General Rick Hillier’s views on leadership evolved over histhree decades as a soldier, first by watching many of hissuperiors make bad decisions, then by learning from the schoolof hard knocks as the head of emergency rescue operations inCanada and international task forces in eastern Europe andAfghanistan. Never one to be shy with his opinions, Hillier isas frank and straightforward in Leadership as he is inhis #1 bestselling memoir, A Soldier First.
For Hillier, leadership is all about people -- embracingthose in your charge and winning over those you need to workwith -- not about risk aversion or management fads. Leadersthink long, and have a vision. Their actions speak, not theirwords, and they make their own luck. But leaders also act out ofmoral courage, accept failure, take advantage of crisis and areperpetually optimistic.
Leadership is an inspirational, easy-to-read and, intrue Hillier fashion, always entertaining collection of principlesthat will challenge the way you run your business, start a projector take that next step in life.
General Rick Hillier, born in Newfoundland and Labrador, enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1973 through the Regular Officer Training Plan program. He graduated from Memorial University in 1975 with a B.Sc. degree. In May 2003 Hillier was appointed Commander of the Army, and in October 2003 he was selected as the Commander of the NATO-led International security Assistance Force (IsAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. General Hillier was promoted to Chief of the Defence staff in February 2005 and stepped down in the summer of 2008.
