Lead Like Ike - Ten Business Strategies From the CEO of D-Day by Geoff Loftus

I thoroughly enjoyed “Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies From The CEO Of D-Day” by Geoff Loftus. As a former soldier and someone who studies all things martial, and as someone with business and law degrees who speaks on the topics using military and warrior references, this book was extremely informative and enjoyable to read.

The book is part history, part business lessons. Loftus takes the reader on a journey through what he calls the world’s most daunting business initiative. He writes about General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower as the CEO of D-Day Inc. He uses this military metaphor for business to examine Eisenhower’s leadership style, including his relationship with his Board of Directors (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and other chiefs of staff), his C-level staff (Senior commanders like Bradley, Patton, and Montgomery), affiliated organizations (Free French and Polish forces), and the stakeholders (soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied forces in Europe, citizens of U.S. and Britain, and victims of Hitler’s aggression). Obviously, strategy and tactics are important to both military operations and business success. Loftus does a great job of using the D-Day operations as examples to implement organizational strategies.

The book follows along as the operations unfolded during the war, but focuses on ten strategic lessons. These are: Determine Your Mission, Plan for Success, Stay Focused, Prioritize, Plan to Implement, Communicate, Motivate Your People, Manage Your People, Avoid Project Creep, and Be Honest.

Loftus examines success and failures and provides many business examples that relate to the military examples he uses to make the initial point. Each chapter ends with a section titled “Debriefing Notes” that review the main points from the chapter. These are simple bullet points that clarify the main lesson. For instance, regarding the strategy of communicate, one debriefing note states, “Know Your Stuff: If you don’t know it, learn it. If you don’t know your stuff, shut up. Faking it does not work.” Another, from a different chapter, states: “You Commit First: If you need commitment from your people – you should go first.”

When you look at what was accomplished by the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, you realize just what an undertaking it was. Eisenhower’s leadership was instrumental in that success. This book not only shares the gripping story that honors the sacrifice of all who fought and died during the war, but also examines the strategies, tactics, and leadership of Eisenhower and how those lessons can be applied to modern day business leadership. If you have an interest in the military and leadership, you will enjoy and learn from this book. Highly recommended.

Lead Like Ike - Ten Business Strategies From the CEO of D-Day by Geoff Loftus