Lessons from a Warzone

Jan 5, 2025 7:26 PM

Author:Louai Al Roumani

One day, everything is going well; the next, disaster strikes. What do you do when every pillar is collapsing, every rule is being broken and chaos seems to be all around you?

'Pessimism be damned. This man steered his bank through four years of a hellish civil war - and the lessons he learnt will benefit us all.' Sathnam Sanghera, author of EmpireLand

________________

An inspiring story of resilient leadership in the toughest of times.

Louai Al Roumani was head of finance and planning at one of the largest banks in Syria when the war broke out in 2011.

In Lessons from a Warzone, Al Roumani shares his very personal account of coping with the day-to-day realities of leading an organization in dangerous and hostile conditions. His story shows how inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places, and how a business can not only survive in chaos, but can learn to thrive - the bank became the undisputed sector leader as people's trust in its capability to protect their life-long savings strengthened.

In this book, Al Roumani distils the knowledge and skills he and his colleagues developed while steering the bank through four impossible years into ten lessons applicable to any leader facing a crisis today. His valuable and often counterintuitive advice will help anyone understand how to be resilient even in the most challenging of times.

________________

'A compelling guide for leaders grappling with the pandemic... the lessons in resilient leadership in turbulent times that Roumani offers are universal.' Pilita Clark, Financial Times

'Contains powerful lessons about resilience that show how companies can come out of crises better and stronger if they focus on long-term opportunities, no matter how tough it gets in the short term' Ana Botín, executive chair, Banco Santander

Reviews

A remarkable book telling business leaders what to do when disaster strikes

—— The Times

A compelling guide for leaders grappling with the pandemic... the lessons in resilient leadership in turbulent times that Roumani offers are universal.

—— Pilita Clark, Financial Times

Contains powerful lessons about resilience that show how companies can come out of crises better and stronger if they focus on long-term opportunities, no matter how tough it gets in the short term

—— Ana Botín, Executive chair, Banco Santander

This man steered his bank through four years of a hellish civil war - and the lessons he learnt will benefit us all. It not only makes every other book on crisis management feel like Harry Potter, but also offers an inadvertently timely guide for those of us living through a different kind of crisis.

—— Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland

Don't read this book just for the business lessons. It is a powerful tale of the resilience of a man and a society in the face of enormous threat and massive upheaval.

—— Tom Hayhoe, Chairman of West London NHS Trust

I'm personally - and professionally - grateful to Louai Al Roumani for writing this book. I hope I never have to live and work in a Warzone, but when we face crises in our lives and our businesses there are useful emotional and practical lessons there is huge value in reading the heartfelt and honest experiences of others. I recommend this book with a grateful heart

—— Antony Mayfield. CEO and co-founder of Brilliant Noise

Part thriller, part warning from history, part social diary, Champagne Football is a forensic and often tragicomic investigation into the biggest story in Irish sport. It's a fantastic read

—— Malachy Clerkin , Irish Times, Sports Books of the Year 2020

Fantastic ... The best book I've ever read about Irish football

—— Ken Early , Second Captains

A damming account ... brilliantly detailed

—— Sunday Independent

Jaw-dropping

—— Joe Duffy

One of the most hotly-anticipated sport books of the year

—— Brendan O'Connor

A jaw-dropping story ... brilliant

—— Irish Times

Essential reading

—— Irish Daily Star

Compelling and often side-splittingly hilarious

—— Guardian

An absolutely extraordinary book

—— Eoin McDevitt , Second Captains

Stellar work

—— Irish Independent

An extraordinary story of what happens when proper governance doesn't exist

—— Sunday Times

An astonishing exposé

—— Martin Ziegler , The Times

An instant classic, one of the all-time great Irish sports books ... Terrific

—— Alan English , via Twitter

A masterpiece

—— Tommy Martin , via Twitter

Remarkable. The desperate story of Irish football but also a book about how Ireland works. Outstanding

—— Dion Fanning

Utterly COMPELLING ... I can't decide if Delaney is a machiavellian mastermind or a lucky chancer

—— Marian Keyes , via Twitter

Made my blood boil

—— Des Cahill

Absolutely superb ... Good old fashioned gumboot journalism and a rollicking good read

—— Paul Howard , via Twitter

Fantastic ... A real page-turner

—— Marie Crowe , Game On

The Irish sports book of the year

—— Balls.ie

Excellent ... includes staggering detail

—— Daily Mail

Astonishing ... It reads like an outrageous work of fiction with a scarcely believable cast of characters

—— Business Post

Brilliant ... Easily the Irish sports book of the year

—— Hot Press

The most important book ever written about Irish sport ... This is the must-read of 2020

—— RTÉ Culture

Astonishing ... One of the most important books published in this country. If you wanted to change Ireland, you would need to read this book

—— Dion Fanning , The Currency

A monumental piece of writing and investigation, a work that will go down as Irish sporting history's Woodward & Bernstein moment

—— Irish Examiner

Previous Article：The Economic Government of the World Next Article：The Art of the Advocate

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.