Reviewed by Randy B. Lichtman for Readers' Favorite

How do you turn around a major organization? By focusing on marketing, strategy, finance, people management, and leadership. An excellent book that illustrates what it takes is The Turnaround Leader: Rebuilding Great Organizations in the Face of Adversity by Wes Wheeler. The book is a partial memoir. However, we share the challenges of Wes’ turnaround challenges in detail as well. The book begins as we get to know the author, his childhood, and his family. His early experience with Exxon served as a launching point for learning excellent management skills on which he began building. As we follow him through each of his experiences, we see how he grows and the impact his leadership has on each of the companies he manages.

Each of his pharmaceutical company experiences posed different challenges. His skill at being able to diagnose each situation and focus on the treatment made each of the company profiles more interesting. In addition to basic management and leadership, political aspects arose such as one that turned out to be an environment not too different from Game of Thrones (as he relates). His experience in bringing UPS Healthcare through the pandemic and helping save the world was amazing and not too distant. Each experience offers important lessons that all managers would benefit from reading. The Turnaround Leader: Rebuilding Great Organizations in the Face of Adversity by Wes Wheeler felt like a business thriller, waiting to see how the author would solve the next puzzle and lead the next organization through challenges. It reminds us that as important as the business challenges are, family is also very important. The book presents excellent case studies in leadership, especially in turning around a company with challenges, and reminds all leaders that they too can make a major difference in their organizations. I found this to be a wonderful, well-written book!