Great leaders have always understood the power of stories. Through the stories they tell, the most successful leaders educate, persuade and bring about change, but we rarely have the background knowledge to explore how they do so. In this hugely insightful guide to getting to the top, leading journalist Gavin Esler presents first-hand knowledge of the secrets of those who achieve power based on over thirty years' experience interviewing world famous figures from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie. Introducing the questions every leader must answer - and the elements that the best stories must contain - Esler explains how creating a leadership story can promote success at all levels, whether running for the United States presidency or applying for a place at university. Spanning fields from business and culture to the military and even taking in lessons from terrorism, Lessons from the Top offers a fascinating portrait of leadership in the modern world - and shows how the methods of the most powerful leaders could work for you.

Prizes

Short-listed for Total Politics Political Book of the Year 2012 (UK)

Gavin Esler brings to his writing the same insight and intelligence he brings to his work on TV. Excellent advice for those telling the stories, and those hearing them -- Alastair Campbell
A must-read for all aspiring leaders and speechmakers. Insightful and fascinating - I loved it! -- Lord Digby Jones
A book full of great stories which you'll immediately want to share. He's a superb guide to this vital subject -- Philip Delves Broughton, author of 'Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School'
Fascinating. This book will help you understand how great stories work. * Philip Collins, former chief speech writer for Tony Blair *
Should you happen to be a young person with dreams of being a charismatic political leader, or should you merely want to know how these people persuaded others to see them as they saw themselves, Esler can tell you a lot, in only 250 pages * Independent *
[an] insightful, anecdote-packed book * Mail on Sunday *
This brilliant book has some of the greatest tales of the past two centuries * Press Association *

Gavin Esler is an award winning television and radio broadcaster, novelist and journalist. He is the author of five novels and a non-fiction book, The United States of Anger. He currently presents Newsnight on BBC2 and Dateline London which goes out weekly on BBC World and the BBC News Channel, and is a regular writer and commentator across print media. He has interviewed leaders in their fields ranging from David Cameron to Dolly Parton, and Richard Branson to King Abdullah of Jordan.