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  • Published: 5 September 2024
  • ISBN: 9781529189933
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $36.99

On Leadership

Lessons for the 21st Century




Tony Blair's major new book on the art and science of leadership

Today, more than ever before, the quality of a country’s governance and leadership determines whether it will succeed or fail.

The world over, there are nations with roughly the same populations, the same resources, the same potential; yet some will flourish while others flounder. Why? Quite simply, some have leaders who understand the principles of good government, and some don’t.

Tony Blair learnt the precepts of governing the hard way: by leading a country for over ten years. In that time he came to understand that there were certain key characteristics of successful government that he wished he had known when he started. Since then, he has seen how, though circumstances and contexts differ enormously, the challenges of governing are basically the same in any nation, whatever its stage of development. Not just that: there are also decades of political experience on which modern leaders can draw. Unfortunately, while practical guides to other professions abound, governing is treated as a dimension of politics, not as an art and science in its own right, and practical, non-partisan advice is consequently hard to find.

Now Tony Blair has written the manual on political leadership that he would have wanted back in 1997, sharing the insights he has gained from his personal experience and from observing other world leaders at first hand, both while he was in office and since, through his Institute’s work with political leaders and governments globally.

Written in short, pithy chapters, packed with examples drawn from all forms of political systems from around the world, the book answers the key questions: How should a leader organise the centre of government and his or her own office? How should he or she prioritise and develop the right plan and hire the right personnel, cope with unforeseen events and crises, and balance short-term wins with long-term structural change? What’s the best way to deal with an obstructive or inert bureaucracy, to attract investment, to reform healthcare or education, and to ensure security for the citizen? And how should governments harness the massive opportunities of the 21st- century technological revolution?

  • Published: 5 September 2024
  • ISBN: 9781529189933
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $36.99

About the author

Tony Blair

Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh in 1953. He became MP for Sedgefield in 1983, leader of the Labour Party in 1994, and was prime minister of the United Kingdom from May 1997 to June 2007.

Since leaving Downing Street, Tony Blair has served as the Quartet Representative to the Middle East, working with the Palestinians on behalf of the USA, UN, Russia and EU to prepare for statehood as part of the international community's effort to secure peace.

In May 2008 he launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation which promotes respect and understanding between the major religions and makes the case for faith as a force for good in the modern world.

His Africa Governance Initiative works with leaders and their governmentson policy delivery and attracting sustainable investment in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

As the first major head of government to bring climate change to the top of the international political agenda at the 2005 G8 summit, Tony Blair works with world leaders to build consensus on an international climate policy framework.

In recognition of his debt to the North East of England, he has launched The Tony Blair Sports Foundation, to increase opportunities for young people to participate in sport.

He is married to Cherie Booth QC, and they have four children.

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Praise for On Leadership

Filled with ideas and insight for every reader.

i

The book is engaging, insightful, provocative and derisive of "place-holder" leaders who lack the grit to be "a change-maker"

Andrew Rawnsley, Observer

A fascinating treatise on leadership . . . The best bits of the book – and they are genuinely very good – are the passages offering advice on how to cope with the personal burdens of leadership, from dealing with the pressures of social media, to developing a hinterland, avoiding hubris, and knowing when to leave the stage . . . There is much to learn from On Leadership, and I am glad Blair has written it. It will fascinate anyone interested in the art of governing, even in the abstract – and represents a good investment of time for anyone in or aspiring to political leadership.

Nicola Sturgeon, Guardian

On Leadership . . . is the sort of book any leader or aspiring leader, political or otherwise, will benefit from reading. It's punchy, full of good advice and, coming from someone who has been there and seen it all, they might be more likely to listen.

Irish Independent

‘[Blair’s] institute has given him a perspective no other leading British politician can rival . . . The result is a profoundly non-insular analysis . . . full of practical advice . . . Useful and timely . . . [Blair] is a deeply thoughtful, highly experienced and self-critical man who deserves to be taken seriously by anyone interested in how democratic power is effectively wielded.’

Andrew Marr, The New Statesman

‘Tantalising, fascinating and insightful . . . worth reading if you want to understand why some governments and political movements succeed and others fail.’

Isabel Hardman, i news

A brilliant, unusual book . . . What this book captures about Blair is not just his mastery of the political arts, but his infectious optimism about politics itself. The book is informed, intelligent and interesting — but it is more than that. It is the most practically useful guide to politics I have ever read . . . It’s the lifetime learnings of a once leader for current and future leaders.

George Osborne, Financial Times

A punchy, didactic, believe-me-I've-done-it guide to doing politics successfully.

Anne McElvoy

Useful and interesting

Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

Upbeat, stimulating . . . this clever, punchy and often inspiring book shows why so many people were once willing to follow him.

Andrew Lynch, Business Post

This is a book by a mechanic, not a magician. It is all the better for it . . . Interesting [and] poignant . . . It is as helpful a guide as is possible for success in political life and not just survival. As the success of governments matters to more than just those who serve in them, this book deserves to be read by more than the small group who aspire to be Taoisigh or ministers.

Irish Times
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