10 Truths About Leadership

Foreword by Curt W. CoffmanCo-Author of the New York Times bestselling "First, Break all the Rules" Let me be frank (and I don't mean Sinatra), I am nothing short of being bored and exhausted with the thousands of leadership books that have come to swim in the pools of bookstores everywhere. Leadership is one of those topics that people love to hear themselves talk about but very few choose to listen to. We all have a theory that has largely been formed from our own justification of why we did or continue to do certain things. Books, articles and papers from academics to alleged renaissance leaders have produced pontifications about how to be a great leader. I am amazed at the tremendous amount of creativity put into the discovery of a new model or a new set of metaphors while the actual meat of the book takes a back seat. Many of these books have become reference guides for me to find both pithy and slightly off-center ways, of saying the same thing. Try it - it works! While my cynicism is obvious, I find it refreshing when a text comes along that brings back those moments of aha's and genuine intellectual and emotional engagement. I really live for those words that come off the page, strumming a chord of curiosity and providing a moment of new understanding. So has the book I'm proud to introduce to you. Pete Luongo didn't decide to sit down and write a book on leadership, he was called to do so. See, there are those times in one's life where the ability to "not" do something is no longer an alternative. Pete and his witty, charismatic and "loving" personality are mere byproducts of a set of experiences he has noted, been moved by and found enormous success with. There is no doubt in my mind that this book began long before Pete was writing it. This may sound strange, but this is a book that has long been in process and only recently found its author. Now, don't get me wrong, Pete is one of the most "full of life" and passionate people I know, and his life experiences are a perfect fit for this book's longing to be told and understood. His experiences simply became the medium for which a set of truisms are told. In reading Pete's text, I am convinced that these truths should be incorporated into the business and personal lives of leaders, managers and people following their passions everywhere. This set of truths will not bring about an academic revolution in the field of leadership and management, but they will lead us back to the basic and most critical issues which determine our impact and success. See, this is not a leadership book at all! It is a time-tested, proven course illuminating the golden thread connecting every person to a life of excellence and purpose.