My husband picked up this book for me at Praise Gathering in Indianapolis in 2005. I started to read it then, but didn't get very far. I don't remember why. But it sat on my bedside table for years, then went back to the bookshelf. I was looking for something to read a few months ago & put it back on the bedside table. I finally cracked it open a couple of weeks ago & I've slowly been making my way through it.
It's difficult to explain. Yes, it's a book about leadership, but it's not a how-to. Using Ernest Shackleton's arctic adventure as a backdrop, Sweet analyzes the life of a man considered to be one of the best leaders of all time. But he also paints this vision of leading by sound. He keeps bringing everything back to this theme of tuning into the sounds/music around us and that's the part that's difficult to explain.
If you're already tuning me out because you don't view yourself as a leader, well...you're wrong. We're all leaders...either in our families, job/career, church, neighborhood or friendships. So even if you think you're a worker bee and always behind the scenes, this book is still worth the reading.
But Holy Spirit's using it to speak to me. I've been teary-eyed several times as I read beautifully written passages describing how God's Creation is full of music all around us...we just have to tune in and listen. While I was reading one day, I began thinking of the movie August Rush. If you haven't seen it, it's not the most well-written movie ever but it has a good message. Music is everywhere. August "composes" music with everyday sounds. Compiling it all together is a masterpiece.
That's similar to what Sweet is saying in this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm already challenged to listen better to Holy Spirit and look for where He is leading and already working.
Because this book is difficult to summarize, I'm not going to attempt it. Instead, I'm going to include some quotes that have spoken to me so far.
"Leaders are neither born nor made. Leaders are summoned."
"One of the reasons Shackleton "failed" is that relationships were more important to him than achievement, colleagues more important than conquests and campaigns."
"Every person decides whether their footprints will last beyond a lifetime or sink in the sands of time."
"We can no longer hide behind the excuse that only the gifted or the privileged can change the course of history. We live in a time when we are not bound by position or geography or circumstance. If you hear the summons--if you know your cause--nothing can stand in the way."
"The church has it all wrong. It is trying to train leaders. Instead, it ought to train everyone to listen and to develop their own soundtrack. Only when you find your voice will you harness the God-given power to truly lead."
"The manager has his eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon."--Business professor Warren Bennis
"Leadership is not first a "vision" thing. Leadership is first a "vibration" thing. The most important organ for a leader is the ears."
"What is the ultimate in a "right spirit"? Two components: confidence and humilty."
"The more we know, the more we know how much there is to know and how little we really know."
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