There are few originals left in American society today, i.e. men and women who speak with a unique voice and who can offer an unconventional perspective and bracing authenticity. Steve Sample is an undisputed original. Simply put, his is a voice that should be heard by all those who aspire to lead thoughtfully and effectively in our time. The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership is Steve's effort to create a leadership manual for such people-and it has the look of a classic.

This is amongst the rarest of contemporary leadership books: a rigorously honest perspective that is both brutally unsentimental and firmly ground morally. Its lessons and insights are more given to raising difficult questions than offering simple answers. And at a time in which many might want to believe that mere good intentions can win the day, this book reminds us that true leadership is a demanding vocation that requires would-be leaders to summon that which is best and strongest within themselves.
Just as this is a rare book, the author is a rare person. He is a technologist with an unusual passion for the arts and humanities and a spectacularly successful practitioner of leadership who imparts his wisdom easily to others. It is obvious that leaders in other realms have a great deal to learn from an effective university president. What is more, Steve was able to take on not one, but two very different universities - a public East Coast university and a private West Coast university - with great success. He is also a good storyteller, offering meaningful lessons from his own personal life, his career and the lives of great leaders of every age. What he has to say is so fresh-yet paradoxically so timeless and so at an angle to conventional wisdom-that this book will instantly be recognized as an invaluable addition to literature on leadership.

His single greatest contribution to the discussion on leadership is his ability to fix a person's mind squarely on the agonies of leadership, the unavoidable "hurtin' decisions" that have kept a Harry Truman, a Margaret Thatcher or the corner drugstore manager awake at four o'clock in the morning. While many long for a roseate leadership style that can rally institutions and persons without the threat of burdening pain, Steve argues pervasively that there is always a likelihood of casualties and that a great leader must be willing to count up the cost of a noble vision or bold action.

His lessons have a colorful, urgent, even impatient quality, and prompt considerable reflection and soul-searching. They are relevant for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if this book became the first of a series of reflections by a leader who has looked deeply inside himself and his world and allowed the result to be of value to others. While waiting for future works to come forth, readers should be delighted by the enormous riches to be mined from this volume.

[Reading Tips] [Critical commentary] [Further readings]

• Defining Moments
  Joseph L. Badaracco – Harvard Business School Press.
  (Manageris N°56a)
• Credibility
  James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner – Jossey-Bass.
  (Manageris N°23a)
• The Leadership Engine
  Noel Tichy – Harper Business.
  (Manageris N°68a)