ABOUT THE BOOK
Leadership isn’t some flash title, rank or hourly rate. It’s your choice.
Whether you’re a school leaver stepping into your first job, that new team leader wondering where to start, a seasoned supervisor looking to sharpen your edge, or that corporate entity ready to create a foundation for building leadership and team culture, this book gives you real‑world leadership lessons no one teaches.
Built from 40 years of lived experience, from the New Zealand Army to the corporate world, we’ll cut out the jargon and deliver practical, honest, straight‑talking leadership advice you can use tomorrow.
Inside, you’ll learn how to:
- lead yourself
- lead teams
- lead leaders
- build team culture
- build capability and improve engagement
- nail those tough conversations
- manage performance
- make those hard calls
- get the best out of your people
- and most importantly, how to really Get Shit Done.
No BS. No big words. Just real-life stories and real lessons taken from 40 years’ experience on the frontline and leading from the trenches.
If you want to become the leader people trust, respect, and willingly follow, this book is your starting point.
You just have to make your choice!
“Leadership isn’t some flash title, rank or hourly rate. It’s your choice.”
— Willie August
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Willie August is a seasoned leader with over 40 years of real‑world experience across military, blue‑collar, and corporate environments. Born and raised in New Zealand, Willie enlisted into the New Zealand Army at 18 and went on to serve 25 years in roles ranging from team member to Senior Leader, instructor and training roles, Operations Management, and ultimately Warrant Officer Class One, Regimental Sergeant Major.
After retiring from the Army, Willie moved to Australia and transitioned into the corporate world, where he discovered a major gap in leadership capability – not due to lack of effort, but lack of education and training. This sparked his mission to share the practical, no‑nonsense leadership lessons he wished he’d had when he left school.
Willie is known for his straight‑talking approach, his ability to connect with people from all walks of life, and his commitment to helping others grow. His leadership philosophy is built on courage, humility, integrity and resilience, and the simple belief that leadership is about getting the best out of yourself and the people around you.
Today, Willie still works in waste management and runs a large landfill for BMI Group on the northern Gold Coast. Still leading on the frontline, and still leading great team(s) (Note: Cover Page – some of his landfill machines at sunrise, ready for the day ahead…).
He continues to mentor leaders, lead teams, and share his experience through action, all with one goal:
To help people Get Shit Done.