The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

About the book

John C. Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership was published in 1998 and in a 10th anniversary edition in 2007, in which the author replaced two laws with new ones (the Law of Addition and the Law of the Picture). Each law is illustrated with stories of leaders from business, politics, sport and the Church. Maxwell himself stresses that his “laws” come from experience and observation rather than scientific research.

The laws (2007 edition)

1. The Law of the Lid - leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness.
2. The Law of Influence - the true measure of leadership is influence.
3. The Law of Process - leadership develops daily, not in a day.
4. The Law of Navigation - anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.
5. The Law of Addition - leaders add value by serving others.
6. The Law of Solid Ground - trust is the foundation of leadership.
7. The Law of Respect - people naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
8. The Law of Intuition - leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias.
9. The Law of Magnetism - who you are is who you attract.
10. The Law of Connection - leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
11. The Law of the Inner Circle - a leader's potential is determined by those closest to him.
12. The Law of Empowerment - only secure leaders give power to others.
13. The Law of the Picture - people do what people see.
14. The Law of Buy-In - people buy into the leader, then the vision.
15. The Law of Victory - leaders find a way for the team to win.
16. The Law of the Big Mo - momentum is a leader's best friend.
17. The Law of Priorities - leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.
18. The Law of Sacrifice - a leader must give up to go up.
19. The Law of Timing - when to lead is as important as what to do and where to go.
20. The Law of Explosive Growth - to add growth, lead followers; to multiply, lead leaders.
21. The Law of Legacy - a leader's lasting value is measured by succession.

Assessment

The book is very practical and easy to use in groups (each law makes a topic for one meeting). Its weakness is the lack of an empirical basis and some oversimplification. Many laws have counterparts in research: the Law of Solid Ground in research on trust, the Laws of Explosive Growth and Legacy in the idea of the discipleship method, the Law of Priorities in the Eisenhower matrix. See John C. Maxwell, the five levels of leadership.