false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173149185m/251734.jpg 251734 1 The critics who despair of the coming of imaginative, charismatic leaders to replace the so-called manipulative caretakers of American corporations don't tell us much about what leadership actually is, or, for that matter, what management is either. Now, John P. Kotter, who focused on why we have a leadership crisis in <I>The Leadership Factor</I> shows here, with compelling evidence, what leadership really means today, why it is rarely associated with larger-than-life charismatics, precisely how it is different from management, and yet why both good leadership and management are essential for business success, especially for complex organizations operating in changing environments.<P>Leadership, Kotter clearly demonstrates, is for the most part not a god-like figure transforming subordinates into superhumans, but is in fact a <I>process</I> that creates change -- a process which often involves hundreds or even thousands of "little acts of leadership" orchestrated by people who have the profound insight to realize this. Building on his landmark study of 15 successful general managers, Kotter presents detailed accounts of how senior and middle managers in major corporations, in close concert with colleagues and subordinates, were able to create a leadership process that put into action hundreds of commonsense ideas and procedures that, in combination with competent management, produced extraordinary results.<P>This leadership turned NCR from a loser to a big winner in automated teller machines, despite intense competition from IBM. The same process at American Express and SAS helped businesses grow dramatically despite the fact that they were "mature" and "commodity-like." Kotter also shows how leadership turned around operations at P&G and Kodak; produced huge business successes at PepsiCo, ARCO, and ConAgra; and made the impossible occasionally happen at Digital.<P>Thousands of companies today are overmanaged and underled, John Kotter concludes, not because managers lack charisma, but because far too few executives have a clear understanding of what leadership is and what it can accomplish. Without such a vision, even the most capable people have great difficulty trying to lead effectively and to create the cultures which will help others to lead.<P> 243933 1 4 1990 Force For Change: How Leadership Differs from Management total:3|4:1|3:2| 3 10 8 0 0 0 false false Fri Nov 27 13:53:28 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 13:54:35 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Sep 25 13:14:21 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 13:14:21 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jul 18 17:03:41 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 17:03:41 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jun 28 05:38:24 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 05:38:24 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri May 15 15:32:50 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 15:32:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Dec 28 17:55:37 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:55:37 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Dec 27 20:10:49 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 20:10:49 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sun Nov 25 07:49:50 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 25 07:49:50 -0800 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=251734