To Stop A Tyrant

It is a sad fact that the world is awash in political tyrants. ​So is human history. Ira Chaleff, an expert in political followership and one of the 100 "Best Minds in Leadership" (Leadership Excellence magazine) reveals how political followers can make or "brake" toxic leaders and what we can do--no matter our level of political influence or where we sit on the political spectrum--to support beneficial leaders and stop the rise of would-be tyrants. Political tyrants are one of the most destructive forces in the world, perpetrating mass oppression, suffering, war, and genocide. Unfortunately, we are no closer to eliminating this scourge of human political organization than we have ever been. Wherever you are on the political spectrum, you may have growing--even alarming--concerns about the potential impact of destructive political leaders on your country and those you love. You see increasing attempts by these leaders to use the power of the media and government to control the citizenry, enrich their cronies, turn ordinary people against each other, and weaken the checks and balances on which democracies depend. At the same time, you may feel despair about your ability to make a difference on the course of events, or feel unsure of how to take a stand. Ira Chaleff, with his long and deep exposure to leadership and followership at high levels of government service, and his extensive research into abuses of power, shows us that we, too, have power--and maybe more than we think. But it must be used in timely and politically savvy ways. Chaleff unpacks the choices for action available to us depending on our circle of influence in relation to political leaders whom we support or oppose. He explores the pressures found in each of these circles and identifies windows of opportunity for interrupting a progression from governance to tyrannical rule. Chaleff reveals the follower's ability to make a tangible difference in preventing the rise and consolidation of power of toxic political leaders. He offers his readers a sense of real personal agency in place of feelings of helplessness and anxiety. Building on the success of his award-winning books, The Courageous Follower and Intelligent Disobedience, Chaleff's timely new book provides a mirror, a map, and guideposts for looking at ourselves and our ability to create better political leadership that we crave for our communities and our nation. Ira Chaleff spent thirty years in Washington D.C., as executive director, chair, and now chair-emeritus of the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-partisan organization working on both sides of the political aisle to improve communication between constituents and their representatives. From this vantage point he has worked with Democrats and Republicans, has seen the best and worst of both and the influential role played by their staffs. This platform has taken him to global engagements in countries struggling to establish viable democracies in the face of a long history of military and dictatorial rule. This gives him a unique perspective from which to write a non-partisan and global examination of the strengths and dangers of political leadership. Ira has conducted hundreds of workshops for US federal employees on courageous leading and following and coached mid-level and senior executives in a wide range of government agencies. These activities have given him further insight into the relationship of elected office holders, their political appointees, and career civil servants. His work has found its way into the cultures of many federal agencies, the US military, and globally in venues such as the European Union, the British Army, and African and Asian leadership development programs. He has served on the board of the International Leadership Association and was a visiting leadership scholar at Churchill College, The University of Cambridge, England. He continues to write and lecture from his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Whatever your political beliefs, you are likely to be concerned about the potential impact of destructive political leaders on your country and those you love. You may want to do something about this but feel limited in your ability to make a difference. Based on his extensive experience in the political world, Ira Chaleff demonstrates that we have more power than we think. But this power must be used in timely and politically savvy ways. He unpacks the choices for action depending on our circle of influence in relation to leaders—both those we support and oppose—and identifies the window of opportunity for interrupting a progression from governance to tyrannical rule. The window in which you need to act before it closes. Chaleff spent thirty years with a non-partisan organization in Washington, D.C., working to improve communication between constituents and their elected representatives. He has seen the best and worst of both Democrats and Republicans. He understands the influential role played by their staffs and constituents. He will show you, too, how to make a difference. Building on the success of his award-winning books, The Courageous Follower and Intelligent Disobedience, Chaleff’s timely new book provides a map for creating better political leadership—the leadership we crave for our communities and our nation – through better followership. His work with the US Congress took him to engagements in countries struggling to establish viable democracies after years of dictatorial rule. His work with federal executive-branch agencies gave him further insight into the relationship of elected officials, their political appointees, and career civil servants. Even readers with long histories of government service will find new ways of navigating the dilemmas they face. Chaleff’s ideas on leadership, and his unique perspective on followership, have found their way into the cultures of the US military and civilian agencies, and globally in institutions such as the European Union, the British Army, and African and Asian leadership development programs. He has served on the board of the International Leadership Association and was a visiting leadership scholar at Churchill College, The University of Cambridge, England. He continues to work with the global followership community and to write and lecture from his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

An indispensable guide to dealing with challenging, childish boss behavior and building a great career, with laugh- out-loud humor built in. Based on extensive interviews among workers, managers and psychologists, Tame Your Terrible Office TyrantTM draws hilarious but true parallels between toddlers and managers. When under stress, both often have trouble moderating their power, or lose the ability to think rationally. Traits in common include tantrum-throwing, demanding, stubborn, moody, fickle, self-centered, needy and whiny behavior. BADD (Boss Attention Deficit Disorder) is discussed as part of “Short Attention Spans.” There are 20 chapter traits in all, divided into “Bratty” and “Little Lost Lamb” categories, for easy reference, including real anecdotes and many useful tips. When bad bosses run amok in companies, nobody wins. This book shows readers how to build positive relationships with even the most out-of-control boss, and still thrive in your job. The key to success lies in dealing with a Terrible Office Tyrant (or TOTTM) much like a parent deals with a troublesome toddler. With true stories and time-tested solutions, this is the perfect guide managing a boss stuck in his Terrible Twos. Taylor takes you behind all the bossy blustering, so that you can focus on getting ahead – and achieve career excellence. Savvy top management will also gain insight on what not to do with their team. They know that Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) managers may not be in plain sight (they don’t leave juice stains on the hallway carpet!) But they do wreak havoc on the bottom line. A special section helps senior management and Human Resource departments mitigate TOT behavior for a more productive workplace.

Today the deadliest conflicts are not between states but rather within them, pitting tyrants against the populations they oppress. Over a century of data shows that civil resistance campaigns-employing strikes, boycotts, mass protests, and many other nonviolent tactics-are the most powerful means for societies to confront authoritarians. The Checklist to End Tyranny is dedicated to enabling dissidents to become more strategic in their thinking and therefore more skillful in their quest to achieve democracy and human rights. This volume is also a unique resource in helping professionals in the foreign policy and democracy promotion communities to understand at a granular level what it takes for pro-democracy activists to end the dictatorships they are living under. The stakes could not be higher. If the world is to have a Fourth Democratic Wave expanding freedom over oppression, then civil resistance campaigns will lead the way.

"Brilliant, beautifully organized, exceedingly readable."—Philip Roth World-renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores the playwright’s insight into bad (and often mad) rulers. Examining the psyche—and psychoses—of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, and Coriolanus, Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the disasters visited upon the societies over which these characters rule. Tyrant shows that Shakespeare’s work remains vitally relevant today, not least in its probing of the unquenchable, narcissistic appetites of demagogues and the self-destructive willingness of collaborators who indulge them.

**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** ‘A sort of survival book, a sort of symptom-diagnosis manual in terms of losing your democracy and what tyranny and authoritarianism look like up close’ Rachel Maddow 'These 128 pages are a brief primer in every important thing we might have learned from the history of the last century, and all that we appear to have forgotten' Observer History does not repeat, but it does instruct. In the twentieth century, European democracies collapsed into fascism, Nazism and communism. These were movements in which a leader or a party claimed to give voice to the people, promised to protect them from global existential threats, and rejected reason in favour of myth. European history shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary people can find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. History can familiarise, and it can warn. Today, we are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to totalitarianism in the twentieth century. But when the political order seems imperilled, our advantage is that we can learn from their experience to resist the advance of tyranny. Now is a good time to do so.

Power grabs, partisan stand-offs, propaganda, and riots make for tantalizing fiction, but what do we do when that drama becomes a reality all around us? For a country founded as an escape from British tyranny, the United States seems to have devolved into a land where tyrants rise to power, sycophants blindly follow, and the entire nation suffers. As ancient Greek philosophers warned us, chaotic tragedy unfolds in the absence of reason, and the only cure is a return to wisdom and virtue. America’s founding fathers knew this lesson all too well and dreamed of an enlightened citizenry guided by better-than-ideological dictators. Using contemporary events to illuminate universal human weaknesses, Andrew Fiala charts the perennial history of tyrannical takeovers and the masses who support them and ultimately suffer under their rule. Ultimately, Fiala also points to a solution. Knowing the cyclical nature of tyranny, we can build safeguards against our worst inclinations and keep alive the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned for this nation.

Designed to inspire self-discovery, "There's a Hole in My Sidewalk" contains more than 100 touching poems that gently guide readers to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

Deep in the Crusades, Tom has run away from home to discover what the noble life of a knight is really like. But now that his dreams have come true and he has been knighted, all is not as rosy as he'd hoped. Terry Jones is known for his work with Monty Python, his stories for children (which won him the Children's Book Award) and his medieval books. In The Tyrant and the Squire he uses his inimitable comic imagination and originality to combine all three of these elements and create a perfect story for children and grown-ups alike. The Tyrant and the Squire is a glorious adventure from one of the UK's beloved comic performers.

The impossible people who make life’s journey so difficult are everywhere—at the office, in restaurants, on airplanes, living next door, members of your own family. They’re . . . • your “nothing is ever good enough” boss • the “no price is ever low enough” client • the next-door neighbor who redefines the meaning of paranoia • the maître d’ who looks through you as if you don’t exist • the father-in-law who you know is always thinking about how much better a life his Janey or Joey would have if only married to someone other than you Ron Shapiro and Mark Jankowski give you a simple and highly effective 4-point plan for dealing with all of them and more—N.I.C.E. Their system shows you how to neutralize your emotions so you don’t just react but act purposefully and wisely. It enables you to identify the type of bully, tyrant, or impossible person you’re facing—the situationally difficult (something has happened that turns an otherwise reasonable person into a temporary terror); the strategically difficult (she has empirical evidence that being difficult is a strategy that gets results); or simply difficult (being difficult is his 24/7 M.O.). Then you’ll learn how to shape the outcome by controlling the encounter and, finally, how to get “unstuck” by exploring your options. Using colorful stories from all walks of life— “He called me the scum of the earth and it went downhill from there,” “First, lock all your vendors in a small room,” and “The boss from hell”—the authors bring their lessons to life, from business life to family life.