A Book Review:Winning With People

A John Maxwell book published by Thomas Nelson, 2004, 272 pages, Nonfiction, Business, Leadership and Personal Development.

Yes, I know I just reviewed a John Maxwell book. No, I’m not working for his publicist.

Remember when you were a kid and every time a new Piers Anthony book came out, you just had to read it? Even if the story line and characters weren’t all that great.

Well, Maxwell’s books are becoming kind of like that for me. I may not always agree with what he has to say, for instance he thinks you should continue to give of your self and eventually your value will be recognized. I, on the other hand, think if you set a goal of 3 years for your effort to be recognized and it still doesn’t get what you feel you deserve, it’s time to break camp and head for a new ranch (sorry, a little too much American symbolism in that one I think).

None the less, if you pan the stream long enough the eventually nugget will invariably turn up (oops, there I go again!). There is no denying that Maxwell’s work, if a bit redundant, has those nuggets.

Initially Maxwell examines our preparedness to win with others rather than competing against them. He examines that readiness in a series of “25 Principles” which are in turn broken into components and subcomponents. For example, on of the principles Maxwell examines is the “Mirror” principle. Here, Maxwell postulates that many people are unaware of who they are and how their actions negatively impact others. From here he breaks the concept down into the five component parts of

• self awareness
• self image
• self honesty
• self improvement
• and, self responsibility.

The majority of the book deals with an examination of where you are, where you want to be and how you can get there in relation to a series of these principles.

Although, there is nothing astounding or earthshaking about this book, it is one that you should probably have on your shelf along with the Covey, and Carnegie books.

Keep in mind Maxwell is a pastor and his messages clearly reflect that. Now, I don’t have a problem with that, in fact I like it, but if you are looking for something with a more secular bend, you might want something else.

Winning With People

Reg Adkins writes on behavior and the human experience at (elementaltruths.blogspot.com).