Lead Boldly

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Well-respected businessman Robert F Smith was there that day in 1963.  His family traveled hundreds of miles from their home in Colorado to participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  He may have been only a baby, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech became woven into the fabric of his upbringing and shaped the man he would become both in his personal life and in business.  Now, over 60 years later, Smith is sharing insights into how several of King’s speeches and letters helped him become a leader among leaders in Lead Boldly: Seven principles from Martin Luther King, Jr.

---

I give Lead Boldly 4 out of 5 stars.  There are many things I love about this book including the forward by Dr. Bernice King.  The audio version also allows readers to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words in his own voice, utilizing recordings of his speeches, which was a very emotional experience for me.  In school, reading these words had an impact, but nothing like hearing Dr. King speak them against the backdrop of the crowd reactions.  In the same vein, hearing Smith read his own thoughts had a similar impact.  With that said, it did feel as though this book was missing a spark – something to keep readers engaged.  Another aspect I appreciate from this book is the leadership lens taken by Smith.  Typically, you hear these speeches or read these words in terms of racial injustice or the fight for voting rights, but not in terms of business leadership.  It was an interesting way to reframe the discussion and apply Dr. King’s logic to a new subject matter.  I found myself thinking of how valuable this would have been as a new leader many years ago to help ground me in what really matters for a servant leader in the workplace. 

---

If you have a new graduate or someone newly promoted to a leadership position, this would be a fantastic congratulations gift to set them on the right path.  I would also recommend this book to leaders who are struggling to obtain buy-in from their team or business community – with themes like “Economic Justice” and “Two Americas”, it put certain discussions and requests in perspective for me and allowed me to approach them with a kinder, more holistic viewpoint than I would have before.  I would also recommend this book to readers who have read other works recounting Dr. King’s legacy and speeches such as Nine Days: The race to save Martin Luther King Jr’s Life and Win the 1960 Election by Stephen and Paul Kendrick, or The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Coretta Scott King.

Living in Metro Atlanta all of my life, I have been privileged to visit The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and hear Coretta Scott King and two of their children (Bernice and Martin III) speak at various events over the years.  I have also heard from the men and women who attended the rallies, sit-ins, marches, and events and heard King speak these words directly, including John Lewis, CT Vivian, and Joseph Lowery.  I am honored to have walked the streets in Atlanta where they marched.  If you have not visited The King Center or Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights, I would invite to you follow up reading this fantastic book with visits to both either in person or through their virtual galleries.

Lead Boldly released on August 12^th and is available at your favorite retailer.   You can grab a copy today on our Bookshop.org page!

---

This post contains affiliate links.

What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy
• Current audio book: Nightswimming, Melanie Anagnos
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Streets of Laredo, Larry McMurtry