The Pope and the CEO

I am a member of the JPII generation. He was the pope of my youth, and I admire him greatly. He was an inspiring leader to many, but The Pope & the CEO relates a privileged personal relationship between Andreas Widmer—the author, a former Swiss Guard—and Pope John Paul II.

As I read the introduction I was concerned that this book would be too focused on the business world to be applicable to myself. However, I was pleased that most of the principles were broadly applicable. I am at a point in my professional life where I have to make decisions about the trajectory of my career and have found the reflections at the end of each chapter valuable.

I enjoyed the stories about the Pope and Widmer’s time in the Swiss Guard and found the business stories to be less interesting. Perhaps someone in business would gain more from the business stories. Widmer's candor was refreshing. He included stories of when he had gone astray or learned a lesson the hard way. This book is unlike any other that I have read as it combines faith and business without being preachy.

I found the follow excerpt about free will particularly fitting during Lent, when many individuals give up things without necessarily thinking about the purpose of this practice.

"In many ways, free will is like a muscle. It needs to be trained and strengthened in order for it to work properly. It needs to be disciplined. If not used well, it atrophies. Through repeated right exercise of it in small things—honoring a daily commitment to prayer, keeping promises to your spouse and children, meeting deadlines at the office—it grows stronger.
"It grows stronger still when you forego small comforts and pleasures in order to cultivate the habit of self-denial. Passing up dessert, getting up as soon as your alarm goes off, and not watching television on weeknights are all little acts of sacrifice that bring the will under the control of the intellect. The more you practice consciously choosing what's good but difficult in small matters, the easier it becomes to choose the good but difficult in large matters."

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company book reviewer program, and I received a free copy of the text in exchange for my honest opinion. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Pope and the CEO.