Book Review: "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John C. Maxwell

In this book, Maxwell lays out twenty-one "laws" of leadership, which serve to summarize the qualities good leaders possess and the situations in which they excel. Maxwell does an excellent job of pulling in examples from history and sports, as well as including anecdotes about contemporary political, religious, and business figures. The narrative in the book flows nicely, and it is an incredibly easy read.

"The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" relies on these snippets of true leadership. Whether it's the story of how Ray Kroc transformed McDonald's, or a quick synopsis of the life of Harriet Tubman, Maxwell's examples are relevant, inspiring, and fun to read. He also offers brief descriptions of his struggles to lead as a young pastor, explaining his mistakes and relating what he did to be successful.

The most significant problem with this book is that, while it outlines what makes leaders successful, it does a poor job of explaining exactly how one can improve themselves. For example, the first law, "The Law of the Lid," explains that a leader's effectiveness is determined by his or her ability to lead. OK... now what? Or, later, in the "The Law of Intuition," Maxwell describes how leaders see everything from a leadership bias, but it is unclear how an aspiring leader can hone his or her intuition.

However, this book is overall worth a read. Because of it's ease to comprehend and telling examples, students of leadership will benefit from adding it to their collection.

3 out of 5 stars.