dispatches from the new world of work

No, Jim!

Don't want to give Jimbo (Collins) too much of a Free Ride. I just blurbed a superb new book, The One Thing You Need to Know, by Marcus Buckingham (first famous as co-author of First, Break All the Rules); I went so far as to compare him with the otherwise incomparable Peter Drucker. I'll tell you more later, but for now I just want to offer up his swipe at a Collins-ism to which I am inalterably opposed. Buckingham: "Although I appreciate what Collins was railing at—egomaniacal leaders such as Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap, Dennis "Shower Curtain" Kozlowski, and Jeffrey "Off Balance Sheet" Skilling—the most effective leaders are not self-effacing and humble. In fact, a powerful ego, defined as the need to stake grand claims, is one of their most defining characteristics (although, obviously, not the only one)."

Yup.

Tom Peters posted this on 12/08/04.

Comments

Dreamers, diplomats, empathizers, optimists, artists, celebrity-lifestylers - thanks for traits that pay dividends when breaking rules!!!

Posted by Freeman at December 8, 2004 10:12 AM

I cant read the essense of the posting. Still yet to learn Gothic, Chinese and other lingo .. :)-

geeee.. j/kidden !!

The most effective leader.. seeks to do small things as if they were great and noble ..and by that virture itself stands apart !!

Oh btw.. take a look at the short vedio's on leadership and TP in DXB.. its great..
via cathy:
http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/50013.html

Posted by /pd at December 8, 2004 10:55 AM

Tom, your blog is great, a dynamic stream of adding value to your books. However can you check out your blog in an RSS reader and see if you can't fix the odd characters that make some of your entries almost unreadable? You just need to find the right tool so that single (') and double (") quotes appear correctly. This would make it easier to read what you have to say.

Posted by Colm Smyth at December 8, 2004 11:07 AM

Ego-driven or mission-driven. Big difference. See Ghandi, Jesus, Lincoln, et al.

Posted by Tom Asacker at December 8, 2004 12:30 PM

Thanks for the Changes.. :)- Your Echo Chamber is turned on I C !! :)-

Posted by /pd at December 8, 2004 7:52 PM

The most effective leaders have the intelligence to recognize an opportunity and take a personal stake in it, the passion to take bold steps and the confidence to sell it. Above everything else, though, they are able to inspire genuine passion because they believe in what they are doing and know it is not just about them. Staking a bold claim with no personal substance doesn't do much over the long haul even if it does generate a short term flash.

Posted by Tom C. at December 8, 2004 11:04 PM

It is probably worth considering that different individuals are often inspired by different leadership styles. Personally I find the hard driving style a big turn off - bit too much jock and too little brain ( I know many of them are intelligent - I would respect them more if they showed it sometimes!). But this style works for some people. People who don't like a certain style leave and are replaced by people who fit - it can produce excelent results - but is it right? Surely we want diversity in our work places

The world is full of leadership styles - all different and all can be effective in their way and at different times. Churchill - fantastic war time leader (he was a great figure head - although check out a lot of the stuff he got very wrong) but a lousy peacetime lead.

Leadership is very much about the right person at the right time in the right place rather than one style is best.

Posted by PH at December 10, 2004 9:37 AM