‘Lead Boldly’ draws leadership lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Robert F. Smith
c.2025, HarperCollins Leadership
$31.99, 240 pages

Watch and learn.

If you’ve ever had to do something thorny or tricky, something you’ve never done before, that’s how you get good at it: you watch a video online or see someone do it in person before trying it and putting your own spin on it. See one, do one, show one, they say. As in the new book “Lead Boldly: Seven Principles from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Robert F. Smith, it’s always best to learn by example.

Though he was there at the March on Washington in August of 1963, Smith doesn’t remember it. He was an infant in his mother’s arms then, but he grew up on stories of that day, and other accounts of Dr. Martin Luther King’s efforts. He cut his teeth on tales of Jim Crow, the Green Book, and the lack of generational wealth. Understanding this history is why, in his business, he reaches for the seven principles that Dr. King taught.

Leaders, he says, know the importance of equal opportunities, and they work to change wealth gaps and raise future generations of Black citizens — often through Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which help underserved areas.

Leaders build community, then they work to move everyone forward by encouraging STEM education in local schools and by ensuring that the latest technology is within reach of all citizens. They meld both sides of America into one cohesive citizenry to harness the power of togetherness and to create equity and opportunities. Leaders build bridges between their group and others, and they work to keep them strong. A good leader is brave enough and willing to step up and declare that something’s wrong, and to see that it is fixed.

And finally, you can “lead boldly” by taking the reins, gathering your team and continuing efforts to better all citizens in all corners.

Looking for some inspiration from the C-Suite?

You might find it inside “Lead Boldly,” but you might also notice that what you’ll read here is somewhat inadequate. Rather than hearty information, it’s a lot of opinion — valid opinion, but opinion nonetheless — that may work better for younger up-and-comers. Worse, there’s really not enough of it.

That can be frustrating. Smith, who heads Vista Equity Partners, begins each chapter with a different speech by Dr. King, then makes each relevant for anyone who hopes to make change. After those rousing words, though, readers may be left wanting more direction. You’ll be fired up… and then cooled down quickly, probably because this book is relatively short at just 240 pages, roughly half of which is speech transcripts. That leaves the other half to cover a lot of ground.

Which it does, but just not enough.

This isn’t a bad book; it’s full of great information but feels incomplete. Perhaps the best way to get the most out of it is to study the speeches and use Smith’s lessons as a launching pad. Do your own homework and then let “Lead Boldly” inspire you further.

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