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Title: The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven B. Sample, Warren Bennis ISBN: 0-7879-5587-6 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 15 October, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (19 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Disappointing and a waste of time
Comment: "For example, I feel that polygyny is morally wrong, but I recognize that a sizable fraction of the world's current population...would disagree with me. While my own views are strongly held, I would be disinclined to try to impose my aversion to polygyny on peoples for whom it is a time-honored and respected practice." At that point, I stopped reading this book further. If the author can't 'impose' his views on others regarding multiple marriages, I wondered if he would have ever imposed his views on the those leading Enron, Tyco or Worldcom if they had sought his counsel? Even up to this point in the book, I felt that the author's views were not applicable to the business world where we often don't have the luxury of time and distance that the author does in formulating his opinions. I'm also disappointed in Warren Bennis' advocacy for this book as I'm a big fan of Bennis' books and have read most of them. Now, I will have to be more careful about books Mr. Bennis recommends. There are far better leadership books in the market than this one. My copy is going straight in the trash.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book for toady's business leaders
Comment: This is one of the best books on leadership in recent days. The book is best suited for managers who need to make decisions that may impact an organization. It has a clear and easy to read format. Mr. Sample drew anecdotes from his own experience, and that makes the book more convincing. Ideas such as putting off those things that you can decide tomorrow are different and stimulating. There are chapters that are less directly related to the day-to-day business environment, but in general the book is definitely worth reading.
Rating: 3
Summary: weLEAD Book Reivew from the Editor of leadingtoday.org
Comment: Steven Sample could be called a modern Renaissance man. He is an author, professor, inventor, electrical engineer, musician and the 10th president of the University of Southern California. His book entitled The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership is different and challenges many commonly accepted perceptions about leadership. A contrarian leader is simply one who thinks and acts differently than most. For example, the contrarian leader is one who thinks "gray" and "free". Thinking gray means to withhold judgments and decisions until you have heard all the relevant facts or until you are forced to do so. Sample spends a fair amount of discussion on the three major pitfalls of binary traditional thinking. He defines thinking "free" as the ability to first allow your mind to contemplate truly outrageous ideas, and only later on, apply the restraints of practicality, legality, cost, ethics and time upon your creative ideas. This philosophy of thinking gray also affects the decision-making elements of the contrarian leader. Sample makes two suggestions regarding decisions. First, that a leader never makes a decision that can be reasonably delegated to a lieutenant. Second, never make a decision today that can be reasonably delayed until tomorrow.
However, the contrarian leader must have other needs and qualities aside from thinking processes and decision-making. These are also discussed in The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. The author discusses diverse subjects such as artful listening skills, open communication, and the proper role between consultants, experts and the leader. Sample suggests prodigious amount of selective reading, including "supertexts" for the contrarian leader. This includes an extensive discussion on Machiavelli. He provides guidance on how to determine which range of the daily news and printed media are really useful for the contrarian leader. The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership
addresses the difference between good leadership and effective leadership, including the need to make tough moral decisions at the right time. Other discussions include hiring the right people, diversity, connecting with followers and having a title of leadership verses doing leadership.
This is a thought provoking and alternative book on leadership from the perspective of someone who leads a massive educational institution on a daily basis. You may not agree with every concept or idea regarding a contrarian leader, but you will find this book to offer some fresh perspectives.
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Title: Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround by Louis V. Gerstner Jr. ISBN: 0060523794 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 12 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick M. Lencioni ISBN: 0787960756 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 19 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus ISBN: 0785264310 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Pub. Date: 04 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Leading Quietly by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. ISBN: 1578514878 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 11 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Seizing Your Divine Moment : Dare to Live a Life of Adventure by Erwin Raphael McManus ISBN: 0785264302 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Pub. Date: 05 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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