REVIEWS

"Bringing his unique understanding of leadership styles and management techniques to bear as only he can, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld brilliantly decodes the 10-part method in what others see only as Donald Trump's madness. No-one who hopes to understand what makes Trump tick can afford to leave this decathlon of a book unread."

"I spent over a decade at Donald Trump's side – through victories, scandals, and self-inflicted disasters. No one understands the mechanics of his chaos better than I do. In this remarkable work, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld dissects Trump's leadership through a lens of truth and experience, translating what most see as disorder into a studied strategy. It's a masterclass in decoding power, ego, and manipulation – essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how Trump truly operates."

"I was charmed by Donald Trump, worked for him, and then also saw his dangerous flaws. Some treat him as the village idiot or a madman because of his unorthodox impulses and that he may not have been the top finance, econ, or history student at Wharton. Critics are as wrong to discount his communication genius and street savvy as others are to deify him. Sonnenfeld is the first scholar to reveal just how Trump operates, the method behind the magic and malice - lessons needed to protect our nation."

"Donald Trump is such a polarizing figure that no author has attempted to analyze his unique skills and failings in a non-partisan way. Sonnenfeld has done us all the great favor of capturing Trump's nontraditional leadership traits, distilling them into the Ten Commandments that comprise his power politics, and presenting them in an insightful, personal and engaging book."

"The crazy, unpredictable chaotic behavior of Donald Trump has a pattern! Who knew! Jeffrey Sonnenfeld combines his deep knowledge of Trump along with a rigorous analysis and examples of his actions to decode the 'how' of Trump's unique leadership. For all of us scratching our heads, this book provides a lens into patterns that have not been previously recognized."

"With Trump's Ten Commandments, Jeff Sonnenfeld has written an essential and riveting book. He's brought his deep knowledge of leadership to one of today's critical questions: How does President Donald Trump actually think? In this book, Sonnenfeld provides a persuasive lens through which he argues that Trump is far more intentional, and as a result more predictable, than most of us might believe."

"There is no group more negatively disposed to the traits of Trump than the CEOs of large US companies. That's because the CEOs have almost universally risen through the ranks of their organizations through inspiring leadership characteristics such as: integrity; team-building; diversity of thought; transparency; and positive motivation. Unfortunately, the CEOs can't speak out for fear of retribution. Jeff Sonnenfeld speaks for them in this book by outlining ten traits that distinguish Trump from truly gifted leaders. This must-read guide helps business leaders in how to prepare for an official like Trump without having to learn the hard way."

"Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is, first and foremost, a consummate leadership scholar and has been for decades. In this book, he turns his attention to analyzing the leadership strategies of Donald Trump. Neither screed nor apologia, this book explains what Trump does and, more importantly, how and why it is so often effective. In a word (or two) amazingly insightful."

"Jeff Sonnenfeld has known and counseled Presidents and CEOs for decades. Having a long relationship with our current President, Jeff is uniquely able to explain Donald Trump's motivations and methods. Those who reflexively support the President and those who viscerally oppose him have one thing in common: they both think they understand what he's doing and why. Sonnenfeld reveals how they are both wrong."

"Jeff Sonnenfeld's Trump's Ten Commandments framed usefully and convincingly Trump's leadership style, methods and his motivations for them. It draws great strength from his personal contacts with Trump, with Trump's family, with many of his advisors and with business leaders. It also draws strength from Sonnenfeld's reference to a wide range of academics who have studied leadership methods. The leadership styles attributed to Trump, while uniquely Trump's in their totality, also apply to other leaders. Understanding them through the lens which Sonnenfeld provides can be very useful both in understanding the other person and being able to relate constructively with them."

"Sonnenfeld shows that many of Trump's sharpest critics continue to be conned by the president's ability to brazenly exploit any situation. This book explains how Trump's 'wall of sound' approach to leadership has been so powerful, and so dangerous for our democracy."

"When I asked Henry Kissinger, my lifelong mentor and confidant, after their first meeting following Trump's election what kind of President he thought Trump would be, he used exactly the same word Jeff Sonnenfeld used in his introduction to this book -- "consequential." He said he would leave it to historians to write about how and why. Now we don't have to wait. Jeff's book delves deeply and insightfully into both the how and why. It is unique among all books written so far in the approach he takes to addressing these issues. He does so from a freshly unconventional perspective. But then again, the subject of this book is highly unconventional as a president and as a person. To understand how unconventional he is and how this affects his policy, our country and the world, this book is essential and highly thought provoking -- for those who passionately love Trump, who passionately dislike him, who have not made up their minds and who are still trying to understand him. Those in the latter category especially need to read and study this enormously penetrating work. It is brilliantly written, deeply insightful, filled with rich and unique anecdotes that only a Jeff Sonnenfeld with his experience and relationship with Trump could provide, and dazzlingly colorful in his portrayal of Trump and the world around him."

"Some people see chaos. Sonnenfeld sees the playbook. Trump's Ten Commandments is the sharpest decoding of Trump's leadership I've seen, and having lived it in the White House during his first presidency, I can tell you: this book is essential for anyone who wants to understand how power truly operates today. A consequential guide for leaders—and a sanity check for the rest of us. No matter your view of Trump—pro, anti, or just trying to survive the turbulence—this book gives you the tools to understand the moment."

"In reading Jeff Sonnenfeld's insightful and personal account of what makes Donald Trump "tick," his Ten Commandments, I not only gained a far better perspective on our current President's beliefs, behaviors, and results, but a much stronger realization that we all live in a hub-and-spokes model of relationships to others, one that we impact with our own perceptual reality, behavioral choices, and outcomes, both good and bad. This leads me to question and reflect on the commandments that have shaped my own network of relationships and their consequences on my life. Similar to my many years of learning from Jeff's academic insights and caring friendship, reading Trump's Ten Commandments has not only led me to greater knowledge of Trump but also a much deeper understanding of self."