A no-nonsense approach to managerial leadership, establishing that every managerial role must, as an absolute requirement, be filled by a person with the necessary competence to carry the accountabilities in the role, including the leadership accountability.
Excellent combination of empirically developed theory and practice to guide actual managerial leadership practice in hierarchical organizations. This is not fluff. It is serious and somewhat difficult material for real and aspiring organizational leaders in business or government. If this appeals to you, then you should next read Elliott Jaques' Requisite Organization, which presents this material and more in somewhat more of a "handbook" style. This book should be mandatory reading in every MBA course.