A Harvard Business Review Book. Widely acknowledged as the world's foremost authority on leadership, John Kotter has devoted his remarkable career to studying organizations and those who run them, and his bestselling books and essays have guided and inspired leaders at all levels. Here, in this collection of his acclaimed Harvard Business Review articles, is an astute assessment of the real work of leaders, as only John Kotter can offer. To complement the HBR articles, Kotter also contributes a new piece, a thoughtful reflection on the themes that have developed throughout his work. Convinced that most organizations today lack the leadership they need, Kotter's mission is to help us better understand what leaders--real leaders--do. True leadership, he reminds us, is an elusive quality, and too often we confuse management duties and personal style with leadership, or even mistake unworthy leaders for the real thing. Yet without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. With John Kotter on What Leaders Really Do, readers will learn how to become more effective leaders as they explore pressing issues such as power, influence, dependence, and strategies for change.
John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do
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"After conducting fourteen formal studies and more than a thousand interviews, directly observing dozens of executives in action, and compiling innumerable surveys, I am completely convinced that most organizations today lack the leadership they need," contends John P. Kotter, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School. "And the shortfall is often large. I'm not talking about a deficit of 10%, but of 200%, 400%, or more in positions up and down the hierarchy," he writes in the opening essay to John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do, a collection of his most notable articles on the topic for the Harvard Business Review. Kotter isn't known to pull punches, and these pieces--falling into two categories, those concerned with "Leadership and Change" and those focusing on "Dependency and Networks"--are no exception. The articles in the book sensibly point out the difference between management and leadership; they advocate setting a direction rather than planning and budgeting, and motivating people rather than controlling them. They are tied together effectively by the aforementioned new essay, in which Kotter presents his "Ten Observations About Management Behavior" to summarize the concepts he has developed over a 30-year career. --Howard Rothman
Review
"Offers a convenient one-volume resource to this noted expert's views on leadership." -- Choice, October 1999
"This book is thankfully short on theory and is instead filled with practical, often common-sensical, advice. For anyone who wants to be a leader when they grow up, Kotter's book is required reading." -- CIO, June 15, 1999
"This book is thankfully short on theory and is instead filled with practical, often common-sensical, advice. For anyone who wants to be a leader when they grow up, Kotter's book is required reading." -- CIO, June 15, 1999
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FOR 30 YEARS I have been studying the actions of those who run organizations, trying to record and clarify what they do, why they behave as they do, and what effect their choices have on other individuals and enterprises. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
FOR 30 YEARS I have been studying the actions of those who run organizations, trying to record and clarify what they do, why they behave as they do, and what effect their choices have on other individuals and enterprises. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover
John knows his stuff. I've worked for P&G, M&M/Mars and The NutraSweet Company and I know the halls, people and thinking Kotter discusses. He is spot on in his examination of what good leaders really do, something that can often seem like a mystery. I found it interesting that people were evenly split on this book between raves and pans. So much of what you get out of a book like this is related to personal experience. I don't know if I changed my paradigm after reading What Leaders Really Do, but I increased my empathy and understanding. Always a good thing, no?
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book on second thought because I was also buying "Leading Change" by Kotter. However, I picked up this book and could not put it down. As a long-time leader, this book validates much of what I already know and do. However, it also brings a lot of insight into the differences between leadership and management. The author really analyzes the complexity and interdependency and interrelationships that are faced by, and must be overcome or managed by leaders and managers. I liked what and how Kotter says it in this book that I bought one for each of my managers (I'm a CEO). I am hoping that this easy-to-read, and understandable book brings a lot of insight to them. I highly recommend this book to all current leaders and managers, and anyone hoping to go into leadership or management or both.
By Larry Morrow
Format:Hardcover
This is a well-researched and cutting-edge book that shows what leaders are made of, what habits they have in common, and from where they come. Mr. Kotter blends well the facts we need to know with human-interest stories of several successful managers. Great book.
Also recommeded: The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills
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4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Same Old Stuff!
Please retire, or get some new ideas!
Published on April 21 2003
2.0 out of 5 stars
Almost completely non-informative
This book contains John Kotter's usual dose of platitudes and blindingly obvious insights. Anyone that gets anything useful out of this book is far too dumb to lead anything at... Read more
Published on Oct 5 2000 by Dave Shickle
4.0 out of 5 stars
The analytical person's guide to leadership
I look at the other reviewers comments and realize that there's another perspective. One that I think I may share with others who are not the other reviewers. Read more
Published on Jun 9 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sound work, but brief, overpriced, and non-groundbreaking
The book is rather brief for the price. As you'd expect from the publisher, the material is sound. Basically, the first half of the book deals with initiating change in an... Read more
Published on Mar 19 2000 by M. Broderick
3.0 out of 5 stars
A useful collection of Kotter's articles
Six of Kotter's articles published between 1979 and 1997 are prefaced by a substantial introduction under the title of Leadership at the Turn of the Century. Read more
Published on Dec 7 1999 by Bill Godfrey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent as usual
Prof. Kotter has done another superb job in vividly demonstrating the role of leaders. This book is authoritive and chock full of facts. Read more
Published on Aug 4 1999
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