Leadership Jazz | Book Review

Reviewed by Thomas Scarborough

I received this book as a gift -- as did everyone else on the occasion of author Max De Pree's retirement as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fuller Theological Seminary. It was a sunny winter day in Los Angeles -- and in keeping with the title of the book, a jazz band played as people spilled from the lecture theatre after his farewell address.

I had never set eyes on Max De Pree before, and when I saw a white-haired old man shuffling up to the podium, I thought that this might become a tired hour. However, what a surprise it was. He kept his audience spellbound throughout, and received a standing ovation at the end. His book is much the same as his address was that day -- full of wisdom, love, humour, and illustrative anecdotes.

BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK

This is not a specifically Christian book, yet it is written by a man who is a devout Christian, and it is suffused by distinctly Christian perspectives on leadership. It has been reviewed many times. Inc. Magazine commented: "The successful Herman Miller, Inc., chairman [...] writes only about trust, grace, spirit, and love."

Max De Pree was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Herman Miller, Inc., for very many years, and has the rare honour of having been elected to the National Business Hall of Fame. He also served with famous board members at Fuller Theological Seminary -- among them Billy Graham and Charles Fuller himself. He was involved in some crucial changes at the seminary, such as the closure of North Oakland Avenue, which made more of a sanctuary of the campus.

FOCUS OF THE BOOK

In his farewell address at Fuller, Max De Pree described how, early on in his marriage, he had decided three things. He needed to nurture his family, he needed to make a living, and he needed to serve (hence his position at Fuller). Part of what service means is to nurture others. A business executive is not all about business. His focus is on being sensitive to his employees in such a way that they may be fulfilled in the workplace, secure in their homes, and that their best potential may unfold. Besides this, a recurring theme of the book is that humans are human, and one needs to take this into account both in dealing with their weaknesses and in building on their strengths.

One has the sense that Max De Pree must have spent many decades writing this book. It is a multi-faceted, fast-paced, comprehensive book, and it is peppered with memorable illustrations. The themes of the various chapters include: finding your "personal philosophy", the causes of betrayal, the need for diversity in unity, the importance of selecting the right people, how to channel creative people, the value of amateurs, the need for supportive relationships, the gift of change, sensitivity to others, the thrill of keeping up to date, the need to delegate, the reasons for leadership failure, and more.

LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP

I wondered whether a Chairman of the Board would ever get by without having a certain hardness to him as well. In fact this side of Max De Pree is also present in the book, although one could easily miss it -- it slips by so easily. He writes, for instance: "One learns that a leader needs to have a high theshold of pain and a low tolerance for what is called BS". Having said this, however, he takes the view that a leader may well be responsible for his or her own troubles. "You could list hundreds of things that prevent people from being good followers" -- and he describes eight of these in particular.

Max De Pree concludes with a chapter "The Attributes of Leadership: A Checklist." The book would be worth reading for this alone. The last item on the list includes the following observation: "Leaders stop -- to ask and answer questions, to be patient, to listen to problems, to seek the nuance, to follow up a lead. Leaders quietly and openly wait for the information, good and bad, that enables them to lead." With this in mind, there is a pervasive sense in the book that both leaders and followers are common servants of a higher loyalty.

SYNTHESIS

Leadership Jazz made a refreshing and worthwhile read. While it is written in a homely and lighthearted style, it is packed with content. All in all, it serves as a welcome and gentle corrective for the Christian leader -- one could say a spiritual health check, and an enjoyable one at that.

CITATION OF REFERENCE

De Pree, Max. Leadership Jazz. New York, New York: A Dell Trade Paperback, 1992. ISBN 0-440-50518-6. Publisher Price: US$15/CAN$23.

Rev. Thomas Scarborough is the minister of an Evangelical Congregational Church in Cape Town, South Africa. He is currently studying for a Master's degree through Fuller Theological Seminary.