Former Swiss Guard, CEO and business leader Andreas Widmer gives a behind-the-scenes look into Pope John Paul II, the most authentically human person I ve ever met, and reveals how those memories shaped and forged his success as a corporate executive. In what papal biographer George Weigel calls a powerful example of leadership at work, Widmer recounts his personal experiences serving Blessed Pope John Paul II in the Swiss Guard, and the secrets of successful leadership that he learned at the feet of the great pope.
Andreas Widmer gives us a true gift by sharing his firsthand experience of Pope JPII's personal habits so that we can incorporate these in our own leadership journey. By making the Pope accessible and by appropriating the Pope's demeanor into his own personal and work lives, Andreas gives a us a role model who is truly worthy of the word; he shows us that it is possible to achieve the sanctity of leadership even in the context of business. -- Carolyn Y. Woo, Dean, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame; newly named President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services.
John Paul II's witness to the reality of God's grace in the life of man so inspired and touched the life of one Swiss Guard, that when the latter became an entrepreneur and a CEO, he set himself to emulate the virtues of leadership of the Pope. In this book, the Swiss-Guard-turned-CEO gives a personal witness to the successful application of the Pope's leadership virtues and offers the same to other CEOs and all of his readers. The book is thus an excellent tribute to the memory of the Pope and a commendable guide to successful entrepreneurship. -- Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.