General Rick Hillier’s views on leadership evolved over his three decades as a soldier. Early in his career he watched as many of his superiors made bad decisions. Later he learned at the school of hard knocks as the head of emergency rescue operations in Canada and international task forces in eastern Europe and Afghanistan. Never one to be shy with his opinions, Hillier is as frank and straightforward in Leadership as he is in his #1 bestselling memoir, A Soldier First.

For Hillier, leadership is all about people—embracing those you are in charge of and winning over those you need to work with—not about risk aversion or management fads. Leaders think long and have a plan. Their actions speak, not their words, and they make their own luck. But leaders also act out of moral courage, take advantage of crises, accept failure and remain perpetually optimistic. Whether on the front lines of a business or in any situation that requires strong communication and vision, leaders go with their gut and make the tough decisions look easy. Leadership is an inspirational, easy-to-read and, in true Hillier fashion, often humorous collection of fifty principles that will challenge the way you run your business, start a project or take that next step in life.

General Rick Hillier, born in Newfoundland and Labrador, enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1973 through the Regular Officer Training Plan program. He graduated from Memorial University in 1975 with a B.Sc. degree. In May 2003 Hillier was appointed Commander of the Army, and in October 2003 he was selected as the Commander of the NATO-led International security Assistance Force (IsAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. General Hillier was promoted to Chief of the Defence staff in February 2005 and stepped down in the summer of 2008.

Rick Hillier's profile page

“There’s plenty of shrewd observation in the book. . . . No matter
the particular bullet point Hillier makes, he always brings the
subject back to people.” — Maclean’s

“It’s fair to say [Hillier] knows what he’s talking about on the leadership front.” — Toronto Star