Greene begins by stating that humans tend to be strongly influenced by groups, allowing those groups to change their personalities. He encourages readers to balance cooperation with independent thinking. He then tells the story of Gao Jianhua, a young student in communist China who, alongside his friends, including devoted Maoist Fangpu, was thrust into the Cultural Revolution in 1964. Wanting to combat revisionist and conservative thinking, Mao Zedong encouraged young people in China to examine their environments and enforce revolutionary ideas. Students at Jianhua’s school, led by Fangpu and another student, Little Bawang, accused teachers and authorities of anti-communist sentiments, leading to humiliation and punishment. This eventually led to the departure of many teachers and staff, as well as the school vice president’s death by suicide. 

Jianhua joined the student guards, but fighting within the school divided the group into two factions, the East-Is-Red Corps led by Fangpu and Little Bawang and the Red Rebels, which Jianhua, his brother Weihua, and his friend Zongwei joined. The factions fought bitterly, resulting in multiple injuries and several deaths, including the death by suicide of East-Is-Red mole Yulan and the murder of Zongwei. Mao decided that the East-Is-Red Corps was truer to the cause, and Jianhua, his brother, and the other Red Rebels were beaten and interrogated. After some time, they left school to work in the mountains before returning to school. In 1976, upon Mao’s death, the Chinese Communist Party condemned the Cultural Revolution.

According to Greene, the story of Gao Jianhua, who later changed his name to Gao Yuan, shows Mao’s failed attempt to change human nature. Though Mao had hoped to inspire the young to erase the old ways, his experiment only showed how deeply ingrained irrationality is in group-thinking and how status and tribalism take control even in groups that are supposed to be progressive. Greene encourages the reader to understand the heavy influence of groups on individual thought and to work to remain an independent thinker. He says humans are drawn to groups and feel validated by these ties; they wish to belong and fit in with the group and perform socially, as not doing so leads to marginalization. People are also drawn to the security of groups, however wrong the group might be. Groups rely on a group culture and rules for order but may split into factions due to conflicts and power struggles. 

Greene tells the reader to observe themselves and the group thoroughly and to be aware of courtiers in the group court such as intriguers, stirrers who bring conflict, gatekeepers, jesters, favorites, punching bags, and mirrorers (425-31). He encourages readers to mirror leaders well and to be kind to punching bags to help positively influence groups. He then concludes by encouraging readers to foster reality groups by creating positive purpose, getting competent lieutenants with good character, embracing free thinking, and encouraging members to grow stronger as people.

Greene asserts that people want both strong leadership and freedom and tells the reader that to become a leader, they must balance strength and firmness with fairness and empathy. He then details the reign of English monarch Queen Elizabeth I, beginning with the eve of her coronation. Though some doubted her ability to govern England due to her youth and her gender, she showed empathy and kindness towards her subjects, including the least privileged, even before she became queen. Though her main minister, Sir William Cecil, saw her as unsuitable, even secretly trying to get her removed through maneuvers and possible marriages, Elizabeth outsmarted him and rose to the occasion in every aspect. 

Elizabeth also briefly housed her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, which the English and Scottish peoples saw as a lapse in judgment due to Mary’s role in her husband Lord Darnley’s death. After Mary’s plot against her became known, Elizabeth reluctantly executed her. In addition, her naval forces defeated King Phillip of Spain’s armada, proving her a capable leader to the other European powers. The people continued to adore her, but some wished to challenge her, including Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex. Elizabeth denied his requests to gain a position of power, and he tried to betray her by considering a deal with the Irish rebels and approaching her in her bed chamber. Her calmness and insistence they talk about the Irish later, however, caused him to retreat. He tried to stage a coup again and was arrested, this time regretting his decision and embracing Elizabeth as his queen before she executed him.

Greene argues that Elizabeth’s strength as a leader stemmed not only from her intelligence but also from her refusal to become comfortable in her leadership role and her awareness that her people’s loyalty was fragile. Her hesitation to execute Mary was a choice that tested the people’s faith in her, but in the end, she chose to serve her kingdom over her emotions. For the rest of her reign, she proved herself to her advisors, her subjects, and those outside of England. Greene then advises the reader to avoid developing entitlement and to actively lead by example and diligently work to earn others’ respect. 

People have mixed feelings about leaders that result from mixed childhood feelings about their parents, and this ambivalence toward authority continues into adulthood. To become a strong leader like Pericles or Queen Elizabeth I, one must draw people to the group’s purpose and show strength. Readers can do this by observing strong and good leadership in their own lives, observing their own leadership practices, and understanding the importance of leadership in shaping people’s individuality and desire for progress. Greene encourages the reader to practice good leadership skills by being authentic and finding a leader archetype that suits them, the deliverer, the artist, or the teacher, for example. Leadership requires having a strong and empathic attitude, a strategic, well-thought vision, a strong tone, an aura of both strength and fairness, generosity, and the ability to adapt one’s leadership style to accommodate the ever-changing culture.