgomery), affiliated organizations (Free French and Polish forces), and the stakeholders (soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied forces in Europe, citizens of U.S. and Britain, and victims of Hitler's aggression). Obviously, strategy and tactics are important to both military operations and business success. Loftus does a great job of using the D-Day operations as examples to implement organizational strategies.
The book follows along as the operations unfolded during the war, but focuses on ten strategic lessons. These are: Determine Your Mission, Plan for Success, Stay Focused, Prioritize, Plan to Implement, Communicate, Motivate Your People, Manage Your People, Avoid Project Creep, and Be Honest.
Loftus examines success and failures and provides many business examples that relate to the military examples he uses to make the initial point. Each chapter ends with a section titled "Debriefing Notes" that review the main points from the chapter. These are simple bullet points that clarify the main lesson. For instance, regarding the strategy of communicate, one debriefing note states, "Know Your Stuff: If you don't know it, learn it. If you don't know your stuff, shut up. Faking it does not work." Another, from a different chapter, states: "You Commit First: If you need commitment from your people - you should go first."
When you look at what was accomplished by the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, you realize just what an undertaking it was. Eisenhower's leadership was instrumental in that success. This book not only shares the gripping story that honors the sacrifice of all who fought and died during the war, but also examines the strategies, tactics, and leadership of Eisenhower and how those lessons can be applied to modern day business leadership. If you have an interest in the military and leadership, you will enjoy and learn from this book. Highly recommended.
The book is part history, part business lessons. Loftus takes the reader on a journey through what he calls the world's most daunting business initiative. He writes about General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower as the CEO of D-Day Inc. He uses this military metaphor for business to examine Eisenhower's leadership style, including his relationship with his Board of Directors (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and other chiefs of staff), his C-level staff (Senior commanders like Bradley, Patton, and Montgomery), affiliated organizations (Free French and Polish forces), and the stakeholders (soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied forces in Europe, citizens of U.S. and Britain, and victims of Hitler's aggression). Obviously, strategy and tactics are important to both military operations and business success. Loftus does a great job of using the D-Day operations as examples to implement organizational strategies.
The book follows along as the operations unfolded during the war, but focuses on ten strategic lessons. These are: Determine Your Mission, Plan for Success, Stay Focused, Prioritize, Plan to Implement, Communicate, Motivate Your People, Manage Your People, Avoid Project Creep, and Be Honest.
Loftus examines success and failures and provides many business examples that relate to the military examples he uses to make the initial point. Each chapter ends with a section titled "Debriefing Notes" that review the main points from the chapter. These are simple bullet points that clarify the main lesson. For instance, regarding the strategy of communicate, one debriefing note states, "Know Your Stuff: If you don't know it, learn it. If you don't know your stuff, shut up. Faking it does not work." Another, from a different chapter, states: "You Commit First: If you need commitment from your people - you should go first."
When you look at what was accomplished by the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, you realize just what an undertaking it was. Eisenhower's leadership was instrumental in that success. This book not only shares the gripping story that honors the sacrifice of all who fought and died during the war, but also examines the strategies, tactics, and leadership of Eisenhower and how those lessons can be applied to modern day business leadership. If you have an interest in the military and leadership, you will enjoy and learn from this book. Highly recommended.
September 28, 2011
In Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day, author Geoff Loftus examines Dwight D. Eisenhower’s leadership of the D-Day Invasion in order to find management lessons for modern-day corporate executives. Eisenhower overcame tremendous hurdles, including extremely tight deadlines, the need to assemble a huge executive staff and company, a board with not entirely in-sync wants, a chairman who wouldn’t commit, and a mission that involved invading a continent and could lead to saving or losing millions of lives. Part history book, part business management guide, Lead Like Ike uses business terminology to describe the events leading up to D-Day and draws parallels between those events and common business situations.
This is an interesting book. The author takes a unique approach to a business leadership book and pulls it off quite nicely. Throughout the book there are modern-day examples to aid in the illustration and each chapter ends with “debriefing notes,” which are takeaway points from the chapter. The final chapter summarizes the business strategies found in the rest of the book and invites the reader to evaluate his/her own performance in regard to each strategy. Lead Like Ike is also a fascinating look at one of the most important military actions of World War II. Much more than just a business leadership guide, it offers a fresh angle on the events leading up to the Normandy invasion. I was drawn in to the story and learned a great deal.
Lead Like Ike is a great book for anyone in a leadership role, especially business leadership, and is also well-suited to anyone who enjoys history.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This is an interesting book. The author takes a unique approach to a business leadership book and pulls it off quite nicely. Throughout the book there are modern-day examples to aid in the illustration and each chapter ends with “debriefing notes,” which are takeaway points from the chapter. The final chapter summarizes the business strategies found in the rest of the book and invites the reader to evaluate his/her own performance in regard to each strategy. Lead Like Ike is also a fascinating look at one of the most important military actions of World War II. Much more than just a business leadership guide, it offers a fresh angle on the events leading up to the Normandy invasion. I was drawn in to the story and learned a great deal.
Lead Like Ike is a great book for anyone in a leadership role, especially business leadership, and is also well-suited to anyone who enjoys history.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Read
January 12, 2011The premise of this book is great–there are valuable leadership and administrative lessons and strategies to be gleaned from Dwight Eisenhower’s D-Day operations.
However, the book lacks practical application of these lessons. Throughout the historical narrative of Eisenhower’s operations are text boxes with administrative nuggets. But that’s where it ends. There is no how-to or strategy on implementing these ideas in today’s business setting. An example–On page 78 the lesson gleaned is ” Knock ‘em out. If your mission is to put your competition out of business, you can’t afford to do it in a leisurely fashion. When opportunity knocks, go after it fast.” Besides the fact that it is ludicrous to imply that anyone’s “mission” would be reduced to merely putting someone else out of business, the author fails to tell you how to get this done.
The book also assumes the reader has a good grasp of history and Eisenhower. For example, chapter two jumps right into lessons to be learned from Operation Torch without any background or clue about Torch. The only introduction to it is the last paragraph of chapter one that connects Torch to North Africa.
The book is really more about how Ike led than how to lead like Ike. And that’s the content; the language and intermittent use of colloquialism is another issue.
The book did not “knock me out.”
(Note: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255)
However, the book lacks practical application of these lessons. Throughout the historical narrative of Eisenhower’s operations are text boxes with administrative nuggets. But that’s where it ends. There is no how-to or strategy on implementing these ideas in today’s business setting. An example–On page 78 the lesson gleaned is ” Knock ‘em out. If your mission is to put your competition out of business, you can’t afford to do it in a leisurely fashion. When opportunity knocks, go after it fast.” Besides the fact that it is ludicrous to imply that anyone’s “mission” would be reduced to merely putting someone else out of business, the author fails to tell you how to get this done.
The book also assumes the reader has a good grasp of history and Eisenhower. For example, chapter two jumps right into lessons to be learned from Operation Torch without any background or clue about Torch. The only introduction to it is the last paragraph of chapter one that connects Torch to North Africa.
The book is really more about how Ike led than how to lead like Ike. And that’s the content; the language and intermittent use of colloquialism is another issue.
The book did not “knock me out.”
(Note: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255)
Read
August 9, 2011Have you ever thought about what it would be like to switch places with someone else and walk in their shoes for a day or a week or a year?
Geoff Loftus makes the switch for us by naming Dwight D. Eisenhower the CEO of D-Day, Inc., the most important corporation of the 20th century.
FDR and Winston Churchill become leaders on Eisenhower’s Board of Directors. Ike becomes an upper-level middle manager.
It’s an odd and interesting twist on a familiar story that begins with a great deal of promise but weakens and tires as the book progresses.
The book is well-researched and, as the title promises, analyzes Eisenhower’s leadership and gleans 10 strategies for today’s leader:
Determine Your Mission
Plan for Success
Stay Focused
Prioritize
Plan to Implement
Communicate
Motivate Your People
Manage Your People
Avoid Project Creep
Be Honest
As Salvatore J. Vitale notes on the cover jacket, “[I]t’s the simplest management principles that we often forget,” and it’s this simplicity that makes the book so promising and so disappointing.
If you’re a history buff and want stories to flesh out the 10 strategies, I highly recommend this book. Otherwise, I’d suggest reading Eisenhower’s own Crusade in Europe (1948) instead.
[Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.]
Geoff Loftus makes the switch for us by naming Dwight D. Eisenhower the CEO of D-Day, Inc., the most important corporation of the 20th century.
FDR and Winston Churchill become leaders on Eisenhower’s Board of Directors. Ike becomes an upper-level middle manager.
It’s an odd and interesting twist on a familiar story that begins with a great deal of promise but weakens and tires as the book progresses.
The book is well-researched and, as the title promises, analyzes Eisenhower’s leadership and gleans 10 strategies for today’s leader:
Determine Your Mission
Plan for Success
Stay Focused
Prioritize
Plan to Implement
Communicate
Motivate Your People
Manage Your People
Avoid Project Creep
Be Honest
As Salvatore J. Vitale notes on the cover jacket, “[I]t’s the simplest management principles that we often forget,” and it’s this simplicity that makes the book so promising and so disappointing.
If you’re a history buff and want stories to flesh out the 10 strategies, I highly recommend this book. Otherwise, I’d suggest reading Eisenhower’s own Crusade in Europe (1948) instead.
[Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.]
May 2, 2012
Of course I thought this book was amazing -- I wrote it. But don't take my word for it, this is what Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes Media thought: "A novel, intriguing--and more importantly--highly instructive approach enabling us to truly grasp fundamental management principles. In the person of Dwight Eisenhower planning and executing the D-Day landings and the subsequent liberation of Europe, these basic concepts are brought to life. As Loftus rightly observes, no CEO ever faced a more daunting, pressure-filled, obstacle-laden mission than did Ike. Perfect reading for these turbulent times.
And Christopher Buckley, bestselling author of "Boomsday" and "Thank You for Smoking" wrote: "Geoff Loftus has written an intriguing and highly useful book on Dwight Eisenhower's extraordinary ability as a leader. If you liked Ike before, you'll like him even more now. And you'll be grateful to Geoff Loftus."
And Christopher Buckley, bestselling author of "Boomsday" and "Thank You for Smoking" wrote: "Geoff Loftus has written an intriguing and highly useful book on Dwight Eisenhower's extraordinary ability as a leader. If you liked Ike before, you'll like him even more now. And you'll be grateful to Geoff Loftus."
July 24, 2016
One of the best books on leadership by one of History's best all time leaders. This book revolves around 10 leadership themes that Ike typified. A must read for anyone in senior leadership positions. As much a history of Ike's leadership as it is a book on real world leadership with relevance for today.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
May 1, 2017
Business Insights from a Military Leader
Until I heard this audio book LEAD LIKE IKE, I had never thought of the military leadership functioning like the CEO of a corporation. This book takes an innovative approach comparing General Dwight Eisenhower’s role as the supreme commander organizing the military operations of World War 2 with the CEO of a corporation. Ten key characteristics form the backbone or outline of this book. The information was engaging and interesting. I heard the book cover to cover and enjoyed this audio. I recommend it.
Until I heard this audio book LEAD LIKE IKE, I had never thought of the military leadership functioning like the CEO of a corporation. This book takes an innovative approach comparing General Dwight Eisenhower’s role as the supreme commander organizing the military operations of World War 2 with the CEO of a corporation. Ten key characteristics form the backbone or outline of this book. The information was engaging and interesting. I heard the book cover to cover and enjoyed this audio. I recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews