Courage: The Backbone of Leadership

In this guide to doing the right thing, Lee presents a self-help approach to solving hard-edged problems. The key to effective leadership, he argues, is "principled conduct under pressure"—in short, courage. While courage is hardly the one-size-fits-all magic bullet that Lee envisions, much of his advice is valuable, particularly that dealing with communication, the thorniest management issue of all. The book is built around extended anecdotes about executives facing tough personnel decisions and having to confront their habits of "avoidant communication," and Lee's reconstructed dialogue is engaging, realistic and instructive. He also offers periodic references to his own, genuinely inspiring transition from myopic, alienated wimp to successful executive, lawyer, executive coach, consultant and bestselling novelist (China Boy, etc.). Granted, this business book has many of the problems typical of the genre: the constant invoking of the book's title, whether or not relevant to the point being made; the regular introduction of acronymed concepts and clumsy coinages; the inspirational speeches and the occasional royal we phrasing ("We now see the difference between high, medium and low core values"). But any book that offers a road map to handling unpleasant workplace conversations is welcome—even if the choices in your everyday life don't require as much courage as in Lee's scenarios. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2005)

"Gus Lee, in this well-written and useful book, demystifies courage and reveals what it is made of: integrity, competence, and good judgment."
—Warren Bennis, distinguished professor of business, University of Southern California

"When it comes to leadership, Gus Lee has walked the walk and talked the talk.  Now in his latest book, he offers all of us who call ourselves leaders a primer on how to gain and maintain in ourselves and our organizations that critical element that makes the difference--courage!"
—H. Norman Schwarzkopf, General, U.S. Army, Retired

"The philosophy and intuitions within Courage apply well to any enterprise in which great difficulties and failure loom and fear is the typical response—including, for this reader, the writing of novels. May we continue to be reminded often why ‘character’ is what we must establish clearly from the beginning and then keep vital and fresh."
—Amy Tan, author, The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and Saving Fish From Drowning

"Courage carries a ringing message about the power and the obligation for leaders to take a stand for doing the right thing the right way. In an ever more complex world, this message should resonate in each of use, leaders large and small."
—Michael D. Thieneman, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Whirlpool Corporation

"I have always enjoyed developing good managers into great leaders. Courage is a superb tool to accomplish that goal. It actually brought tears to my eyes, and I am going to give a copy to my son."
—John Gerdelman, chairman, Intelliden Corporation

"Great thanks to Gus Lee for this powerful book about courage that he so correctly calls the backbone of leadership. It is a splendid gem with essential wisdom for everyone, but especially for leaders of character on the battlefield, in the marketplace, in our communities, or for anyone who needs to, as he says, cross the river, to make a positive difference."
—Fred M. Franks, Four-Star General, U.S. Army, Retired; coauthor with Tom Clancy, Into the Storm, A Study in Command; Commanding General, VII Corps, Desert Storm