The Leadership Engine

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 464 pages
• Published by: Collins Business
• Edition: 1st Edition August 20, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0887309313
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0887309311
• Book Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
"There is a multibillion-dollar consulting industry in the world today," Tichy notes (in this reprint of his 1997 BusinessWeek Book of the Year, written with freelancer Cohen) "that thrives largely on the fact that most managers don't want to lead." It's an insight Tichy (Control Your Destiny Or Someone Else Will), a professor at the Univ. of Michigan School of Business, has observed firsthand when trying to determine why some companies succeed and others fail or just limp along. His conclusion: the winners have "good leaders who nurture the development of other leaders at all levels of the organization." These leaders urge their workers to see reality and mobilize the appropriate responses. Repeatedly, the authors single out the heads of successful companies such as General Electric and Allied Signal to discuss how much time their chief executives spend "formally and informally" on teaching. They conclude that those firms' success is a direct result of everyone's pulling in the same direction. The book's argument ignores small entrepreneurial companies where a product innovation, speed to market or customer service can make all the difference. But in discussing large companies, the book is on the money.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Review


"Noel Tichy has been a point guard on the management of organizations. The Leadership Engine focuses on how leaders of organizations use their whole being in creative managing. The book is an inspiration to teachers, business leaders, and coaches." -- Phil Jackson, coach of the Chicago Bulls



"Periodically, all successful organizations have to change. Once a crisis has occurred, any organization will change, but waiting for a crisis is not often the route to success. How to large organizations change without a crisis? Noel Tichy correctly finds the answer in leadership--a leadership that permeates an organization at all levels." -- Lester Thurow, bestselling author of Head to Head and The Future of Capitalism



"This book is the most valuable of the lot because it solidly confronts a vexing problem today--the lack of leaders who are willing to take their organizations through fundamental change. From Congress to the boardroom to the computer room, the qualities discussed are in short supply. If you think you've got what it takes, Tichy offers a comprehensive handbook for developing a leadership program at your workplace." -- Computerworld



"This is Noel Tichy's summa. His text models the leaders he profiles: brilliant, clear on values, and gutsy as hell. The research base is awesome. The stories are great. The message is spot-on. The path to action is clear." -- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence



"Tichy and co-writer Cohen provide a novel take on a well-worn topic and refreshingly introduce us to a host of new leaders who don't yet wear crowns. Too few managers and executives understand the importance of mentoring. In elevating this role to the top of a leader's priorities, the authors offer managers a way of becoming ever more influential." -- Business Week --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Leadership Engine: How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level (Hardcover) The subtitle suggests the book's objective: To explain "How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level." According to the authors, there are certain "fundamentals" common to winning organizations: "First, leaders with a proven track record of success take direct responsibility for the development of other leaders. Second, leaders who develop other leaders have teachable points of view in the specific areas of ideas, values, and something I call E-cubed -- emotional energy and edge....Third, leaders embody their teachable points of view in living stories....Finally, because winning leaders invest considerable time developing other leaders, they have well-defined methodologies and coaching and teaching techniques." Together, these "fundamentals" create the central metaphor in the book: a machine. As a "machine", an organization consists of separate but interdependent parts; requires lubrication and fuel as well as constant maintenance; and functions best when utilized to serve the specific purposes for which it has been designed.Almost half of The Leadership Engine consists of a "Handbook for Leaders Developing Leaders." In it, the authors provide a cohesive and comprehensive answer to the question "How to create a Leadership Engine?" One useful approach to the "Handbook" is to think of it as a "super" hardware store and you have an empty toolbox. Examine everything available. Select only what is most appropriate for your own organization. Then work with others to assemble the "machine" your organization needs. In doing so, you and they are providing leadership. Your shared obligation is to involve as many others as possible, helping them to become leaders also. If help is needed along the way, it is reassuring to know that the authors have created the equivalent of an operator's manual to help ensure maximum performance of your organization's "leadership engine." Whenever it's time for a "tune-up", you will have the guidance you need. This is a superb piece of work.