Max Depree does a great job of fulfilling the purpose for which he wrote "Leadership is an Art". His how-to, self help book is grounded on a solid foundation of leadership philosophy. Everyone should read this book, for there is not a person alive who will do anything other than benefit from it at work or in their everyday lives. I highly recommend it.

Also recommended: A book that is not at all one of the many books in competition with "Leadership is an Art" that you should go on to read is Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Thomas Jefferson: Character Leadership Education" for an education on the philosophical foundations of Max Depree's "Leadership is an Art" that everyone can understand.

One of those books that needs to be read many times. For each time you read it you learn something new. Take the author's advice and keep a pencil next to you, and use the double spaced lines and extra margin room to take notes. Truly a joy to read. Takes leadership and to where it belongs an art form, for each one of us how we get to the end is a bit different. In his introduction DePree suggests that you not only read this book but that you finish it. By finishing it he means understand and apply what you have learned from this book, notice he wants you to learn, not necessarily to be taught.
I truly believe that is why DePree wrote this book. He wrote it so that others could learn about leadership. To him leadership is indeed an art because leadership centers on people and relationships therefore it is difficult to define. When people look at a piece of art (painting, sculpture, or what have you) we all see something a little bit different than the person standing next to us. True we may all see the same piece of art but to each one of us it means something a little different, the colors, structure, the symbolism they all speak to us in different ways. Leadership is indeed that, there are a few cornerstones of leadership but the application of those cornerstones is the art of leadership.

Max Depree basic theme is that although there are leadership principles to be learned, there is a certain mysticism about leadership that is more tribal than scientific and more a weaving of relationships than a amassing of leadership.

Depree talks about diversity, issues of the heart and spirit, integration, being vulnerable and empowerment, but he does so as a business man who realizes that the purpose of a business is to make a profit. Depree discovered that by taking care of his employees, and making them owners in the process he can achieve greater employee loyalty, more creativity, and hence, greater prophets. The danger is that non-businessman (i.e., politicians and pastors) will take these noble ideas and abdicate their leadership.

Max Depree hit a home run with this small, but persuasive book. His basic theme is that although there are leadership principles to be learned, there is a certain mysticism about leadership that is more tribal than scientific and more a weaving of relationships than a amassing of leadership.

Depree talks about diversity, issues of the heart and spirit, integration, being vulnerable and empowerment, but he does so as a business man who realizes that the purpose of a business is to make a profit. Depree discovered that by taking care of his employees, and making them owners in the process he can achieve greater employee loyalty, more creativity, and hence, greater profits. The danger is that non-businessman (i.e., politicians and pastors) will take these noble ideas and abdicate their leadership.

This Book was great every single section had a buitifull story to go along with it. The lessons about leadership were right on. A couple of the sections were draged out, but other than that this book had true meaning. This is the kind of leader all buisness need.

Joel DePree Johnson Wales University