Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 330 pages
• Published by: Loyola Press January 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0829421157
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0829421156
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12.8 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
What can a 16th-century priest tell a 21st-century business executive about leadership? Plenty, believes this author, who points out that from a 10-man "company" founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540, the Jesuits are now the world's largest religious order, with 21,000 professionals. In this absorbing, lucid book, Lowney, who left a seven-year stint as a Jesuit seminarian to become a managing director at J.P. Morgan, explores how the Jesuits have successfully grappled with challenges that test great companies-forging seamless multinational teams, motivating performance, being open to change and staying adaptable. As he takes the reader on an engaging romp through slices of Jesuit history, Lowney references four Jesuit pillars of success: self-awareness (reflection), ingenuity (embracing change), love (positive attitudes toward others) and heroism (energizing ambitions). Despite the emphasis on the four pillars, this is no formulaic "12-steps-to-success" tome. Rather than focusing on what leaders do, Lowney shows how the Jesuit approach focuses on who leaders are. His conversational voice draws the reader in as he unfolds leadership lessons from some unlikely Jesuit role models, including explorer Benedetto de Goes, linguist Matteo Ricci and mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Lowney's passion for history is appealing, and he is careful not to sugarcoat his historical role models. Professionals looking for a One-Minute type of business book will not find it here, but more reflective businesspeople of faith will find Lowney's insights a breath of fresh air.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
Now in paperback-a unique guide for leaders of all kinds, drawn from the experiences of one of the worldís most successful organizations. Author Chris Lowney offers leadership lessons from the Jesuits, the renowned religious order whose originality and expertise have stirred admiration for nearly five centuries.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Hardcover) Chris Lowney has written a beauty of book bringing into focus leadership principles first implemented 450 years ago when Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, established a leadership culture that led to one of the great organizational success stories in history. And along with the lessons on leadership, Lowney's readers also get a great story on several important chapters in world history. Loyola builds on love driven leadership, an approach to leadership based on the notion that everyone has leadership potential, and true leaders unlock that potential in others. The how of unlocking potential is rooted in an orientation to "greater love than fear." This notion of leadership fits well with the growing trend of "people centered leadership" as evidenced by best selling books authored by Pat Lencioni, John Maxwell, and others. This is a welcomed change from former corporate speak where sports figures and a towel snapping, take-no-prisoners model took center stage Lowney details Loyola's four pillars of success: self-awareness; ingenuity; love; and, heroism. The first step to leadership is self-leadership which springs from personal beliefs and attitudes. Throughout the book, Lowney highlights Loyola's belief that self-awareness is linked to leadership showing through example how leaders thrive by understanding who they are and what they value, by becoming aware of unhealthy blind spots or weaknesses that can derail them, and by cultivating the habit of continuous self-reflection and learning. Loyola's spiritually based approach to leadership also identifies attachments in life as obstacles to leading. He also underscores how ingenuity disposes people not to just think out of the box but to live outside the box. "Heroic Leadership" is organized around the following chapters: Of Jesuit's and J.P. Morgan What Leaders Do The Jesuits Leadership Role Models "To Order One's Life" The Spiritual Exercises "The Whole World Becomes Our House" "Refuse No Talent, Nor Any Man of Quality" "An Uninterrupted Life of Heroic Deeds" "Exceptional Daring Was Needed" "The Way We Do Things" A strong leader relishes the opportunity to continue learning about self and the world and looks to new discoveries and interests. And real leaders - real heros - find fulfillment, meaning, and, yes, even success by shifting their gaze beyond self-interest and serving others. And they become greater - enhanced as persons - by focusing on something greater than self-interest alone. This is a book that most will use as a reference for years to come.