Book Review - Churchill on Leadership: Executive Success in the Face of Adversity

• Author: Major Jim Friend
• Pages: 07

264 MILITARY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 156

CHURCHILL ON LEADERSHIP: EXECUTIVE SUCCESS IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY1

REVIEWED BY MAJOR JIM FRIEND2

Winston Churchill-the very mention of the name unleashes a flood of powerful emotions and images. In that awful Summer of 1940, France is subjugated; England stands alone, teetering on the brink of collapse. The Luftwaffe relentlessly pounds London. The Thames River is on fire. Yet, amid the drone of sirens, the shriek of falling bombs, and the shattering roar of explosions, there is hope. Rising above this crescendo of destruction, a defiant voice crackles across the air waves:

Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization . .

. . Hitler knows that he will have to break us on this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free . . . .

But if we fail, then the whole world . . . will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age . . . . Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "this was their finest hour."3

Churchill's leadership during the Battle of Britain merely scratches the surface of his legend. His political career spanned five decades. Churchill was one of the youngest cabinet members ever to serve in parliament yet the oldest Prime Minister in English history.4 He held nearly ever major cabinet post in the British government, switched political parties twice, endured humiliating defeat, and enjoyed breathtaking success.5 He was a prolific writer, a talented painter, and a union certified brick layer.6 He had a keen grasp for the importance of technology, and pushed

the development of the tank and naval aviation.7 He had a delightful sense of humor, a lightning wit, often prescient insight, and towering strategic genius. In short, Winston Churchill was one of the most fascinating men who has ever lived.

In writing a book about Churchill's leadership, Steven F. Hayward shouldered a daunting task. His goal was to "dissect the harmonious mix of personal attributes, principles, and practices that contributed to Churchill's success as a leader, and to recombine them at the end to appreciate the whole of what has often been called the Churchillian style."8 By embarking on such an ambitious course, Mr. Hayward ran a significant risk of falling short of his objective and being second-guessed by a vast legion of Churchill enthusiasts and scholars.

Indeed, Mr. Hayward's major shortcoming is the failure, in his own words, to "recombine [and] appreciate the whole of . . . the Churchillian style."9 Although Mr. Hayward does a masterful job of describing Sir Winston's leadership principles, practices, and traits, he does not incisively synopsize and explain Churchill's leadership. Such an accomplishment, however, may not have been practicable considering the complexity of the subject matter. In fairness to Mr. Hayward, his goal was not to discover the magic formula that created such a man as Churchill. However, a more complete identification of the sources of Churchill's leadership success would have been appropriate. Was his success primarily attributable to innate genius or experience and hard work? Mr. Hayward could give his readers a more realistic appraisal of those aspects of Churchill's character to be admired and perhaps emulated.

Churchill is a fertile subject for such explorations. It is difficult to find in history another leader who matched his combination of raw talent and experience. Sir Winston was a brilliant man who lived through an incredible diversity of jobs, adventures, triumphs, and disappointments. Perhaps his experiences explain Churchill's remarkable insight. Though I do not believe Mr. Hayward adequately explores this issue, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Churchill or leadership.

Mr. Hayward's book is the finest collection of Churchill leadership anecdotes and quotations that I have ever encountered.

In his introduction, Mr. Hayward makes a profound case for the proposition that, to truly learn about leadership, one must study great leaders. He courageously asserts that, "[t]he scribblers of the ivory tower are employing a decayed version of the reductionist way of thinking . . . . While [they] chatter on that the world is determined by impersonal forces...