Lessons We Learn from the Ancients

The enormous government bailouts in today's economy have turned our attention to business and fiscal issues, the corporate world, and its leaders. Steve Forbes and John Prevas have written a book that makes startling comparisons between past leaders and today's CEOs, reminding us that severe challenges have faced every powerful nation. These two authors have bonded the past and the present, displaying the wisdom of ancient civilizations to modern America. The name of this book is Power, Ambition, Glory; The Stunning Parallels Between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today and the Lessons You Can Learn.

This book chronicles the lives of six major historical figures such as Julius Caesar and Cyrus the Great, comparing their attributes and leadership styles with Hank Greenburg (AIG), Ray Kroc (McDonalds), Jack Welch (General Electric), and John Chambers (Cisco). This book explains the true components of leadership: a great leader is one who challenges the conventional wisdom of the day and is able to think out of the box to pull off extraordinary feats. Leadership is about remaining focused on the fundamentals, the nuts and bolts of making an organization work, day in and day out. Character matters in leadership, as well as developing and maintaining a proper perspective on yourself. In our era, one might ask, where have all the leaders gone? Everyone seems scared to stand up and lead.

Historian David McCullough writes, "History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." Those who look at the world today and say that we have never before faced perilous times must have not studied history. This book, called Power, Ambition Glory, offers helpful lessons from the past.

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