Purposes of the Book
Alan Deutschman is professional journalist, writer and professor at the University of Nevada with vast experience. He worked in business-related journals such as Fortune and Wall Street Journal. He is also an author of a few more books on leadership, business and change. The book that is presently under analysis is aimed at showing the readers the examples of excellent leadership. In addition, the author wants to send a message about true leadership to those who either want to become leaders or eager to develop and evolve as such.
Target Audience
Deutschman (2009) addressed his book to everyone who is in any way connected to leadership. First of all, among the primary audience of the book are those who bear the burden of organizing and motivating people to contribute to an organization. Walk the Walk is addressed to leaders who want to become better at leading people to change and become better professionals and selves. It is also written for people who simply manage human resources but want to become something more than that. Above that, Deutschman (2009) believes that everyone interested in discovering and studying leadership will also find the book helpful. Therefore, the book’s audience is rather broad and includes a variety of people with different backgrounds and goals.
Shortcomings
Among the key strengths of the book is its motivating quality. By analyzing the existing cases of excellent leadership and crystallizing the essence of it, the author sends a powerful message to all who want to become more successful in leading people. In addition to that, Deutschman (2009) writes in clear and concise manner that makes the key takeaways clearly visible and understandable. Along with exemplifying key traits and competencies of a good leader, the author outlines goals and values that professionals should have in Mind. As for the drawbacks, the fact that the author himself does not have a valid leadership experience which may make readers question the credibility of the book. As Deutschman mainly gives his perspective on the events, the book may be biased.
Achievement of Objectives
The author’s main goal was to show what constitutes a proper leader and how leader’s qualities can be applied in real world. The author uses examples of Coca Cola, General Motors, Amazon to both illustrate the points he makes in the book and to show that these points are drawn from evidence. The great strength of the message can be assumed from clear structure and frequent use of highlights. On the other hand, the weight of the author’s conclusions is to some extent reduced as little scientific evidence is provided. All in all, the author seems to have achieved his objectives, yet the impact of the book could be limited.
The book can be recommended to
The book can be recommended to people who want to become great leaders because the author discusses a vast variety of good leadership cases. Present leaders and managers could also be recommended to review Walk the Walk as it contains many insights on successful leaders’ experience. The book could become an excellent source of cases and evidence in cases when researchers seek data for their research. Above that, it can be fascinating even for casual readers as the book rediscovers famous occurrences in business and economics and offers a fresh look on them. Due to the logical narrative and unsophisticated writing style, the book is easy to read and understand, so I would recommend it to practically everyone.
Further Action
Further action may involve analyzing the information from the book at a scientific perspective. As some of the discussed leadership qualities may appear natural and self-evident, others may require proof. The cases and events may be viewed from a statistical standpoint. The companies and people mentioned could probably be asked for a feedback to build further credibility of the information the book contains.
Reference
Deutschman, A. (2009). Walk the walk. New York, NY: Portfolio.