How do leaders lead in times of crisis or instability? What gives companies competitive advantage? How do companies identify, attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest? These are some of the questions that Heidrick & Struggles’ Business Analysts Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles sought to answer as they conducted interviews with hundreds of CEOs, senior managers, corporate leaders, financiers, academics, and management and leadership experts.
A who’s who of the global economy, Leaders Talk Leadership is the result of their unprecedented efforts. This compendium of leadership perspectives, the first-ever to be in first-person, profiles the strategies of the men and women who have proven their credentials as leaders time and again.
In these pages, such business luminaries as A.G. Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Steven Kerr of Goldman Sachs, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, Ken Chenault of American Express, Steve Reinemund of PepsiCo, Ken Lewis of Bank of America, Fred Smith of FedEx, Hank McKinnell of Pfizer, David S. Pottruck of Charles Schwab, and Heinrich von Pierer of Siemens discuss how companies can best transform themselves and keep their edge in an ever-shifting marketplace.
As these corporate leaders make clear, the world’s most respected, value-driven companies derive an ever-increasing part of their valuations from the collective power of their intangible assets: brands, partners, intellectual property, and people. An overarching theme that emerges again and again is that the greatest single asset of any organization is its human capital, the people with a vested interest in the business, to whom the business must in turn show a similar commitment in order to remain competitive.
In boom times or busts, in calm or calamity, creative leadership is the foundation of all great companies. Tapping into the collective wisdom of an unparalleled group of highly accomplished leaders, and distilling this wisdom into succinct essays, Leaders Talk Leadership should be required reading for managers at every.
The Book
Overview
Inside the Bookcover
Foreword
Preface
Excerpts
Chapter 1 - Leadership
Chapter 2 - Managing Human Capital
Chapter 3 - Competitive Advantage
Chapter 4 - Strategic Change
Chapter 5 - The Stakeholder's View
Prologue
List of Featured Executives
Executive & Company Bios
Fast Facts
About the Editors
Contact the Editors