Reviews
Book Review by Dennis Dougherty CEO-Cagwin and Dorward via Amazon.com
We know that people who have lived the experience are the best teachers. I suspect Andrew Harvey lives leadership. At the core of leadership is humility, the willingness to know oneself, and the passion to learn. It is a journey with no destination. Harvey pegs this within the first 27-pages. I believe this work is the most pragmatic and inspiring work on leadership offered today. It should be read over and over and it needs to be on every leader’s bookshelf. It would be best if the principles were in every leader’s mind and reflected in all of their transactional behaviors.
Oddly, I don’t know if the novice would see the leadership wisdom collected in Andrew Harvey’s work. It is a complete library on essential leadership thinking. It is sharp and concise. It is written with the passion of a leader. For those who are well read in leadership, you will recognize this immediately and the book could well be used for soul searching or daily meditation. For those searching for what leadership is…this is a road map. Get it.
Book Review by Andrew Borrello - Law Enforcement Trainer Magazine
Most people would agree that actions speak much louder than words. Authors who have lived, excelled in, and exemplify the success of the subject matter they write about, are who should (must) be listened to. Author, teacher, and police Captain Andrew Harvey is an ordinary person who has become an extraordinary leader and, through his book, provides 50 consise and applicable chapters on how other ordinary people can do the same. The book’s content is very well structured with short, easy to absorb chapters, each illustrating a single, but important, leadership theme supported by examples, famous quotes, check lists, stories and facts. Each chapter concludes with an effective chapter analysis for quick follow-up review.
Harvey’s work would benefit any law enforcement officer at any rank. However, with chapters that cover integrity, promotion, lifelong learning, and teamwork, to name a few, this material is uniquely applicable and valuable to any profession. I suggest readers read one chapter every day and work to apply the day’s lesson in their professional and personal lives. Harvey’s book, at 240 pages, offers a guide that appropriately blends both the conceptual and tangible aspects of leadership for regular people. The benefits of a book like that are many.
Book Review by John P. Mello Jr. Jobfind
The Buzz: Although a year old, The Call to Lead remains a hot item. At last check, Amazon.com had only two copies left, but promised more were on the way. In the book, speaker, management consultant and police Captain Andrew Harvey offers practical advice for aspiring, newly appointed and veteran leaders. Just as air, heat and fuel form a triangle essential to fire, Harvey asserts a similar geometry is critical to good leadership. The legs of Harvey’s triangle are common sense, logic and concern for people. If cultivated by a leader, those qualities will make him or her effective – a leader who gets results from people willingly, not by dint of the job title alone.
The critique: Harvey writes for guys with low guff thresholds. His short, concise chapters include helpful learning aids – checklists for forging a vision, hiring the right people, avoiding failure and assessing employee motivators; worksheets for evaluating change, resolving conflicts and gauging how well you treat others. While Harvey’s tone for this tome is serious, he occasionally lapses into humor. Witness these passages from officer reviews attributed to the British Royal Navy: “He sets low standards and then consistently fails to achieve them,” read one evaluation. “This man is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot,” read another. At the outset of his book, Harvey writes that his goal is to restore the respect and faith workers once had in their leaders. If enough leaders take his advice to head and heart, he may hit that target.