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Summary: This book is absolutely inspiring
Review: I read about this book in the magazine Fast Company and I have to say it lived up to its praise from their reviewer. In this age of corporate shenanigans, it is heartening to find a CEO who lives according to a set of principles. Unfortunately, I work for a department manager who seems to think ethics are something you read about in business school - end of subject. I am really torn between being a whistle blower and the voice of reason. Why are those my only choices? I wish Mr. George would set up a counseling website where people could write in about ethical dilemmas like this. Can anyone say "business concept"?
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Summary: HONEST AND INSIGHTFUL
Review: I'm always looking for business books that will help me manage my company as well as inspire my management team. This book does both. It's an inspiring message to follow our values, to look at the long term picture, and also has a lot to say on work/life issues. George is very open about his own struggles and it makes for substantive reading. He also relates practical lessons on corporate governance, CEO succession, M&A strategies, and a host of other issues that make the book worthwhile. Highly recommend it for anyone who's in a leadership position...
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Summary: A book for aspiring business leaders
Review: If you are a young, ambitious and conscientious business leader looking for inspiration, mentorship and guidance in a business climate that has been stained by acts of arrogance, greed and stupidity, this is the book for you. Authentic Leadership is the "How-to Manual" for a new generation of business leaders. In his book, Bill George has boldly claimed his generation of business leaders as responsible the current ethics crisis in business today and is appealing for the emergence of a new kind of business leader, authentic leaders, to restore order to the global business climate. He relates his own successes and failures in a manner that is easy for young business leaders to identify with and even addresses many of the issues that you don't often find in business texts - such as finding the right balance between your home and work lives. Like many young professionals, I was baptized by fire in a business world that moved at breakneck speeds and was driven primarily by short-term results. As I have never known any other way to do business, I found Mr. George's insights into how he developed his own personal brand of leadership over the course of his career compelling. I most appreciated the fact that, unlike the arrogant texts of some other high-profile CEOs, he does not claim himself to be a model for what you and I should or should not be. His goal is to share his own experiences and allow you the opportunity to form your own opinions about what Authentic Leadership means to you. In fact, he strongly argues that it is not the place of any author or educator to relay to you what is "right" and "wrong" in terms of leadership. Instead, developing your own brand of leadership, one that continues to evolve and change as you gain experience and deal w/ failure, is the only true path to becoming an effective, Authentic Leader. He makes some very convincing arguments as to how Authentic Leaders link the long term needs of customers and employees to enhancing share holder value and he demonstrates his own encounters with morally and ethically challenging situations that serve as a reminder that all of us will have to encounter crossroads at some point in our careers. I highly recommend Bill George's book as an alternative to the plethora of academic texts on "leadership". It is personal, entertaining, motivational and, most importantly, actionable. Invest a few hours in this book and you will reap the benefits for years to come.
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Summary: Values Centered and Performance Driven Leadership
Review: In 25 years of my own CEO experience, no book on leadership has spoken to me like "Authentic Leadership" by Bill George. This is truly a holistic and practical book on leadership that illustrates through clear examples how it is done it well. Mr. George effectively integrates all of the business skills, leadership traits, emotional intelligence and integrity that it takes to be a successful and respected organizational leader. Mr. George believes that leaders set aggressive goals, yet "value the importance of stewardship to the people they serve - customers, employees, shareholders and communities." He describes well the conundrum that so many leaders try to sneak around: "One of the greatest challenges of business today is creating a culture that is both values-centered and performance-driven. Many executives believe they must make trade-offs between the two . . . But doing both simultaneously requires skillful leadership." I've ordered 12 copies of Bill's book for my entire leadership team. I think its a "must" read for any company executive or serious student of leadership.
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Summary: Values Centered and Performance Driven Leadership
Review: In 25 years of my own CEO experience, no book on leadership has spoken to me like "Authentic Leadership" by Bill George. This is truly a holistic and practical book on leadership that illustrates through clear examples how it is done it well. Mr. George effectively integrates all of the business skills, leadership traits, emotional intelligence and integrity that it takes to be a successful and respected organizational leader. Mr. George believes that leaders set aggressive goals, yet "value the importance of stewardship to the people they serve - customers, employees, shareholders and communities." He describes well the conundrum that so many leaders try to sneak around: "One of the greatest challenges of business today is creating a culture that is both values-centered and performance-driven. Many executives believe they must make trade-offs between the two . . . But doing both simultaneously requires skillful leadership." I've ordered 12 copies of Bill's book for my entire leadership team. I think its a "must" read for any company executive or serious student of leadership.
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Summary: Bill George Challenges Conventional Wisdom
Review: In this first book by Bill George, the reader is confronted with many ethical dilemmas that he has faced as a corporate leader and that challenges conventional (US) business thinking. Are we too fixed on quarterly earnings? Is shareholder value really the most critical measure to assess a leader's success? Is leadership style important? Can a leader be effective and still have a life outside work? By describing in detail how he struggled with these and many other dilemmas throughout his career and life, George gives his readers a refreshingly and couragously honest insight into his quest to become an authentic leader. Bill George sends an evocative message, that should be read by all leaders. As a learning and aspiring leader, I hope that this will be the first in a long series of inspirational and thought-provoking works by him. A minor critical observation is that Bill George at times spends longer than necessary on those points where he wants to mention a long list of people that have influenced him. Yet, one could argue that this attention for those around him is a true sign of authenticity.
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Summary: A Fresh Voice in the Marketplace
Review: It seems that in the business environment everyone is suggesting one leadership style or another as a basis for becoming a great leader within your organization. Bucking that trend, author Bill George points out that to reach your greatest potential as a leader you have to be yourself. You can't be your best if you are too busy being someone else's idea of a great leader. Be authentic, and if you choose to emulate another person's leadership style then don't choose a style that represents who you really are. In short, the only way to create lasting value is to be yourself. With that slant on things clearly established from the beginning Mr. George starts an examination of the issues of leadership. For example, he discusses understanding your purpose and values, leading with heart, being true in your connected relationships, and exercising self-discipline. While many books also encourage long hours of work as an integral part of good leadership, Mr. George notes that in reality a balanced life makes you a better leader. This balance has to be there between work, family, friendships, and community service. Other areas discussed include employee motivation, setting correct priorities in the realm of business (customers, employees, and stockholders), the Seven Deadly Sins of business and how they can destroy your business overnight, and ethical dilemmas. This is a persuasive and motivating call to ethical leadership - how to become an effective leader and create an effective values oriented company while still competing in the marketplace. "Authentic Leadership" is a refreshingly independent voice among the crowd and a highly recommended read.
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Summary: Finding the leader in you
Review: Leadership. The Holy Grail of business? If it's answers to the subject you are after, read a text book (though I suspect you will still be disappointed). If you want to know the right questions to ask and then find the answers for yourself, read Bill George's book. In this book, Bill George encourages the leaders of tomorrow to ask themselves some of the most fundamental questions that many business managers and leaders are privately and sometimes publicly, asking themselves today. What is my mission in life? What do I want to get out of a career? Which company do I want to work for? How do I make priority calls between my personal life and my career? Yes, it's framed in the context of the crisis of leadership that we have seen in the last 5 years but if all you take out of this book is that business is all about the long term than the short term then you have remained on a very superficial level. Through his personal insight George merges two powerful themes. What has been wrong with business leadership in the past and what implications and lessons does that have for the leaders of tomorrow? In this book, George provides frameworks and personal insight into how the leaders of the future can choose to live their lives and lead their businesses but he is never arrogant enough to suggest he has the answers. Instead it is up to the reader to see how George dealt with these questions himself and make up their own decisions about how they would answer them. And that, in essence, is the breakthrough in this book. Instead of trying to claim that there is a one size fits all template to become a good or even a great leader, George argues that it takes an individual to understand themselves and their personal leadership before they will truly be able to lead an organization. And, only having done this, will the leaders of tomorrow offer the discontinuinty vs. some of the disappointments of the past and present. If you are already a CEO, the insights in here may not be immediately actionable. If you are like the 99.999% of the rest of us who are not, and ask ourselves about our personal leadership and what impact it has on both us and our businesses, then this is definitely worth a read.
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Summary: A Timely Criticism of American Values, but not far enough
Review: Let me start by announcing I have no doubt regarding Bill George's own personal integrity and authenticity. There's plenty of good material in here about how to become an Authentic Leader and how to build an Authentic Company, but I don't see this book as the panacea to all ills. It's a timely criticism of American Values, but it doesn't go far enough, because Bill is still a victim of his Culture. When you open the book, you have to wade through no less than 33 advance reviews from other CEO's and Academics - this is overkill - just let me get at the book proper! Also this book was published in July 2003, and so it is ironic that one of those acclaiming 'authenticity' is the former CEO of the NYSE. Bill has a few good words to say about having a Balanced Life, but the USA is still on a different planet. On page 46 he rightly criticises those people who 'live for work', and do 80 hours per week; but then he praises those who work 50-60 hours per week, and who in his opinion have achieved 'a balance between their work and the needs of their families'. In my experience, the only way to see your kids weekdays as they are growing up, to read them a bedtime story or help them with their homework, is to try to never exceed 45 hours per week. Then on page 48 Bill talks more about the need for a Work-Life Balance, defining the problem, but then never discusses the solution. This 1-page is all you get, in a 200+ page self-help book? All good stuff thereafter for the next 80 pages. Then on pages 128-131 Bill describes an Ethical Challenge he experienced with a European subsidiary. No problems with what he did and why, but only with the principles he advocates in general. He was accused of being a typical American 'trying to impose American values on Europeans'. He's in favour of global principles, but only if they're on the American model - a true hegemonist. Bill is in favour of 'when in Rome...' just so long as the Romans are Americans. Americans should try to learn the opposite - to import European values. Anyone found consistently working more than 50 hours a week should be investigated - they can't be up to the job, or they are doing the job wrong - and that applies at all levels. Bill never comments about the Minimum Wage, but since its now 'official' that if you're only paid the Minimum Wage you can't ever earn above the Poverty Level, it's a shame he doesn't discuss what he think about the ethics of that? In closing, before any American Reader refutes my claims, let's just point out that the UK has (a) a higher Minimum Wage than the USA, (b) we work less Hours than the USA (48 hours max by law for most workers), (c) we have more Holidays/Vacation than the USA (20 days minimum by law, typically more than 30 days), and yet we have a lower Rate of Unemployment & a Lower Rate of Inflation. The higher standard of living in the USA is based upon working excessively longer hours, and I'm afraid Bill isn't proposing to challenge that regime.
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Summary: Humility Aside, Here's Food for Thought
Review: Part memoir, part social commentary, part company case study, "Authentic Leadership" is Bill George's wide angle take on, and prescription for, the current state of corporate leadership. George, lauded former CEO of the medical technology company Medtronic (who tells us that he fantasized about becoming a big company CEO when he was a *teenager*), clearly has stepped back and reflected on what's wrong with modern corporate leadership. With ample examples from his own career, anecdotes from apparent elbow-rubbing with other top execs, along with a smattering of bits from contemporary business books and articles, Bill George serves up many thought-provoking perspectives worth reading and heeding, especially for top leaders of enterprises--and those who earnestly aspire to such rare roles. To his credit, George doesn't claim any breakthrough, cutting-edge management panaceas. The subtitle of the book discloses George's interest in solid if out of fashion ideas, proclaiming a focus on "Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value." And the book mostly makes good on that promise. Sample Bill George observations: --> "Many people in the business and academic communities believe that missions, values, visions, empowerment, and customer satisfaction represent the 'soft side' of business. They see expense reductions, layoffs, divestitures, creative financial management, and write-downs as the 'hard side.' In my career I have had to lay off thousands of workers, divest failing businesses, take major write-offs, and make large expense cuts. As painful as the consequences of actions like these are, the decision itself is usually obvious and the leader has but few options. On the other hand, meeting the demanding needs of your customers and motivating thousands of employees toward a common mission and values is much more difficult." --> "Competitors will eventually copy an innovative idea for a product or service, but an organization of highly motivated people is very hard to duplicate. The motivation will last if it is deeply rooted in employees' commitment to the intrinsic purpose of their work." --> "You cannot inspire employees by urging them to help management get the company's stock price up.... Typically employees respond with cynicism when they believe management is just using them to enhance its own wealth, not theirs." --> "Shooting Stars move up [through promotions] so rapidly they never take time to learn from their mistakes or look at themselves in the mirror. A year of two into any job, they are ready to move on, long before they have to pass the test of living with their decisions." --> "Many leaders--men in particular--fear having their weaknesses and vulnerabilities exposed. So they create distance from employees and a sense of aloofness. Instead of being authentic, they are creating a persona for themselves." --> "What appears to be a compromise of values in a single instance is usually the final act in a series of compromises." -->"Having wielded power, it is very difficult to yield it." These pithy quotables belie the book's uneven tone. One suspects that Mr. George wrote this collection of recollections and observations himself; laudable for its authenticity and notable for its inconsistent results. Many times "Authentic Leadership" has the flavor of a tightly constructed, passionate argument. Other times, the less-well-crafted prose (particularly in earlier chapters) comes across like a verbatim transcript of off-the-cuff, and somewhat tired, remarks that an old salt might offer a young protégé over a one-white wine lunch. ("If we sell our souls to the company, at the end of the day we may find we have little to show for our efforts.") Interestingly, equally prosaic is George's accounts of his personal life even when it's infused with the utmost potential pathos of literal life-and-death drama. Perhaps years of repressing the pain of personal tragedies so neutered their recall as to yield only bland recounting rather than inspired story-telling. Though George characterizes himself as humble (a few times), it may well be that humility cannot sit comfortably in the seat of power running a multi-billion dollar corporation. Throughout George's book (with the exception of an uncharacteristically wistful Epilogue), a reader gets what one assumes is an unintended glimpse into his CEO-ego. George often holds up his own record as exemplary and he almost always is the hero of his own stories, with but a few scant accounts of his blunders. His self-reporting on verbal exchanges with colleagues inevitably (albeit unintentionally) reveals George's decided penchant for having the last, definitive, word. Interestingly, when George finds himself disagreeing with his bosses those grand finale retorts are always only unspoken thoughts. On the other hand, George's voiced clinchers for trumping the opinions of his employees so clearly zing and sting that there's just no need to add "Ha! Take that!" (Another peek under the top executive scalp: George's example of his "connecting" with employees--using his CEO platform to broadcast emails to all his employees about the status of his wife's breast cancer, and then reading some sympathetic emails in return.) In critically assessing this work, we can forgive Mr. George his indulgences. His plentiful insights and instructive lessons--about everything from executive isolation from customers, to viewing shareholder interests as third behind customers and employees, to ethical standards around the globe, to corporate governance and succession planning--are certainly worth the effort of plowing past some personal aggrandizement and occasional first-draft quality prose. "Authentic Leadership" is a good book that likely would have been a great one with a little more humility, ardent editing and re-writing. Don Blohowiak, Lead Well® Institute
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