John Maxwell’s The Complete 101 Collection: What Every Leader Needs to Know shares how to be a great leader and how those leaders can impact their workplaces. I have stayed up reading chapter after chapter of his book while gleaning insights from its pages.
Maxwell has been a pastor for many years. His perspective is more religious, but he has a knack for applying it to secular business. It was inspiring to read his views on life, leadership, and priorities.
There are several things I like from this book, but I’ll share just three.
Simple And Direct
The Complete 101 Collection is an easy read. Don’t be intimidated by the length (a little over 400 pages) because the text isn’t overbearing. For example, Maxwell breaks up each chapter into sections that are less than one page long.
Usually, there aren’t too many sections per chapter, either. The most extended parts of each chapter are the lists and steps he highlights to emphasize a point. These steps are usually between three and ten steps, although some sections are longer.
Maxwell’s points in the book aren’t complicated. He highlights the most important ones and elaborates on characteristics like character, integrity, and mentorship. I’ll discuss the sections later, but each part flows from one piece to the next.
As I have read this book, I noticed that his vocabulary is simple enough to understand and elaborate enough to sound articulate.
His stories are engaging and descriptive. For example, he wrote about a Navy fighter jet’s process to take off from an aircraft carrier and how it related to teamwork.
He provided enough detail to paint the story but not too much to make me feel like I was drowning in details. As the reader, I appreciated that. When I’m looking for leadership literature, I want something concise.
Sometimes, anecdotes in leadership books get lengthy. Maxwell has mastered the art of making his point and moving on to the next.
Amazon.com
Each Section Stands Alone
As I said before, he lays out six sections. Here they are:
Attitude 101
Relationships 101
Equipping 101
Leadership 101
Mentoring 101
Success 101
My favorite section was Mentoring 101 because Maxwell frames mentoring as a steady process. Mentorship 101 was my favorite section. His stories were more applicable to careers and leadership progression.
Every leader should have a few mentors at their disposal, and Maxwell stated as much as well. Similarly, leaders must seek out people to mentor in their chosen field.
I could tear out any section of this book and can use it as a lesson/lecture. Maxwell states the most important things first in each chapter, and then the rest supports the main points. I loved this approach, and it made the sections easy to read.
Each chapter is also short. I find myself reading one chapter in about five to seven minutes, and I’m not a fast reader. Rest assured, if you’re not a fast reader either, you’ll find this book easy to digest.
Buy The Complete 101 Collection
Positivity With Every Page
Maxwell’s upbeat attitude permeates the pages of this book. He shows this, especially in his success section. Each chapter in the Success 101 section explains how leaders can find success through positivity and creativity.
His anecdotes are simple to follow and enlightening. Every story engages and enlightens the reader to implement the principle he’s explaining. I’ll refrain from going into his stories. It’s better if he tells them.
Perhaps it’s because he worked in ministry for his career, but I haven’t found many writers as optimistic as Maxwell. The 101 series pulls out how leaders need to lead others with positivity through empathy. That’s what I enjoy about this book.
Conclusion
Maxwell is a beautiful writer! He has written several books that have inspired so many people, me being one of them. Often, he’s at the forefront in the field of leadership.
As I said before, this book has been a light in my life. He takes an ethical approach to leadership because of his work as a pastor, and I appreciated a different perspective than the typical business leadership approach.
I took comfort in its inspired pages and felt uplifted by Maxwell’s positive outlook. It’s no wonder why he’s a leader amongst leaders in this world.
You can buy the book here.
Have you read this book? What do you think? Leave a comment down below. Thanks!
Greats I will be a little research and I don’t know what I would be able see if I could get the right one and I don’t have a credit card so. The fact that the boost are gifd and written here on your phone and it was a bit of the most important part of my friends are going. This is very good and I will try it out. Cheers!
Henderson,
I’m grateful you enjoyed the review. Thank you for the comment!
Robert
Hello there, its nice to see such a wide explanation/ review of a book and I am pleased to see how interacting to book can be to the reader with then direct language and how comprehensive it its. I have seen a few of John Maxwell’s works and I have a fan of his style of writing. Although this is the first time I am coming across “The complete” and I can’t wait to have a copy of this book
Justin,
You won’t be disappointed! It’s an inspiring read. And if you’re already familiar with Maxwell, this book is true to the Maxwell style. Thanks for your comment!
Robert
Interesting post you have written here and thanks so much for this here. Well! For a start, I’m a big ime lover of reading and revieriwng or communicating my opinion about what I have read, so seeing this is really am encouragement here. Thumbs up to you as I would check them out myself. Thanks
Sharon,
I’m happy you enjoyed the post! Reading opens up the mind, and I’m glad you enjoy reading. Thanks for commenting!
Robert
awesome review you have here, I must say that I am so much interest on your writing skill this review is well made up of quality content that every blogger will find so useful in building a good quality come content on his or her blog I look forward to visiting more often to get for ideas from you thanks for sharing
Evans,
Thank you for your compliment! You’ll find Maxwell’s writing style is familiar, and he really captures the attention of his readers. Thank you for your comment!
Robert
I like learning new things. I have never read any where before how a fighter jet takes off from a carrier. I think I am going to learn a lot from this book. I prefer reading books on crime fiction but this sounds interesting and very different. Although I read a book once written by a Vietnam veteran, it was really enthralling. I’m sure this one would be too.
Samiking,
You’ll find Maxwell’s writing style to be very warm. I’m glad that you enjoy reading! It’s a fun hobby. Thank you for your comment!
Robert
With the current situation where everyone is required to work from home, I’ve had more free time on my hands and I’ve decided to utilize it by reading books that can help me improve myself as a person. The book review in this post has really captured my attention as the features and synopsis of the book is interesting. I’ll look to grab a copy for myself.
Carol,
You’ll love the book! I spent many nights reading and learning from Maxwell in this book. It was gifted to me a while ago, but I still enjoy it. Thank you for commenting!
Robert
wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,Hello dear, thanks for sharing such amazing concise information with us all, wow never believed you had such amazing concise information, I am really glad I saw your post, your news had really been informative a lot, nice post I really love it , thanks a lot for the info , I’ll surely do some recommendations, nice work, keep up the good work, thanks for the info
Skuchmane,
Thank you for the compliment! I’m glad you enjoyed the review. Your energy is motivating for me! Thank you for commenting!
Robert
Hello there thanks for the review. I must say this is another amazing one from John Maxwell. I have read some of his books and they are educative and interesting. One thing I like about the author is his choice of words. I have not read this collection but then I look forward to reading it.
Philebur,
I have enjoyed his words too. He’s very comforting to read, and it feels like the reader can learn a lot from Maxwell’s books. I hope you enjoy the 101 Collection! Thank you for your comment!
Robert