Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything {Review and Giveaway}

Do you consider yourself a leader? Whenever I was given the opportunity to review Dr. Tim Irwin's new book Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything, I was immediately drawn to it. At the same time, though, I wondered how it could possibly apply to me? I mean, I'm a stay-at-home-mom. I educate my children at home. I am not a business tycoon. I am not really a business anything. What kind of leadership roles do I fulfill, if any? 

Even though I do not own a business, per se (although I am thinking of The Scarlett Thread as more of a business than I did in the past), I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything. I believe we all have a place of influence. It can be our home, our children, our extended family, our neighbourhood, our local coffee shop, our Bible study, our book club, our PTA, our child's soccer/baseball/football/lacrosse team, not to mention whatever job we have or business we run. 

In Impact, Dr. Irwin discusses the components that make up a great leader and conversely, what it is that causes leaders to fail. We see leaders fall from their pedestals all too regularly these days. Athletes, politicians, corporate giants, religious leaders. Those in the homeschool/parenting community may have just read about two such failures recently. And while I did not "follow" either of those two men, it still makes my heart break over the fact that they led people to follow them and now those poor folks are left confused, angry, disappointed and wondering how and where they went wrong. Dr. Irwin would say that something was faulty within the "core" of those two men. He uses "core" to label the person inside us. We must have a strong core in order to lead and lead well. When the core is not strong, stable and solid, failure is bound to occur.

Dr. Irwin covers topics which include: self-awareness, self-talk, arrogance, humility, power, replacing lies with truth and being accountable. This book is packed full of good information, illustrations of those who have succeeded at leadership - as well as those who have failed, charts, a "Go Deeper" section at the end of most chapters, humourous stories, challenging thoughts, inspirational quotes, and practical, doable suggestions for how to become a great leader and leave a lasting legacy. Because at the end of my life, it won't matter how much money I made or did not make, but it will matter what kind of life I lived and what my children gleaned from my example. 

Here are a few of Dr. Irwin's quotes that I enjoyed and am pondering:

We judge ourselves by our intentions, while others judge us by our behavior.

Those who are more likely to stay out of trouble constantly remind themselves of their own vulnerability.

If arrogance is the mother of all derailers, then humility is the mother of all safeguards.

Every belief must be interrogated and put on trial for its life. 

Effective self-regulation frees us from the tyranny of our impulses.

So I have much to think about after reading Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything. I do see myself as a leader in several different venues. I can apply some of these ideas and principles to my life right away, especially in my mothering of the five amazing children God has given me. I am already replacing lies of some faulty beliefs with truth (which has been occurring for several years and is an ongoing process). And I do see my sphere of influence as something that I need to take more seriously, especially in regard to my little space on the Internet. I have a voice and a unique story and perspective, and God wants me to use that in a humble and powerful way.

About the author:
As a consultant for twenty years, Dr. Tim Irwin has assisted corporations in diverse industries including fiber optics, real estate, financial services, baby products, information technologies, news and entertainment, insurance, hotels, high-technology research, chemicals, floor covering, bottling, quick service restaurants, fibers and textiles, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. His work has taken Dr. Irwin to over twenty-five foreign countries in Europe, Latin American, Canada and the Far East and include companies such as SunTrust Banks, Chick-fil-A, Bank of America, Corning, Inc., IBM, Hoechst-Celanese, Gerber Products Company, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, The Coca-Cola Company, and Turner Broadcasting Systems. He is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Run with the Bulls without Getting Trampled and Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership.

Visit the official website:  http://www.drtimirwin.com

Take the personal assessment: http://drtimirwin.net/assessment/impact-assessment

Buy now: 

This giveaway is now closed. 

And the winner, chosen by random.org is #1:

Vicki Arnold

Congratulations, Vicki!!! Please send me an email: scarlettroyce(at)gmail(dot)com and I will work on getting your book to you!

Giveaway Time!

I have one copy of Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything to give away to one of my readers! 

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment below telling me if and how you see yourself as a leader OR tell me if you've read either of Dr. Irwin's other two books. Leave your email address so that I have a way to contact you, should you win. 

Extra entries (leave a separate comment for each):

Follow Dr. Irwin on Facebook

Follow Dr. Irwin on Twitter

Follow The Scarlett Thread on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Pinterest

This giveaway is open to anyone age 13 or over, in the US or CANADA. It ends May 8, 2014 at 11:59pm ET. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Flyby Promotions is responsible for fulfillment.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
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