Book Review: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Author: John Maxwell
Hard Cover: 256 pages, $15.63
Published: September, 1998

“Everything rises and falls on leadership.” That is the first line of the conclusion of John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

This isn’t my first experience with Maxwell’s Laws. I’ve been through two seminars going through these point-by-point, and even walked through them with my employees. But this is my first time actually reading the book. I’m glad I did!

John Maxwell is known worldwide as a leadership Guru. In fact, I’m reading another book on leadership that mentions Maxwell’s words, along with the words of many other well-known leaders. While Maxwell has written many other books on leadership since 21 Laws, this one seems to be the culmination of all of his leadership expertise, boiled down to 21 points.

1. The Law of the Lid: Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness.
2. The Law of Influence: The true measure of leadership is influence — nothing more, nothing less.
3. The Law of Process: Leadership develops daily, not in a day.
4. The Law of Navigation: Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.
5. The Law of E.F. Hutton: When the real leader speaks, people listen.
6. The Law of Solid Ground: Trust is the foundation of leadership.
7. The Law of Respect: People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
8. The Law of Intuition: Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias.
9. The Law of Magnetism: Who you are is who you attract.
10. The Law of Connection: Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
11. The Law of the Inner Circle: A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him.
12. The Law of Empowerment: Only secure leaders give power to others.
13. The Law of Reproduction: It takes a leader to raise up a leader.
14. The Law of Buy-In: People buy into the leader, then to the vision.
15. The Law of victory: Leaders find a way for the team to win.
16. The Law of the Big Mo: Momentum is a leader’s best friend.
17. The Law of Priorities: Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment
18. The Law of Sacrifice: A leader must give up to go up.
19. The Law of timing: When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go
20. The Law of Explosive Growth: To add growth, lead followers – to multiply, lead leaders.
21. The Law of Legacy: A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.

Each law gets its own dedicated chapter with meaningful instructions, explanations and real-life examples to back them up. 21 Laws also makes the point that leadership is not just for business owners, but it’s for every individual. Businesses need leaders, families need leaders, and even friends need leaders in times of need. 21 Laws should be read by anybody who wishes to become a stronger leader in all areas of life.