In this offbeat approach to leadership, college president Steven B. Sample-the man who turned the University of Southern California into one of the most respected and highly rated universities in the country-challenges many conventional teachings on the subject. Here, Sample outlines an iconoclastic style of leadership that flies in the face of current leadership thought, but a style that unquestionably works, nevertheless. Sample urges leaders and aspiring leaders to focus on some key counterintuitive truths. He offers his own down-to-earth, homespun, and often provocative advice on some complex and thoughtful issues. And he provides many practical, if controversial, tactics for successful leadership, suggesting, among other things, that leaders should sometimes compromise their principles, not read everything that comes across their desks, and always put off decisions.
The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership
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In The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, University of Southern California President Steven Sample offers up a refreshing perspective on the characteristics of a successful leader. Some of Sample's prescriptions: try reading Machiavelli's The Prince instead of The New York Times, learn to work for those who work for you, and "Anything worth doing at all is worth doing poorly. It may be worth more if it's done well, but it's worth something if it's done poorly." This book is not just for CEO's: middle management and anyone interested in promoting good leadership will benefit as well. --Harry C. Edwards
Review
"It is a cracking good read that fairly zips along and makes you think differently about leadership.... A smashing inspirational read." -- Personnel Today, 19 March 2002
"Provocative." -- Harvard Business Review, February 2002
"Sample's is a very American story, and his is a very American book." -- Los Angeles Times Book Reviews, November 25, 2001
One of the ten best business books of 2001. -- Toronto Globe & Mail, December 19, 2001
"Provocative." -- Harvard Business Review, February 2002
"Sample's is a very American story, and his is a very American book." -- Los Angeles Times Book Reviews, November 25, 2001
One of the ten best business books of 2001. -- Toronto Globe & Mail, December 19, 2001
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Contrarian leaders think differently from the people around them. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Contrarian leaders think differently from the people around them. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Bob Cluett
Format:Paperback
Steven B. Sample's Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, at 190+ pages, tells us at rather excessive length what Peter Drucker could tell us in a 10- or 12-page essay. Its counsel is about as contrarian as the investing advice purveyed by Merrill, Lynch before that august brokerage went down the tubes in 2008: "Know which hill you're willing to die on;" "Work for those who work for you;" "Follow the leader." In other words, when it comes to being contrarian, this book is not very. Dr.Sample does try to get his Contrarian passport validated by inserting a chapter praising Machiavelli, but the praise is narrowly focused on The Prince, a small occasional piece, and ignores The Discorsi, which are Machiavelli's great monument in the field of modern political science. Not what one expects from a retired university president!
Some people, like Don Shula and Jack Welch, can be brilliant leaders and at the same time be hugely articulate about exactly how they lead and what motivates their followers. Others, like Vince Lombardi and Fiorello Laguardia, can be remarkable leaders who are despite themselves inarticulate about the precise sources of their strength. Sample's leadership achievements at USC were both notable and genuine, but as an explicator of the method I would have to put him in the Laguardia camp. Not a book I would buy a second time.
Some people, like Don Shula and Jack Welch, can be brilliant leaders and at the same time be hugely articulate about exactly how they lead and what motivates their followers. Others, like Vince Lombardi and Fiorello Laguardia, can be remarkable leaders who are despite themselves inarticulate about the precise sources of their strength. Sample's leadership achievements at USC were both notable and genuine, but as an explicator of the method I would have to put him in the Laguardia camp. Not a book I would buy a second time.
By P. PAI
Format:Hardcover
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.
Format:Hardcover
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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4.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing and a waste of time
"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. Read more
Published on Oct 24 2003 by Business Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars
3-Stars On The Gray Scale!
I thought at first that the contents of this new managerial guide would be enlightening and novel. But I was disappointed. Read more
Published on Oct 15 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very illustrative!
Outside-the-box thinking on leadership from one of the country's most renowned college presidents.
In this provocative new book, Steven Sample, one of the nation's most highly... Read more
In this provocative new book, Steven Sample, one of the nation's most highly... Read more
Published on July 8 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
The long road to a balanced paradox
First, let me say this book captures some wonderful aspects of leadership. The book is written well and captures the authors thoughts and ideas succinctly. Read more
Published on May 15 2002 by Michael Erisman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very illustrative
I love this book. It's concrete, has a lot of examples and make your eyes open to the real world.
Leadership is a good place to be, but you know it is a tough spot to be only... Read more
Leadership is a good place to be, but you know it is a tough spot to be only... Read more
Published on Mar 18 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new and fresh perspective on an old subject
This book intrigued me for a couple of reasons. First, here was a book written by a university president - and an extraordinary one at that - on a subject traditionally dominated... Read more
Published on Feb 26 2002 by Gary Sutton
2.0 out of 5 stars
Break Free?
Perhaps I'm not familiar with what the back cover on the book calls "convensional leadership wisdom", but I found "the Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" to be... Read more
Published on Feb 14 2002 by Andrew McKenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars
I highly recommend this one!
As a leader, I found this book to be a great staff-development tool-- challenging enough to stimulate a good discussion and accessible enough that people actually read it. Read more
Published on Jan 10 2002
2.0 out of 5 stars
A lazy sample of leadership lit.
Perhaps it is in the spirit of Sample's contrarian theme that this review was written. Not that there is anything particularly against the tide in this slender volume. Read more
Published on Dec 29 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
A talented leader tells all
Sample is one of the nation's most successful university presidents, and in this book he reveals his unique approach to leadership. Read more
Published on Dec 27 2001
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