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212 pages
ISBN 9780307339737 Published Aug. 2008
Crown Business
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In the Books - Off to the Printers VII
Posted Jan. 7, 2010 10:15 a.m. by dylan
In - 800 CEO Read Blog

In today's installment of past articles from In the Books, we have something from Robert Morris—an independent management consultant and one of the most knowledgeable business book reviewers in the country. In the essay below, he discusses the best leadership books of 2008.

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Real-World Lessons in Leadership BY ROBERT MORRIS

The authors of the best leadership books published in 2008 draw heavily upon a wealth of real-world information, both their own and others’, notably corporate executives and leaders in other fields. There seems to be common agreement among these authors that a smart person learns from his or her mistakes whereas a wise person learns from others’ mistakes. These experiences with failure also seem to produce (for lack of a better term) wisdom from which other important lessons can be learned.

Robert Thomas offers a case in point. In 2002, he and Warren Bennis wrote Geeks & Geezers, in which they shared what they learned from various leaders who were asked, “Why are some people able to extract wisdom from experience, however harsh, and others are not?” Without exception, the 43 leaders they interviewed (who ranged in age from 21 to 93) underwent and eventually survived what Bennis and Thomas characterize as a crucible: a process of “meaning making” of especially difficult events that galvanized them as human beings (as precious metals were treated by alchemists in the Middle Ages) who would later become effective leaders. In the more recently published Crucibles of Leadership, Thomas shifts his focus to exploring “what life is like inside a crucible.” As the dozens of personal accounts he provides clearly indicate:

“Crucible experiences are not only defining moments; they can also be a valuable starting point for discovering a form of practice closely attuned to an individual’s aspirations and motivations—something I refer to as a Personal Learning Strategy. That is, crucibles trigger a search for meaning: Why did this happen? Why did it happen to me? What should I learn from this for the future? Handled properly, crucibles can catalyze a vigorous and sustained interior dialogue that leads to deeper self-understanding and enhanced performance” (7).

In this context, I am reminded of Albert Einstein’s observation, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” All great leaders are lifelong learners, and wisdom is the most valuable result of those efforts.

In How the Wise Decide: The Lessons of 21 Extraordinary Leaders, Bryn Zeckhauser and Aaron Sandoski focus on the importance of developing sound judgment. They clearly agree with Noel Tichy and Bennis who assert in their book Judgment that effective leaders “not only make better calls, but they are able to discern the really important ones and get a higher percentage of them right” (15). That is certainly true of the 21 “extraordinary leaders” whom Zeckhauser and Sandoski examine in this book. Each demonstrates mastery of six core decision making principles. For example, the importance of routinely consulting primary sources, pursuing firsthand information wherever it took them. They “listened with purpose” during group meetings and one-on-one conversations to fill in their information gaps. They demanded and praised candor. Before making any major decision (i.e. a “tough call”), they took into full consideration all relevant information, from as many different perspectives as possible, to ensure that the decision was not only legal but also ethical. Yes, the proverbial “buck” stopped on their desk, but only after enduring its own crucible of intense, broad-based scrutiny.

Geoff Colvin set out to answer this question: “What does great performance require?” In Talent Is Overrated, he shares several insights generated by hundreds of research studies, and finds that one of the key insights they reveal is that all great performers “make it look so easy” because of their commitment to deliberate practice, often for several years of trial and error. Colvin duly acknowledges that deliberate practice “is a large concept, and to say that it explains everything would be simplistic and reductive” (7). His insights offer a reassurance that almost anyone’s performance can be improved, sometimes substantially, even if it isn’t world-class. Talent is overrated if it is perceived to be the most important factor. It isn’t. In fact, talent does not exist unless and until it is developed... and the only way to develop it is (you guessed it) with deliberate practice. Whenever Ben Hogan was asked the “secret” to playing great golf, he replied, “It’s in the dirt.” Colvin leaves no doubt that deliberate practice “hurts but it works.” To anyone who lacks sufficient self confidence, he reassures, “what the evidence shouts most loudly is striking, liberating news: That great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone” (206).

What are the best management books of all time and what lessons can be learned from them? That is a question that Chris Lauer and

the editors at Soundview Executive Book Summaries set out to answer. Their conclusions are provided in The Management Gurus. (Note: Space limitations do not permit a full list of the authors and their books. Many who check out the list will no doubt take issue with selections and omissions.) Lauer and his associates decided to focus on specific works, most of which are recently published and representative of the “gurus” who wrote them. They make brilliant use of a standard format that consists of a brief introduction to the given author or co-authors, the given book’s table of contents, “The Summary in Brief” followed by “What You’ll Learn in This Summary,” and then “The Complete Summary.” What amazes me, frankly, is how much coverage is provided in a series of 15 chapters, each devoted to one or a combination of business thinkers; also, having already read and reviewed most of the exemplary books, I can attest to the fact that there was no effort to “dumb down” the material. Moreover, the length of each commentary is significant. For example, 15 pages devoted to John C. Maxwell (Winning with People), 16 pages to Bill George with Peter Sims (True North), 17 pages to Bo Burlingham (Small Giants), and 18 pages to Kenichi Ohmae (The Next Global Stage). Obviously, these summaries are necessarily incomplete, but certainly not “thumb nails.” There is more than enough information to help a busy executive to decide whether or not to read them and perhaps seek additional sources, several of which are identified in the brief introductions.

Many of those in my generation wish Stewart B. Friedman’s Total Leadership had been available 25 years ago so that we could have more thoroughly reflected on and then explored the relative importance of four domains in our lives—work, home, community, and self—to determine (a) whether or not the goals we were pursuing in each were in sync, (b) also in sync with the other goals, and (c) and how satisfied we were with what was happening in each and all domains. Oh well. Here’s my take on a few of Friedman’s key points. All “total leaders” possess great strength because they do what they love, drawing upon the resources of their entire (four- domain) life. By acting with authenticity, they create value for themselves, their families, their businesses, and their world. By acting with integrity, they satisfy their craving for a sense of connection, for coherence in disparate parts of their lives, and for the peace of mind that comes from strictly and consistently adhering to a code of values. Meanwhile, they “keep a results-driven focus while providing maximum flexibility (choice in how, when, and where things get done.) They have the courage to experiment with new arrangements and communications tools to better meet the expectations of people who depend on them.” (11).

At the same time, each “total” leader does everything she or he can to help others (at work, at home, in the community, and for themselves) to become aware of whatever adjustments may be necessary within her or his own domains; to have a sense of urgency about making those modifications; to decide to commit to appropriate action that will create for each a different, better future; to solve whatever problems they encounter when pursuing the giving goals, meanwhile sustaining commitment despite any barriers, delays, distractions, etc. Total leaders also ensure that “people who depend on them” have the support and encouragement they may need by celebrating incremental successes while resisting “slippage.”

Although many of the exemplary executives discussed in these and other outstanding business books are prominent CEOs, please keep in mind that their organizations as well as all others need results-driven leadership at all levels and in all areas. I think it is also important to realize that even the most highly regarded CEOs are flawed human beings, as they would likely be the first to point out. Those whom Robert Thomas interviewed remind us that “crucibles” of hardship and heartbreak need not be incinerators. Bryn Zeckhauser and Aaron Sandoski are convinced that you can gain wisdom by mastering the same six core decision-making principles that proved so invaluable to the 21 “extraordinary leaders” whom they discuss. There is also much you can learn from what the “management gurus” share in their books. Meanwhile, Geoff Colvin wants you to remember that “great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone” if there is a total commitment to deliberate practice. And Stewart Friedman suggests that, yes, great performance is possible in all four domains of your life—work, home, community, and self—if you can summon and then sustain the courage and determination to get your priorities in proper alignment. No one can balance everything in each domain, but you can balance what is most important in all four of them. These domains are not separate. Rather, they are interdependent, and together they give you and your life definition... and meaning.

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How the Wise Decide: Final Post
Posted Aug. 27, 2008 3:56 a.m. by kate
In Leadership - 800 CEO Read Blog

For the past few days, we've been joined by Bryn and Aaron, authors of How the Wise Decide. If you'd like to catch up on their blog posts, start here. This is their final post for our blog.

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How Wise Leaders Can Help You Make Better Decisions

At a time when business decisions are more challenging than ever before, we set out to answer a simple question: How do the really successful leaders make the tough calls?

Our method was straightforward: Go to the source. We would find people who had made great decisions consistently--people like former American Express CEO Harvey Golub, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and The Blackstone Group chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman--and ask them how they did it. We figured that if we could ask enough successful and experienced leaders about their toughest decisions, surely the essence of decision making would emerge. As it turned out, our first inclination--Go to the Source--became our first principle, confirmed time and again by many of the 21 leaders we interviewed.

When it was all over we had distilled six core decision-making principles that have guided wise leaders across functions and industries and brought them through various crises. The six principles--Go to the Source, Fill a Room with Barbarians, Conquer the Fear of Risk, Make Vision Your Daily Guide, Listen with Purpose and Be Transparent--are the guiding lights by which the CEOs in our book, How the Wise Decide, drove the value of their companies up an average of 15 times the S&P 500 during their tenures. They are the basis for how four of our leaders became self-made billionaires, and two won the National Medal of Technology.

The principles sound deceptively simple. But when you read the book you will see, in the stories of how these leaders made their decisions, that executing the principles is the hard part. Following through on any single imperative with the dedication and drive that our wise leaders apply to it requires focus, effort and time. Doing it with all six might seem impossible. Don't worry. It isn't.

The principles we outline in How the Wise Decide are universal and timeless. But everyone's situation is different and there are probably some lessons that will be more useful or easier to execute in your present situation than others. Start there. As you master one principle, begin working on another. But keep all six in mind, perhaps written on an index card you carry in your pocket or purse, because there will always be opportunities to apply them to specific decisions. Even the most cursory use of the six principles will lead to better decisions.

How the Wise Decide isn't a book about business theories. Rather, it is a practical guide written for managers by managers that provides the advice we all need to make great decisions consistently. Our goal from the start has been to help accelerate you along the path to wise decision making and successful leadership. We believe that in these demanding times, when choosing the right decision is critical, the principles at the heart of How the Wise Decide can help you do just that. Please visit our website, www.wisedecide.com, to learn more.

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Many thanks Aaron and Bryn!

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How the Wise Decide: Dermot Dunphy, Part III
Posted Aug. 26, 2008 10:31 a.m. by kate
In Leadership - 800 CEO Read Blog

This blog post comes from the authors of How the Wise Decide. To read part I, click here and part II. Here's part III:

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Dermot Dunphy, Part III

The real challenge confronting Dermot Dunphy as he pursued his vision for Sealed Ait was how to keep the technological edge that allowed Sealed Air to charge premium prices. Dunphy knew from his own experience that R&D was essentially a joke among most packaging companies. They knew what was important: cutting costs so they could cut prices, then doing it all over again. Conventional marketing wisdom would see Bubble Wrap as a built-in advantage to get Sealed Air in the door among new customers. Then it could grab a bigger share of each customer's wallet by offering an expanded portfolio of more conventional products.

And then, of course, Sealed Air would be back in the thick of cutting costs in order to cut prices.

Again, Dunphy chose a different direction. He didn't want to compete with anyone in the commodity business. Instead, he saw Bubble Wrap as only the first of a full line of package protecting products that would emerge from vigorous R&D. Sealed Air would hire researchers in chemistry and mechanical engineering to develop products that didn't yet exist for customers who knew little or nothing about Sealed Air at that point. And like his decision about the sales force, this solution would be costly and time consuming. But Dunphy knew technology was the only thing that separated Sealed Air from the price cutters.

The combination of a sales force that understood that it sold a benefit rather than a product and a research and engineering team that applied creativity to what was otherwise a moribund business launched Sealed Air on a course from which it hasn't deviated in more than three decades.

"Every other company in the industry sent people out with catalogs saying 'How many bags do you need? Here's our price.' We sent people out with engineering studies who said 'Let us look at your back room, let us into your factory. We'll show you the economic benefits of adopting our thought processes, our designs, and, of course, our products."[i]

If Dunphy had used his vision's objectives selectively he might have hired the best sales force but skimped on product R&D, thus wasting the sales team's talents. Conversely, without smart sales people Sealed Air's technologically sophisticated products might have languished on warehouse shelves or been sold at unsustainably low prices. By applying his vision every time he made a call, Dunphy ensured that Sealed Air's decisions were coordinated.

Yet even someone as dedicated to following his vision as Dunphy found himself occasionally tempted to take a short cut. When a company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that produced stretch film to wrap and anchor boxes on pallets came on the market, Dunphy wanted to take a look. He chartered a small jet to ferry the top management team from its New Jersey headquarters to visit the Tulsa company. On the ride home Dunphy reflected on the day, pleased with what he had seen, and began talking about the next steps to move forward with the deal to acquire what he described as a "decent, high-margin business."

Then Sealed Air's senior vice president in charge of international activities, a key executive in the company, spoiled Dunphy's reverie. He told Dunphy that their trip to Tulsa had confirmed what he already suspected: there was no cutting edge technology involved in stretch wrap. To acquire the company Sealed Air would have to deviate from its long-standing vision embodied in Dunphy's Seven Principles.

"He was slightly shocked that I was considering breaking away from our high standards," Dunphy recalls. "He half seriously, half amusingly, but rather bitingly accused me of trying to build a bigger company so that I could boast about it to Harvard Business School friends at my forthcoming reunion. That got the message across pretty clearly!" Needless to say, Sealed Air didn't make the purchase.

There may have been some short-term cost from following Dunphy's vision so relentlessly, but the long-term benefits were tremendous. By the time Dunphy retired in 2000 his relentless focus on making every decision according to his vision had paid huge dividends. Sealed Air had more than 350 employees in R&D labs scattered around the world and had developed an array of innovative new products in such diverse areas as food and medical packaging. The unprofitable little turnaround that he joined in 1971 had more than $225 million in net income on more than $3 billion in sales and was generating gross margins of 35 to 38 percent in an industry that typically saw returns in the low 20s.[ii,iii] The original investors who hired him saw their holdings rise 8,300 percent over the CEO's three decades of leadership.[iv] As we point out in How the Wise Decide, packaging may not be a glamorous business, but returns of 8,300 percent certainly are.

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More tomorrow from the authors of How the Wise Decide.