Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Lead Like a Pirate! Leadership Secrets of the Pirates of St. Croix

Author: Christopher Novak

ISBN: 0979800919

Arr and indeed Arrggh. Shiver me timbers and pieces of eight etc and so forth. Who can fail to love pirates now that they have been effectively decoupled from the generally vicious monstrosities of the past? Now, they have been rehabilitated as effective teams, rebels and lovable rogues with a perfectly acceptable desire for an alternative lifestyle, why not hoist them aloft to serve as roles models for leadership? After all, pirates are stuck on the same ship together in an often hostile environment, sworn to obey their captain and with specific roles to perform which are matched against objective, periodically measurable criteria – life and death, victory over rivals, seizing the goods of merchant ships, avoiding scurvy and tooth disease and the like.

This is the tack taken by Christopher Novak, who subtitles this very short book ‘Serious insights in leadership, teamwork and no-excuse results from an age of tall ships and tall tales!’ Although it is sold as a book – and has a cover price of US$14.95 (for fewer than 90 pages) it appears in reality to be the script for a powerpoint presentation for a day’s course on leadership. Self-assessment exercises are provided – not too difficult – together with explanations for why one answer is considered better than another. Tips for using the book in running a training scheme are also provided. No doubt the company behind Novak, Cornerstone Leadership, can provide all other supporting services too, from soup to nuts.

All very well but does the text provide meaningful tips and advice for the budding team leader? Well, the number of points made is few – probably the right number to be remembered conveniently and there is nothing obviously incorrect. Strategy is explained, as is vision, leadership, the role of teamwork and the apportionment of treasure – i.e. rewarding success.

Speaking like an academic – a generally unwanted intruder in a real world commonly portrayed as intense, high-octane, high-powered and more exciting than any workplace I have visited (perhaps it is an American thing) – my academic skepticism makes me question some of the assumptions of teamwork, especially as it is represented in East Asia, where it is fetishised as an unalloyed good with the duty of being a good team member placed upon the employee, while the benefits and privileges of team leadership are sequestered by the employers. Still, the book is not aimed at academics and it is likely that even people who actively dislike reading will be able to bash their way through this brief narrative and find something to improve their working life.

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Lead Like a Pirate! Leadership Secrets of the Pirates of St. Croix

The above review was contributed by:  John Walsh PhD:  Professor at Shinawatra International University CLICK TO VIEW John Walsh's Reviews