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Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business
Kevin Kruse knows two things about leadership that most people do not believe:
First, leadership is a superpower.
Second, almost everything we’ve been taught about leadership is wrong.
In Great Leaders Have No Rules, New York Times bestselling author and highly successful entrepreneur Kevin Kruse debunks popular wisdom with ten contrarian principles for better, faster, easier leadership. Grounded in solid research and three decades of entrepreneurial experience, this book has one purpose: to teach you how to be both the boss everyone wants to work for and the high achiever every CEO wants to hire—all without drama, stress, or endless hours in the office
Inspired by Kruse's viral article "Why Successful Leaders Don't Have an Open Door Policy," this contrarian approach to leadership reveals why you should throw out the rulebook and instead play favorites, crowd your calendar, tell employees everything (even salaries), stay out of meetings, hide your phone, and more. Kruse makes the case for these principles with engaging real-world stories and case studies, and shows how to use this wisdom to buck the trend and become more effective. He also shares applications beyond the office—at home, in sales, in sports, and more. Ultimately, his advice empowers you to focus on what matters, which is the key to success for you, your employees, and your company.
First, leadership is a superpower.
Second, almost everything we’ve been taught about leadership is wrong.
In Great Leaders Have No Rules, New York Times bestselling author and highly successful entrepreneur Kevin Kruse debunks popular wisdom with ten contrarian principles for better, faster, easier leadership. Grounded in solid research and three decades of entrepreneurial experience, this book has one purpose: to teach you how to be both the boss everyone wants to work for and the high achiever every CEO wants to hire—all without drama, stress, or endless hours in the office
Inspired by Kruse's viral article "Why Successful Leaders Don't Have an Open Door Policy," this contrarian approach to leadership reveals why you should throw out the rulebook and instead play favorites, crowd your calendar, tell employees everything (even salaries), stay out of meetings, hide your phone, and more. Kruse makes the case for these principles with engaging real-world stories and case studies, and shows how to use this wisdom to buck the trend and become more effective. He also shares applications beyond the office—at home, in sales, in sports, and more. Ultimately, his advice empowers you to focus on what matters, which is the key to success for you, your employees, and your company.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 19, 2020
Entrepreneur and co-founder of LeadX, Kevin Kruse combines a conversational style and engaging prose to keep the reader turning the page throughout. If you are look for the comprehensive and preeminent work on leadership–this is not it. It is a short and quick read. Kevin briefly covers a wide range of foundational topics you will find across the span of leadership literature. He incorporates case studies, anecdotes, and research across other well-known books in this space. As expected in a book of this length, he does not dive too deeply in any one area. While Kruse's work is not Kouzes & Posner, Kotter, or Covey–this book has much to offer. For its length, it is worth every word. I recommend this piece as a primer for anyone entering into reading on leadership.
January 14, 2021
Good read with 10 “unconventional” tenets of leadership. Kevin uses real life experience and stories to capture the readers attention.
Most importantly I enjoyed the thoughts I had from previous/current experiences of how I have been influenced by a leader/family/friend/co-worker. There was a lot more self reflection in reading this book than others I have read on leadership.
No rules mentality isn’t no rules, it’s a mindset.
Most importantly I enjoyed the thoughts I had from previous/current experiences of how I have been influenced by a leader/family/friend/co-worker. There was a lot more self reflection in reading this book than others I have read on leadership.
No rules mentality isn’t no rules, it’s a mindset.
December 7, 2020
Fantastic book. Audio version well organized and easy to engage. Brings up a lot of good practices and concepts that still needs acceptance on the market. Nice reading!!
November 9, 2019
Ironically enough, this is a book full of rules. Do this, do that, do the other thing. Some passages are thought-provoking and all that, but the rest is just “a true leader does X”, “meritocracy is great” and “make rules but apply them differently”.
June 26, 2021
I think Ted Lasso has read this.
August 6, 2019
I'm probably too "contrarian" for this book since the contrarian leadership principles were not that "contrarian" for me. The book is probably a good basic reference for a beginner leader but I did not find much original content from it, most chapters are referencing to specific books or theories that are covered in more detail elsewhere.
The 10 tips/ chapters:
1. Close your open door policy (suggestions on how to handle the constant questions from your team).
2. Shut off your smartphone.
3. Have no rules (instead of enforcing the rules for smaller % age of people - try to hire good people and guide them instead of restricting). Based on Netflix Culture Deck, probably the best written chapter in this book.
4. Be likable not liked.
5. Lead with love.
6. Crowd your calendar, reflects the reality that every minute wasted is a minute that can’t be spent coaching team members or working on your most important tasks. So spend your time wisely.
7. Play favorites - a strategy to make people want to be among the favorite ones but those should be based on skills and performance.
8. Reveal everything (even salaries). Based on Bridgewater examples.
9. Show weakness.
10. Leadership is not a choice (I would argue based on Stephen Covey).
The 10 tips/ chapters:
1. Close your open door policy (suggestions on how to handle the constant questions from your team).
2. Shut off your smartphone.
3. Have no rules (instead of enforcing the rules for smaller % age of people - try to hire good people and guide them instead of restricting). Based on Netflix Culture Deck, probably the best written chapter in this book.
4. Be likable not liked.
5. Lead with love.
6. Crowd your calendar, reflects the reality that every minute wasted is a minute that can’t be spent coaching team members or working on your most important tasks. So spend your time wisely.
7. Play favorites - a strategy to make people want to be among the favorite ones but those should be based on skills and performance.
8. Reveal everything (even salaries). Based on Bridgewater examples.
9. Show weakness.
10. Leadership is not a choice (I would argue based on Stephen Covey).
June 20, 2019
The term contrarian implies a direct challenge to the status quo and a willingness to throw out the existing rule book in pursuit of a transformative outcome.
In his new book Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business, serial entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kruse does exactly that. The basic premise of the book rests on two things. First, Kruse considers effective leadership to be a superpower. It doesn’t automatically arrive with the title. Second, and perhaps more controversial, the author is adamant that: “almost everything we’ve been taught about leadership is wrong.”
Managers Manage, Leaders Lead
If we follow the simple argument that effective managers manage things––strategic plans, budgets, production schedules, marketing plans, staffing––then by Kruse’s definition, leaders don’t automatically have to control all of that by virtue of their seniority in the organization chart. They should be focused on one thing––leading their people. People represent the culture of the organization, and the extent to which they are engaged and committed to the fulfilment of organizational goals reflects directly on your effectiveness as a leader.
In this modern age of “merciless change and 24/7 communication,” you have to inspire your people, not control them through detailed policies and procedures. Once you take the emphasis from command-and-control and replace it with inspiring and motivating people to do more than they ever thought they could, organizational transformation becomes a real possibility.
Sacred Cows
Kruse underlines his contrarian stance by tackling some specific sacred cows from traditional leadership theory. For example:
An open-door policy may be humanistic, but it creates constant distractions. If you want to be effective, publish a schedule of office hours and keep your door closed.
On the same theme of minimizing interruptions, turn off your smartphone––challenge the assumption that you must be accessible at all times.
To inspire and motivate your people, you need to lead with love, but aim to be likeable rather than liked. You need to maintain enough separation to make the hard decisions and give tough feedback when required, but you don’t have to be a jerk about it.
Truly effective leadership is situational, and you must develop the confidence to be counterintuitive and go against the established practice when the need arises.
Kruse defends his proposal with solid data. For example, 70 percent of employees attribute their lack of engagement at work to a lack of leadership. If you want to be “the boss everyone wants to work for and the high achiever every CEO wants to hire,” read this book.
Great Leaders Have No Rules uses detailed case studies and engaging real-world examples to present a convincing argument that most of what we have been taught in old-school management courses is wrong. To be transformative, leaders must be willing to be counterintuitive when the situation warrants it.
Soundview subscribers get in-depth summaries of the key concepts in best-selling business books (like this one) delivered to them every month! Take your career to new heights by staying up-to-date with the trends and ideas affecting business leaders around the globe.
In his new book Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business, serial entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kruse does exactly that. The basic premise of the book rests on two things. First, Kruse considers effective leadership to be a superpower. It doesn’t automatically arrive with the title. Second, and perhaps more controversial, the author is adamant that: “almost everything we’ve been taught about leadership is wrong.”
Managers Manage, Leaders Lead
If we follow the simple argument that effective managers manage things––strategic plans, budgets, production schedules, marketing plans, staffing––then by Kruse’s definition, leaders don’t automatically have to control all of that by virtue of their seniority in the organization chart. They should be focused on one thing––leading their people. People represent the culture of the organization, and the extent to which they are engaged and committed to the fulfilment of organizational goals reflects directly on your effectiveness as a leader.
In this modern age of “merciless change and 24/7 communication,” you have to inspire your people, not control them through detailed policies and procedures. Once you take the emphasis from command-and-control and replace it with inspiring and motivating people to do more than they ever thought they could, organizational transformation becomes a real possibility.
Sacred Cows
Kruse underlines his contrarian stance by tackling some specific sacred cows from traditional leadership theory. For example:
An open-door policy may be humanistic, but it creates constant distractions. If you want to be effective, publish a schedule of office hours and keep your door closed.
On the same theme of minimizing interruptions, turn off your smartphone––challenge the assumption that you must be accessible at all times.
To inspire and motivate your people, you need to lead with love, but aim to be likeable rather than liked. You need to maintain enough separation to make the hard decisions and give tough feedback when required, but you don’t have to be a jerk about it.
Truly effective leadership is situational, and you must develop the confidence to be counterintuitive and go against the established practice when the need arises.
Kruse defends his proposal with solid data. For example, 70 percent of employees attribute their lack of engagement at work to a lack of leadership. If you want to be “the boss everyone wants to work for and the high achiever every CEO wants to hire,” read this book.
Great Leaders Have No Rules uses detailed case studies and engaging real-world examples to present a convincing argument that most of what we have been taught in old-school management courses is wrong. To be transformative, leaders must be willing to be counterintuitive when the situation warrants it.
Soundview subscribers get in-depth summaries of the key concepts in best-selling business books (like this one) delivered to them every month! Take your career to new heights by staying up-to-date with the trends and ideas affecting business leaders around the globe.
July 12, 2019
Recommended book. I plan to share with my team. Two takeaway quotes:
"Leadership is the art of persuasion, the act of motivating people to do more than they ever thought possible in pursuit of a greater good."
"Managers need to plan, measure, monitor, coordinate, solve, hire, fire, and so many other things. Managers spend most of their time managing things. Leaders lead people."
Good basic advice for leaders, including the need for transparency so that your people are better prepared to make decisions. I also appreciate the whole concept that rules are basically a substitute for decisions, and that providing too many rules and too much access through open door policies that you are disengaging and disempowering your employees from acting on their own in the moment. Replacing that often-fake "open door" with regularly scheduled one-on-ones and team meetings allows for conversation, coaching, and learning. If you aren't having one-on-ones yet, they are game changers. Start.
Being likable, not liked, and showing weakness - good overviews of why these are important and how they can play out. Early managers and supervisors definitely can use this advice! I know I could have.
I had a very hard time with a chapter about "crowding your calendar". While I do time block (schedule my most important priorities), there's a downside to having an overcrowded calendar. There is real value in spending time with people that is NOT scheduled. Some of the best ideas I've gotten have come from someone stopping me in the hall with "I was thinking about that thing you said...". There is no need for "do you have a minute" when you make sure you have a minute, or can take one because your calendar isn't crowded.
That same chapter stresses the importance of agendas for meetings and good facilitation. Again, I agree but with a caveat. Especially when you are working in a virtual environment, having some chat time available is critical. In a "normal" environment, people catch up with one another as they come into the room, and they've likely already had other moments that day. For a virtual team, they need that same connection time but it doesn't start until everyone signs in. If you don't allow that time to connect on family and personal events, you don't get the same team behaviors. Agendas should always be there, but they should also be targeted enough for the time allotted to flex for personal conversation. Good facilitators finish their agenda. Great facilitators finish the goals of the meeting and the team, even if it means going off agenda.
"Leadership is the art of persuasion, the act of motivating people to do more than they ever thought possible in pursuit of a greater good."
"Managers need to plan, measure, monitor, coordinate, solve, hire, fire, and so many other things. Managers spend most of their time managing things. Leaders lead people."
Good basic advice for leaders, including the need for transparency so that your people are better prepared to make decisions. I also appreciate the whole concept that rules are basically a substitute for decisions, and that providing too many rules and too much access through open door policies that you are disengaging and disempowering your employees from acting on their own in the moment. Replacing that often-fake "open door" with regularly scheduled one-on-ones and team meetings allows for conversation, coaching, and learning. If you aren't having one-on-ones yet, they are game changers. Start.
Being likable, not liked, and showing weakness - good overviews of why these are important and how they can play out. Early managers and supervisors definitely can use this advice! I know I could have.
I had a very hard time with a chapter about "crowding your calendar". While I do time block (schedule my most important priorities), there's a downside to having an overcrowded calendar. There is real value in spending time with people that is NOT scheduled. Some of the best ideas I've gotten have come from someone stopping me in the hall with "I was thinking about that thing you said...". There is no need for "do you have a minute" when you make sure you have a minute, or can take one because your calendar isn't crowded.
That same chapter stresses the importance of agendas for meetings and good facilitation. Again, I agree but with a caveat. Especially when you are working in a virtual environment, having some chat time available is critical. In a "normal" environment, people catch up with one another as they come into the room, and they've likely already had other moments that day. For a virtual team, they need that same connection time but it doesn't start until everyone signs in. If you don't allow that time to connect on family and personal events, you don't get the same team behaviors. Agendas should always be there, but they should also be targeted enough for the time allotted to flex for personal conversation. Good facilitators finish their agenda. Great facilitators finish the goals of the meeting and the team, even if it means going off agenda.
November 13, 2019
Second, almost everything we've been taught about leadership is wrong. In Great Leaders Have No Rules, New York Times bestselling author and highly successful entrepreneur Kevin Kruse debunks popular wisdom with ten contrarian principles for better, faster, easier leadership. Grounded in solid research and three decades of entrepreneurial experience, this book has one purpose: to teach you how to be both the boss everyone wants to work for and the high achiever every CEO wants to hire--all without drama, stress, or endless hours in the office Inspired by Kruse's viral article "Why Successful Leaders Don't Have an Open Door Policy," this contrarian approach to leadership reveals why you should throw out the rulebook and instead play favorites, crowd your calendar, tell employees everything (even salaries), stay out of meetings, hide your phone, and more. Kruse makes the case for these principles with engaging real-world stories and case studies, and shows how to use this wisdom to buck the trend and become more effective. He also shares applications beyond the office--at home, in sales, in sports, and more. Ultimately, his advice empowers you to focus on what matters, which is the key to success for you, your employees, and your company.
https://www.fahasa.com/
https://www.fahasa.com/
September 2, 2020
Leadership is influence.
Kruse presents a heavily-researched counterargument to the idealism of Sinek, and other contemporary leadership gurus. Optimism, and the idea of leadership as friendship have become the zeitgeist within leadership philosophy, seen everywhere from Silicon Valley to amateur sporting teams. Kruse argues that these strategies, while certainly inspiring are, in fact, a severe hindrance in times of crisis.
Kruse is a brilliant devil's advocate, and his most contrarian principles are also the ones he argues best. Being liked is not mandatory. It's okay to play favourites. Close your open door policy. While I cannot say I agree with all of the principles outlined, his new, grittier perspective is refreshing in today's saccharine world of leadership.
Kruse presents a heavily-researched counterargument to the idealism of Sinek, and other contemporary leadership gurus. Optimism, and the idea of leadership as friendship have become the zeitgeist within leadership philosophy, seen everywhere from Silicon Valley to amateur sporting teams. Kruse argues that these strategies, while certainly inspiring are, in fact, a severe hindrance in times of crisis.
Kruse is a brilliant devil's advocate, and his most contrarian principles are also the ones he argues best. Being liked is not mandatory. It's okay to play favourites. Close your open door policy. While I cannot say I agree with all of the principles outlined, his new, grittier perspective is refreshing in today's saccharine world of leadership.
April 7, 2019
Great new book on leadership that takes the same kind of data-driven, research-intensive approach, while remaining casually if addictively readable, as you'd find in the works of writers like Dan Pink, Gretchen Rubin, Cal Newport, and others.
While I don't necessarily agree with everything Kruse writes - for example, his (too common) suggestion for fixing open door overload by requiring anyone who wants to report a problem must also provide a solution - I have dozens of bookmarks throughout this book for great quotes, great ideas, and specific suggestions to follow-up on.
Highly recommended.
While I don't necessarily agree with everything Kruse writes - for example, his (too common) suggestion for fixing open door overload by requiring anyone who wants to report a problem must also provide a solution - I have dozens of bookmarks throughout this book for great quotes, great ideas, and specific suggestions to follow-up on.
Highly recommended.
Currently reading
November 27, 2022I might pick it up again, but for now I stopped reading after the first chapter, 'Close your open door policy'. Unlike his well-know short article, which seemed mostly pragmatic in nature, this chapter is dripping with an unpleasant reactionary social attitude. Ironically it starts with noting that the 'current' generation has different expectations of the workplace, but the entire tone seems to be aimed at the same kind of leaders that despise millennials, let alone gen-Z, and will express shock at 'quiet quitting'. With so much boomer energy, I dread to start the chapter called 'Shut off your smartphone. '...
June 8, 2023
Nice book. Saya membaca versi terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia terbitan Gramedia. Nice insight about leadership, why its matter in our lives since leadership isnt just about rule the organization, but skill to lead ourselves, family, or someone beside Us. Kepemimpinan bukan melulu tentang top lead memimpin perusahaan besar. Dan Kevin memberikan beberapa ideas menarik yang mungkin seringkali kurang lazim diterapkan pada gaya kempimpinan otoritarian atau pun sebaliknya, pada era leaderless organization. At the end, saya sepakat pada Kevin bahwa kepemimpinan bukan semata tersemat pada jabatan dan atau posisi, pun kepemimpinan bukan sesuatu yang ‘wah’, kepemimpinan adalah keniscayaan.
August 29, 2019
I have read a fair few of Kevin's book, and listened to a ton of the podcasts over at his company Leadx.com which interviews great leaders.
So the content in the book is pure fire.... built on a TON of research, but written in an accessible way.
My brother is a Royal Marine and he LOVES it. Each chapter is broken down as to how the content can be applied to people in areas such as sports, family, and the military.
We are all leaders, so read this and start reading with intent.
So the content in the book is pure fire.... built on a TON of research, but written in an accessible way.
My brother is a Royal Marine and he LOVES it. Each chapter is broken down as to how the content can be applied to people in areas such as sports, family, and the military.
We are all leaders, so read this and start reading with intent.
November 30, 2022
Definitely a book that reminds us how little mistakes or actions can take away the inspiration and motivation you must project and multiply as a leader. His ten principles are as obvious as having two eyes and two legs. My favorite ones …. 1)Close your open door policy - 2)Pay attention (no cell phones) - 3)be likable not liked - 4)lead with love - 5)Reveal everything specially the truth - 6)Show your weaknesses and 7)leadership is not a choice. Good book to read.
May 12, 2019
This is a great book that provides some counter intuitive behaviors and tips to improve as a leader. More importantly the author not only provides theory and real world examples he includes “how to” apply these principles as a businessman, military officer, or sports coach making the implementation even easier. Great book that all leaders should read.
June 9, 2019
Great book
This books is really about building mutual trust in organizations and getting things done. It’s refreshing as it steps always fro.m centralized control without abandoning it completely and emphasizes on decentralized control or “Mission Command” great advice co tai Ed throughout the book.
This books is really about building mutual trust in organizations and getting things done. It’s refreshing as it steps always fro.m centralized control without abandoning it completely and emphasizes on decentralized control or “Mission Command” great advice co tai Ed throughout the book.
December 16, 2019
Makes you think
I recommend this book to current leaders as well as anyone looking to move into a leadership position. The author provides data to support his concepts, which is refreshing compared to many business management books based on theory or conjecture. If nothing else, this book should make you pause as you read it and help you reflect on your management style.
I recommend this book to current leaders as well as anyone looking to move into a leadership position. The author provides data to support his concepts, which is refreshing compared to many business management books based on theory or conjecture. If nothing else, this book should make you pause as you read it and help you reflect on your management style.
May 21, 2022
I appreciate Kevin debunking common practices in leadership and providing unintended impacts and an alternative behavior. The book's key take aways are:
1.) Close Your Open Door Policy (aka...Boundary Setting)
2.) Shut off your smartphone
3.) Have no rules
4.) Be likable, not liked
5.) Lead with Love
6.) Crowd Your Calendar
7.) Play Favorites
8.) Reveal Everything
9.) Show Weakness
1.) Close Your Open Door Policy (aka...Boundary Setting)
2.) Shut off your smartphone
3.) Have no rules
4.) Be likable, not liked
5.) Lead with Love
6.) Crowd Your Calendar
7.) Play Favorites
8.) Reveal Everything
9.) Show Weakness
July 28, 2022
Interesting Thoughts
I especially liked the chapter about having no rules. It’s an interesting idea that I think would only work if you have mostly-mature people on your team and you have a system of feedback and coaching to steer people to make good choices. But the ideas in this book are thought-provoking and worth considering.
I especially liked the chapter about having no rules. It’s an interesting idea that I think would only work if you have mostly-mature people on your team and you have a system of feedback and coaching to steer people to make good choices. But the ideas in this book are thought-provoking and worth considering.
April 15, 2024
Easy read for new managers. Read it in two days thanks to Kruze's writing style (light and conversational). It's a nice overview of key pillars to start as a leader but no dive in. It also feels a bit boomer-ish as big part of the advices seemed obvious to me (am 35). Felt a but like my father teaching his peers how to deal with the "new generation".
June 10, 2019
If you’re responsible for the performance of a group, this book should be on your must-read list. It’s filled with solid insights, good examples, and solid advice.
See my full review at
https://www.threestarleadership.com/b...
See my full review at
https://www.threestarleadership.com/b...
May 31, 2020
Pleasant and quick read with sound advice. Interesting anecdotes and studies interspersed. Nothing here was earth-shattering to me, but I’m not a big fan of rules. These guidelines might be more novel for a by-the-book sort of person or someone just embarking on their leadership journey.
August 10, 2020
Excellent book on leadership,
Great read! Practical applications that I will be utilizing as a manager/leader. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to better themselves as a leader.
Great read! Practical applications that I will be utilizing as a manager/leader. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to better themselves as a leader.
July 4, 2021
This book summarizes well founded and generally popular recommendations; presenting them as contrarian may be overstatement. However the content is concise and useful, such carving personal time time, promoting talent, leading with transparency, showing vulnerability.
June 17, 2023
2.5 ⭐
Have no rules tapi tetep banyak rules di dalamnya. Menurutku yang dijelaskan dalam buku ini tentang kepemimpinan cuma hal-hal general saja. Gak ada yang istimewa. But not bad. Tetep nemu point yang relateable.
Have no rules tapi tetep banyak rules di dalamnya. Menurutku yang dijelaskan dalam buku ini tentang kepemimpinan cuma hal-hal general saja. Gak ada yang istimewa. But not bad. Tetep nemu point yang relateable.
January 15, 2024
كتاب اقل ما اقول عنه انه رائع ..
استفدت منه كثيراً على صعيد حياتي الشخصية ..
في العمل او في المنزل ..
ارى ان التربية والقيادة من الامور التي يجب ان نتعلم وندرس عنها لا ان نترك زمام الامور للايام لكي تُعلمنا ..
استفدت منه كثيراً على صعيد حياتي الشخصية ..
في العمل او في المنزل ..
ارى ان التربية والقيادة من الامور التي يجب ان نتعلم وندرس عنها لا ان نترك زمام الامور للايام لكي تُعلمنا ..
May 11, 2019
Clean, simple, example based leadership strategy, the breakouts at the end of each chapter are nice touch by the author.
June 7, 2019
I'm a fan of Kruse but really nothing earth shattering here and I would have liked more expanded action tips but that being said still a solid read.
July 13, 2019
Great quick read with thought provoking principles and examples. Liked the application section at the end of each chapter.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews