Winners

August 31, 2015
Campbell (The Blair Years), former Downing Street press secretary under Tony Blair, examines many aspects of winning in this enlightening book. He looks to successful figures from a variety of fields, including both politics and sports, deriving lessons from the strategies that winners employed to achieve their goals. Dividing the book into four parts, Campbell starts with a section dedicated to what he calls “the Holy Trinity” of success—strategy, leadership, and teamwork—and highlights those who excel in these areas. In the second section, he explores what makes for a winning mind-set, focusing mostly on top athletes. The third section concerns what Campbell identifies as the three key ingredients in getting ahead: bold thinking, innovation, and a reliance on facts rather than prejudices. He concludes with a look at the importance of resilience and the process of overcoming setbacks. Throughout, he profiles people who have achieved greatness using one or more of the concepts he describes, including Angela Merkel, Anna Wintour, Floyd Mayweather, and Queen Elizabeth II. Campbell’s informative and entertaining book offers a treasure trove of insights that are sure to increase the reader’s odds of achieving success. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Ltd. (U.K.).

August 1, 2015
Campbell, British author and political-communications expert, utilizes his two passions, politics and sports, to analyze winners: who they are, how they do it, and how we can apply their lessons. His ideas are enhanced throughout the book with interviews, stories, and case studies of numerous and varied international winners, including Anna Wintour, Bill Clinton, Floyd Mayweather, Queen Elizabeth II (whom Campbell cites as one of the great enduring winners of our lifetime ), and one of his role models, Ethiopian runner and Olympic gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie. The author declares his longtime belief in SIG ( Strategy is God ), emphasizing the importance of strategy in achieving success, along with leadership and teamwork. He examines a winning mind-set; he considers three vital elements to getting ahead: a willingness to think boldly, a hunger to innovate, and a preparedness to be guided by hard facts and data; and his focus on crisis management is thought-provoking and instructive. Great winners have taught Campbell an important lesson: You can always do better. Excellent book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)