>According to whom?
Anyone with a brain. Steve Jobs wasn't successful because he found it appropriate to act like a 2 year old in a business environment. He was successful in spite of it.
>Leadership isn't about making friend; It's about getting people to obey.
I agree that leadership isn't about making friends, but the other half of the book's title is "and Influencing People," which is about getting people to do what you want them to, which is exactly what you said leadership is about.
Hitler and Stalin were not good leaders. Sure, you can force people to do things if your commands are backed up by the promise of torture and death, but that's not leadership by any stretch of the imagination.
You can be successful for a number of reasons. Most good leaders are successful, but success alone isn't an indicator of leadership ability. Good leaders are far too rare for every successful organization to have one.
>Hitler and Stalin were not good leaders. Sure, you can force people to do things if your commands are backed up by the promise of torture and death, but that's not leadership by any stretch of the imagination.
Hitler and Stalin weren't born with the ability to have anyone tortured or killed. They didn't inherit generals and secret police under their command. These power structures they built themselves over the course of their respective political careers. Their ability to rally people to their respective causes was formidable.
For another example of belligerence and downright nastiness as a leadership quality: look no further than the military. Drill Instructors are legendary for the intimidating and degrading treatment of their subordinates and yet I find it very hard to argue with the results. By and large, they're able to produce unshakably loyal soldiers.
I'm a 3rd generation Soldier that was in the Army for a decade, what you are describing is called toxic leadership, and it destroys organizations. Slowly, the military is starting to admit that its ineffective when your subordinates aren't a bunch of mouth breathing illiterates.
Also, most Soldiers are loyal because most people who aren't already patriotic wouldn't have much of a reason to go through all the bullshit. Anyone who thinks that you can get brainwashed by 9 weeks of mild exercise and ass-chewings delivered by a group of regular people who are paid to pretend that they are mad at you must have had a pretty easy life. Basic training is the codecademy of military discipline.
>I'm a 3rd generation Soldier that was in the Army for a decade, what you are describing is called toxic leadership, and it destroys organizations. Slowly, the military is starting to admit that its ineffective when your subordinates aren't a bunch of mouth breathing illiterates.
Totally different situation. You're talking about maintaining high morale with career soldiers. I'm talking about rousing up a bunch of conscripts and packing them off to war. Historically, these types of people made up the bulk of the armies and didn't live long enough to cause trouble for the organization.
You should read "How to Make Friends and Influence People" It contains quite a few examples of what true leadership is.