Learning from Experience

• In Learning from Experience, George Shultz, one of only two people in American history to have held four cabinet positions, draws on years of public service to impart important life lessons.

• The book recounts the fascinating life of a man who prominently served our nation for decades, and contains many important lessons for public servants and everyday Americans alike.

In Learning from Experience, Shultz's account :

1. Illuminates America's race relations

2. Defines a down-to-earth economic philosophy built on free markets and fair treatment of labor

3. Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of presidential leadership

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jim Hoagland

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1. Durable Lessons

• The Market Has an Answer

• Everyone Learns, Including the Leader

• Challenge the Numbers

• No Empty Threats (or Reckless Ones)

Part 2. Laboring in the Fields

• Everybody Has a Job to Do

• Argue About the Problem, not the Principle 

• Seize the Moral High Ground

• Let People Own Their Agreement

Part 3. In the Arena: The Nixon Cabinet

• Competence Counts

• Tell the Truth, Stand Firm, Follow Through

• The Invisible Hand Is Strong

• Sometimes It Takes a Crisis

• A Word from the Pope

• Steer by Your Compass

• You Can't Want the Job Too Much

Part 4. Schooled in Business at Bechtel

Part 5 .Back in the Arena: The Reagan Years

• Accept the Short-Term Cost

• Unstable Systems Crumble

• Respect Your Adversaries

• Don't Rush to Take Credit

• Grow a Backbone

• Support the Change You Want to See

• Don't Give In When You're Right

• Be a Team Player

Part 6. Transitions

• Bring It All Together

• Progress Can Slip Away

• Never Lose Sight of the Bottom Line

• Prepare for the Worst, Aim for the Best

• Strength and Diplomacy Harmonize

• Diversity Demands Transparency

• At Home in the United States of Diversity

• History Repeats

• Governance: Family, Community, and Beyond

• A Time to Trust, to Lead, and to Hope

Appendix: "Terrorism and the Modern World," an address by Secretary of State George P. Shultz, October 25, 1984

About the Author

Index