I learned much about Leon Gorman, L.L. Bean and running a business. What truly held me captive was the underlying message: "Stay true to yourself and your core beliefs." No matter the changing of the guard at or the changing environment surrounding L.L. Bean, it always stood for (and still does today) loyalty (to the core business, employees and customers alike), quality and customer service. Sure, adaptations were made, but the core remained the same. I always looked at L.L. Bean as an unbelievably successful company, but did not know until reading the book the amazing sense of pride and loyalty that has been imbedded in the hearts and minds of the employees and customers. Such can only be the result of Leon Gorman's leadership and tireless work ethic in maintaining L.L. Bean's as it was and as it no doubt will be in the future. Many executives can learn a lot from reading this book and understanding the message.

Leon Gorman, grandson of LL Bean, tells the tale of his ascension and rein as President & CEO of this American icon. The story is clearly told from Gorman's very personal perspective. During his 40 year tenure he takes on his own iconic role as a strong centralized decision maker and micro-manager, substituting himself for the powerful personality of LL Bean - but trying to not change much along the way. Having caught the same disease as his successful predecessor, Gorman involves himself in virtually every aspect of the company as it grows from $30 million to a billion dollars in revenue, retarding the growth of most of the company's aspiring management talent.

While the tale seems logical and true to life, the format is disjointed, with editorial insertions from managers who are supposed to be speaking their mind but never wander far from what appears to be Leon (Gorman) accepted opinions. Most add glowing praise for Mr. Gorman and seem to have been inserted to make the author feel better about his dictatorial style.

But the history of LL Bean is both interesting as well as informative. Assuming you can navigate through the bumpiness and filter out the propaganda, you can probably find some interesting lessons about family owned businesses and how to and not to pass them down through the generations.