[.ca] What It Takes To Be #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership (ISBN 1932378170)

This Book Could Change Your Life:
Above the portals of Apollo's temple at Delphi one could find the words "Know Thyself". This injunction, as old as civilization, is the departure point for this thoughtful volume. Vince Lombardi Jr. has penned a gem of a book, a labor of love based upon the philosophies and actions of his famous father. It's about winning - through knowing yourself, building excellent character, and living with integrity. Vincent T. Lombardi is an icon. Living in Green Bay, I am reminded daily of his legacy. But this isn't just another rehashing of the Packer "glory days". Vince Jr. has applied his father's winning strategies to life, to leadership, to motivation, to building teamwork and developing winning organizations. On a personal level, the reader can apply the principles laid out in this book to developing a winning attitude, to asking the right questions to making better life decisions, to developing better focus and discipline, and to discovering your life's passion and jumping into it with enthusiasm. This is a fantastic book for students, for those trying to earn leadership positions, for successful business people looking to enhance the performance of their company, or for any intelligent person trying to improve their life and find their true way. My favorite thought from this book is "Chase perfection and settle for excellence along the way." Vince Lombardi's book will definitely get you chasing perfection, and make you want to RUN TO WIN!

The book may inspire you and me:
To be honest,as a Hong Kong student, I didn't know who is Vince Lombardi before. Now, I am not only knowing how great he was as a football coach and I can learn something from his leadership model. First of all, the author (Vince's son) uses lots of qutoation. Well, I am so impressed. This is because using Vince own word is much more easy to understand him and his model. Also, his word is very powerful such as " Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing" and " To master ourselves before we attempt to master others." These words inspire me a lot and I can always remember his philosophy. Besides, I agree the idea of "Master Ourselves" and " Master Others". This concept is very close to Chinese thought. We have to behave ourselves, then we are able to lead others and affect others. Thirdly, this book talks about self-knowlegde in the first part. Ususally , the book would stop after telling the importance of self-knowlegde. This book gives me more, the author teaches us several ways to know ourselves. However, I am so disappointed to the summary because it doesn't included the most critical points of being a leader and what is leadership.

Self-knowledge, Character, and Integrity:
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in any aspect of management or leadership or if you are looking for ways to refine your character and increase your personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Vince Lombardi is arguably the greatest professional football coach of all time. His 10 year coaching record was 105 wins, 35 losses, and 6 ties. His legendary Green Bay Packers played in 6 World Championship games and won 5, including the first two Super Bowls, and his post-season record of 9 wins and 1 loss is unmatched. Today, the name "Lombardi" conjures up many images in the minds of those who knew the man, knew of the man, or have heard the many myths and legends about the man. Who better to tell and analyze Vince Lombardi's story than his son, Vince Jr.? This book not only presents a balanced view of Vince Lombardi the man and coach, it also gives readers the "Lombardi Leadership Model" (self-knowledge + character + integrity = leadership) and other useful tools and insights for introspection and personal leadership development. Besides being a great biographical account of a very complex, often misunderstood, and highly successful leader in a public and highly competitive environment, this book is also a great guide to personal growth for any leader in today's chaotic environment and tomorrow's uncertain future.

It pays to be tough Leader when achieving something great:
I was really inspired by the leadership style of Vince Lombardi. I had heard a lot about him over the years. In this society that we live in where everything has to be done now with little or no effort, I found this book to be refreshing. I enjoyed reading about a man of standards and discipline and a man that was able to take a loosing team to the top.

Even Teens will learn from this:
I am 16 years old and I play on my high schools varsity baseball team. I feel this book has helped my outlook on my sports career, because some of his quotes are so true. Everytime I wake up at 5:30 to weightlift before school I remind myself "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Just reading this book made me realize what it really takes to be #1. You can't be a sissy, you have to work for what you want. Any athlete who needs something to motivate them should read this book.