---fyi: many of my xmas gifts to friends in similar industries are derivatives of this book-- "Leadership 101" and "Ethics 101." They are smaller, quick pick-me-up reads by the same author based from this book.

Maxwell is by far my favorite business forward authors ever! If I was approached with the question "Who would you love to spend a day with to further your business potential," it would definitely be him.

This book comes complete with self assessments. There are even online tests that accompany if you get into it. What really accredits it are the micro stories of fortune 500 companies and influential leaders that have boomed, failed, took chances, faced 'cut backs' or stumbled. It dissects a leader's intuition and train of thought.

My boss, John Raphael in LA, made this a mandatory read for me. It was actually a book that he was still reading himself. I was a campaign manager at the time and my duty was to travel to struggling stores all over California and motivate/ train teams. There were many, many lessons that I learned and incorporated with my store visits successfully. I was awarded 'Leadership of the Year 2003.'

I strongly recommend this book to anyone with a desire to understand leadership and business. I need to pick up a new copy myself and revisit!!!