Real Power: Business Lessons from the Tao Te Ching

by James A. Autry, Stephen Mitchell

A former Fortune 500 executive joins forces with the best-selling translator of the Tao Te Ching to show managers how to use the Tao's philosophy of power to bring out their employees' best and increase their company's competitiveness.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Spirituality

217 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Poet, lecturer, and management consultant James A. Autry was born March 8, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee, but he grew up in Benton County, Mississippi, and in 1955 received a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi, where he was later named a Distinguished Alumnus and elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame. A former president of the Meredith Corporation’s Magazine Group, publisher of such magazines as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Successful Farming, he took an early retirement in 1991 to focus more on his present career as speaker and management consultant.

Autry has published ten books, two of which are volumes of poetry. In 1991, the Kentucky Poetry Review published a special issue devoted to Autry’s poetry, and he received national prominence as one of the poets featured on Bill Moyers’ special series The Power of the Word on PBS.

He and his wife, Sally Pederson, live in Des Moines, Iowa.

Reviews

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has absolutely no practical application in the business world. Written as a series of Tao vignettes applied to business, most were nonsensical and unrealistic. There was not enough content to understand Tao philosophy and too much reliance on anecdotal formulations without empirical evidence of any result. There was nothing here to use or practice in reality, so the entire book was a philosophical rabbit trail leading nowhere.

[Shane Orr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tao Te Ching is a manual of advice from the 6th century BC. This book takes those teachings and applies them to the business world. Much of it fits in to the servant leadership model and goes against a traditional business mindset. It's a good fit for non-profit work, so there were lots of great insights.

[TrudyKJP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. Great leadership advice, lots of things to think about and a fantastic jumping off place for self reflection. I recommend it to any manager or supervisor.

[Heta Panchal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this some time last year. Was a really interesting take on how businesses should be run. If I ran a business, I would follow these principles.

[Tommy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just never got the ship off the ground. Some bits and pieces are good as takeaways but not a success as a whole.

[Lynn Freeborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really took a lot away from this one. and must say, kept wishing, if only ...

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine wunderbsre Führungsphilosophie, die die Führer und die Geführte gleichermaßen beansprucht und wachsen lässt.

[Stacey Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been summed up in, "don't be an asshole". Didn't need a whole book for this.