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Never Fly Solo: Lead with Courage, Build Trusting Partnerships, and Reach New Heights in Business

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The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book on building powerful, effective teams! “An amazing book that bucks the old paradigm that maverick leaders and self-made entrepreneurs set the bar. It will forever change the way you look at leadership.”
―Marshall Goldsmith, author of The Wall Street Journal #1 business bestseller What Got You Here Won’t Get You There “In Never Fly Solo , Rob ‘Waldo’ Waldman shares potent, personal leadership lessons on what it takes to access the power of your wingmen. If you want a former fi ghter pilot with 65 combat missions as your wingman and if business success is your target, take flight with Waldo’s book and earn your wings. You’ll never fly solo again.”
―Jeffrey Gitomer, bestselling author of The Little Red Book of Selling “If you are serious about building trusting relationships and launching your business and life to new heights, then invest in yourself and buy this book.”
―Keith Ferrazzi, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Who’s Got Your Back “Authentic and inspirational, Never Fly Solo is a winning formula for successful leadership that everyone in business should read.”
―Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines and author of The Winds of Turbulence “Waldo does a superb job of applying to the business world the lessons he learned in his military career. His excellent use of vignettes shows how standards and values are applicable to leading an honorable life.”
―General Ron Fogleman, U.S. Air Force Retired, former Chief of Staff, USAF “Waldo the Wingman knows the value of relationships and how to build real partnerships that benefit everyone involved.”
―Mark Sanborn, speaker and bestselling author of The Fred Factor and You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader Rob “Waldo” Waldman understands one thing better than most You can’t reach your highest potential alone. You need wingmen―trusted partners―who can help you overcome obstacles, adapt to change, and prepare for success. A decorated former combat F-16 fighter pilot and now a successful entrepreneur, Waldman lives his life by this rule. Whether you’re a senior executive, mid-level manager, or new hire fresh out of college, your success depends on the mutual support of trusted associates. In Never Fly Solo , Waldo helps you maximize your relationships to reach your greatest potential. You’ll learn how

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2009

9 people are currently reading
75 people want to read

About the author

Robert "Waldo" Waldman

1 book1 follower

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5 stars
15 (23%)
4 stars
28 (44%)
3 stars
16 (25%)
2 stars
4 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Matt Fogarty.
64 reviews2 followers
February 22, 2024
Enjoyed the book and the stories Waldo shared of pushing himself to overcome his fears by taking action. Trust was also a key component of the book and the concept of teamwork and collaboration enabling him to reach new heights (pun intended). There was a lot of repetitive phrases and examples in the book which is why I gave it 4 stars. It also doesn’t necessarily translate as well to the business world. I enjoyed his vulnerability and pointing out mistakes he made as a leader and how he learned from them. A theme of the book was Waldo not believing in himself and then being thrust into a position by his wingmen where he had to decide to take action and overcome his fears or decide to avoid them and run away.
Profile Image for Greg.
1,624 reviews25 followers
June 17, 2020
I liked the messaging and principles of this book a lot. As much as I prefer to work independently, the reality is that I am always more successful when I rely on and support others. The collaborative nature of my current work environment is what really makes it such a special place that allows me to do my best work.

Some of the author's examples and stories were a bit much for me. I appreciate his willingness to be vulnerable in sharing his own faults so the reader can learn from those mistakes but it made him seem like someone who was always messing up which then causes you to question whether you should be taking advice from him! But, overall, this was worth the listen.
Profile Image for Jimmy Leitsch.
25 reviews1 follower
January 8, 2022
Highly recommend the audio book. Lt. Waldman is a fantastic narrator. This was a great read as I was starting a new job.

4 stars simply because some of the principles started to repeat towards the end. Lt. Waldman told fantastic stories and lessons that he learned during his time as an Air Force pilot, but I found his attempted applications of those lessons to the business world quite general and vague.

Lt. Waldman does a lot of public speaking, and I imagine compressing this book into an hour-and-a-half session would be incredible.
Profile Image for Phil.
467 reviews
March 15, 2020
As an Air Force military brat I’m already inclined to love a storyteller/inspirational leader like retired F-16 fighter pilot Waldo Waldman. If you love autobiographies from true American heroes who fly under the radar of publicity but soar high in the skies of heroism, courage and teamwork, then you’ll love Waldo’s life story. He’s also an excellent public speaker with an x-factor fueled persona.
Profile Image for Doug Branscombe.
569 reviews1 follower
May 14, 2019
Plain language approach to developing trust with others in your life, because none of us can be successful on our own. Waldo draws parallels between the lessons he learned as a pilot in the Air Force and the challenges we all face in our every day work and personal lives, using examples, good and bad, of his own experiences to illustrate his points.
Profile Image for Jay Patterson.
3 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2022
Awesome read

Waldo brought me home to my life on a submarine in the similarities between going deep and pushing up. Common sense approach towards teamwork and Leadership. Great job.
Profile Image for Sandy Lender.
Author 35 books294 followers
May 31, 2018
Good motivational/business book -- good to encourage a person!!
Profile Image for Kevin.
157 reviews2 followers
August 31, 2018
A motivational leadership book. Pretty good.
Profile Image for Charita Stubbs.
46 reviews3 followers
April 14, 2020
I recommend this book if you are looking for motivation to go get that goal in life.
Profile Image for Dr. Tathagat Varma.
415 reviews49 followers
August 20, 2016
Waldo has done a good job of taking his learnings as a fighter pilot to the business context, and contextualize it for us folks who stay on ground for large part! I like his honesty in admitting his apprehensions, mistakes, weaknesses and his at-times poor judgment, and culling our meaningful lessons from them that help understand how we are all humans and go through similar emotions - but only those among us who allow ourselves to get ahead of our worries, apprehensions and blind spots are actually able to become true winners.

His examples from his combat missions are a great read, though he could have added matching stories from the business world - even if they were not own but from companies and leaders across the world. Otherwise, the book is a good read for a day.
Profile Image for Christi.
232 reviews
January 8, 2014
Thank you to Brian Lavorgna for letting me borrow your signed copy! I promise to bring it back in same condition. Pretty good little book. Not many new concepts, but I liked the comparison to military lingo.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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