In Good to Great by Jim Collins, the author explored successful CEOs and what characteristics made them successful. These lessons have encouraged and impacted thousands of leaders by helping them to see behind the curtain.
In Derailed by Tim Irwin, the author explores failed CEOs and what characteristics led to their respective downfalls. These lessons have the same, if not greater, potential to help leaders guard themselves from failure.
We live in a different sort of generation. Historically, humanity has searched for people to look up to and admire, but today we watch and enjoy seeing people in prominent positions and celebrity fall from the pedestal that we place them upon. One of the critical reminders in the book (to my mind, anyway) is that none of these CEOs, none of the pastors that have recently experienced failures, woke up on any given day and chose that day to be the day during which they would fail.
Derailment, failure, is a process of poor decision-making where leaders consistently make decisions detrimental to their long-term success. This book gives those same leaders markers and big-picture themes to use as a filter through which to pass these small daily decision through. That is how we can avoid being derailed.
Derailed was reviewed in part of the Thomas Nelson Publishing Book Review Bloggers program.
