Using examples from a wide variety of conflicts, Lawrence Freedman shows that successful military command depends on the ability not only to use armed forces effectively but also to understand the political context in which they are operating. Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command, Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics.

Jeff Van Gundy. Brad Stevens. Frank Vogel. Mike Budenholzer. Tom Thibodeau. Sam Presti. Leon Rose. Before you knew his name, before he drafted your favorite player, before he guided your team to a championship, he had a playing career of his own at an NCAA Division III college. He didn't play for fortune - the NBA was out of reach, and his school didn't even give athletic scholarships. He didn't play for fame - his games weren't televised, and the stands were rarely full. Whatever the motivation, he simply couldn't give up the game of basketball. And that didn't change after graduation, when it was time to pick a career path. For the first time in league history, NBA coaches and general managers are just as likely to have played Division III basketball as they are to have played in the NBA. While the number of former D3 players working in the NBA is higher than ever, small college alums have served in leadership positions since the league's founding. They shaped the NBA into what it is today, playing integral roles in the Lakers' initial success in Los Angeles, the inception of several expansion franchises, the creation of the popular All-Star Weekend dunk contest, the globalization of the league, and more. Their improbable and inspiring journeys tell a bigger story - the history of small college athletics, the evolution of coaching and management in the NBA, and the hiring practices in the most competitive fields. Their alma maters were small, but their impact on the game, and the implications of their success, loom large.

"Different management styles inevitably clash, but by learning to identify and harness the style, mindset, and inclinations of other leaders and, ultimately, speak their "language" you become a leader's leader whom others want to emulate, edify, and follow. In this deeply insightful book, Dr. Ichak Adizes, a world-renowned organizational expert, shows you how to efficiently navigate the path of leadership optimization. He provides pragmatic tips, eye-opening enlightenment, and a logical framework called the Adizes Methodology, for comprehending different management styles across companies, non-profits, and governments. Leading the Leaders is prescriptive, providing smart and sophisticated ways to think about the diversity of management styles that commonly manifest within organizations. Dr. Adizes has spent decades studying executive leaders, gauging what works and what does not, and developing remedies for the all-too-common dysfunctions of leadership teams. He delivers a battery of "prescriptions" for managing differences, building complementary teams, and nourishing the core essence of effective leadership that will prevent organizational conflict from becoming destructive. Enrich your own managerial style and gain more effective tools to interact with executives who are different from you, whether peers, direct reports or a boss. Do not underestimate your potential to lead the leaders"--

High school elections may be popularity contests, but this guide to becoming a successful high school politician reveals that with the right strategy anyone can win. Collected from more than 1,000 students recently involved in winning campaigns, advice is presented for a wide range of campaign tactics from techniques for running against even the most popular and qualified opponents to the most effective means of publicizing a candidacy. Selections from successful high school speeches, posters, and handouts are provided, along with a large list of sample campaign slogans, and are accompanied by anecdotes from a nationwide group of students about the smarts, drive, and guile necessary to win a student government position. Battle-tested techniques for both overcoming and utilizing a major campaign obstacle adolescent political apathy are also included.