The Samurai Leader: Winning Business Battles With The Wisdom, Honor And Courage Of The Samurai Code

By Bill Diffenderffer

"The Samurai Leader is a brilliant guide for succeeding in today's very complex business environment. Its unique vision offers both help on winning the battles a manager faces in business but also a way of being that will empower an ethical, creative and productive career." -Gordon Bethune, Chairman and CEO, Continental Airlines In the wake of Enron and the rash of corporate scandals, ethics and integrity are two of the biggest topics in business. Can you be ethical and aggressive, honorable and accomplished? You can. The Samurai Leader provides business managers with the lessons of courage, honor and integrity from one of the most ancient, respected and successful sources: the samurai code. The book is filled with both samurai and business stories that gives examples of samurai principles and how to apply them to business, including: --Honor --Courage --Rectitude --Loyalty --Compassion

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402205465
• ISBN13: 9781402205460
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

A Solid Piece of Work...

This is one of the better books that I read in the past few years on leadership...it is a very solid piece of work, in my opinion. Most leadership books only give a slight nod towards the concepts of ethics, integrity, and honor in regards to leadership, as if they are important issues, but they just don't know how to get their arms around the nuts and bolts of these issues. Other books do a much better job with this. (Example = [ASIN:0470139889 The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company,by Charles G. Kock ]) However, the Samurai Leader gives a top-notch effort in this regard. In short...buy the book, read it, re-read, and live it!

The Samurai Leader

If good leaders are made, not born, and character counts, how is it we have so many bad examples in recent years? What happened to the ideal? According to Diffenderffer, it¡¦s because individuals no longer have a code or shining examples to emulate. We lack a code personally and for our businesses and leaders. In this well written book, Diffenderffer reviews the life of the Samurai and the rigorous code by which they lived. The Samurai were a military class formed to protect families, then clans and later they became swords for hire. They were active, and highly popular from the 12th through the 18th Centuries in Japan. There lives were guided by a highly disciplined and honorable approach to every action. We need a model. And the Samurai offer a wonderful Code based on 8 primary tenets: * Honor * Compassion * Courage * Honesty * Rectitude * Politeness * Loyalty * Self-Control Additionally, the Samurai studied the arts as a way of honoring things of beauty and bringing calm, quiet contemplation to themselves. There have been great examples through the years of men (and women) who acted as best exemplified by the Samurai. We can find them in the histories and stories from Japan, China, Europe and in our own American cowboys (think Gary Cooper in High Noon). The Samurai recognized one can¡¦t be two different people. We are what we do each and every time we think, speak or act. And only by finding our own ¡§True Selves¡¨ that we can live a life of honor and contentment. It isn¡¦t easy and there is a price to pay. The Samurai Code enables us to have far greater power over our selves and our surroundings but it comes at a great price ¡V as we will no longer be able to ignore things that are hard to say or do or come with a price. The Samurai Code requires that we combine furious thought (or action) with quiet contemplation. That our actions are guided, at all times, by a careful consideration of what the facts of the situation are, the options and the overall most honorable decision or course of action. For the necessary balance in life, we need to ensure that we have ¡§wildness¡¨ in only one aspect of our lives at a time ¡V if we¡¦re wild in mind, we must be quiet in body and vice versa. If we allow ourselves to be wild in both mind and body we are incapable of being fearless and mindful in our actions. As Diffenderffer pointed out, there are keys for us, as Samurai, to consider before any action: X Always be prepared X Confront issues head on X Fight only the battles you have to X Do the right thing ¡V the right way X Practice your will and determination X Be mindful and fearless X Manipulate others by giving them what they want X Remember Karma and the consequences of your action With the Code, one may always sleep peacefully knowing that our actions are consistent with all that we believe and all that is good.

A Sensible if Simplified Take on the Samurai Mindset

Author Bill Diffenderffer clearly and usefully applies the ideas and practices of Japanese Samurai warriors, and, more generally, of Zen Buddhism, to business. Some readers may be skeptical about mixing business with religion - especially with a religion that is unfamiliar to many Western readers. However, we recommend this book to managers who want to sharpen their focus. Diffenderffer makes a convincing case that the Samurai mindset, conduct and ethical code can transform both your business practices and the practices of those around you. He alternates tales about Samurai principles with examples of contemporary managers who act upon them. The result is a very readable book - but that's actually one of its weaknesses. As Diffenderffer applies - and popularizes - Zen and warrior concepts, he moves away from some of their more complex, but nevertheless valuable, elements and risks diluting their meaning. Still, you'll find plenty left to ponder.