The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway

by John Clemens

"We all think that management is a twentieth-century, newly invented skill, but its roots go back thousands of years. This book is essential reading to learn that we cannont deal with today's problems without understanding yesterday's." -- Leonard A. Lauder, President, Estee Lauder Companies "A classic way to solve business problems." -- U.S. News & World Report In Homer's day, a hostile takeover meant blood and arrows, not mergers and layoffs. However, The Iliad is still a valuable guide for steering the right course in today's tricky business world. Shakespeare's King Lear has more to say about succession, delegation, and decentralization than do most management texts. And Thoreau's "Walden" offers astute observations on what can happen when an organization gets too big. Captivating and instructive, this book is the first to tap the collective wisdom found in the classic works of Western literature and apply it to the problems of modern managers and leaders. Drawing on sources that range from Homer's time to Arthur Miller's, this treasure trove of passages and stories offers invaluable advice for solving today's most difficult business dilemmas. It addresses such issues as building a team and keeping it together, managing an acquisition once it's in place, eliminating daily distractions, and trusting your intuition. Whether you are reading these works for the first time or are revisiting old favorites, The Classic Touch offers you a rich understanding of the art of leading. John K. Clemens, professor of management at Hartwick College, is the founder and executive director of the Hartwick Humanities in Management Institute, an organization that conducts leadership seminars for emerging leaders in Fortune 500 companies. He is also the coauthor of Movies to Manage Lessons in Leadership from Great Films . Douglas F. Mayer is the former chairman of the economics and management department at Hartwick College. He is the coauthor of Shakespeare and Management-- Othello, Macbeth, and Lessons About Behavior in Organizations .

Genres: Leadership

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 1999

Reviews

[Barry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitled “Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway,” the authors tap into literary classics to demonstrate key leadership guidelines, weaving contemporary history with these timeless books. Authors covered include Homer (trouble in the executive suite), Plutarch (showing how Alexander assimilated new cultures), Plato on democratic management, Pericles on developing and sustaining a corporate culture, Sophocles on the psychology of leadership, Chaucer on the uniqueness of individuals, Castiglione on good manners, Machievelli on power, Shakespeare on a myriad of topics, Burke on conservatism, John Stuart Mill on participative leadership, Darwin on the survival of the fittest, Thoreau on simplification, Miller on the death of the sales force and Hemingway on authority vs. influence. Citing excerpts from these classic works to make their points and providing more recent examples of each topic, the authors have created a fascinating and insightful book. Clemens also has two other works - “Movies to Manage By” and “The Timeless Leader” that may be worth reading.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book in college and never touched it. many years later, i went to my parents one day and was looking through all my shelves and the title caught my eye. so i picked it up and read the back, sounded interesting. i started reading and got hooked. its great for anyone that is interested in how some of todays top companies structured their practices and what can and can't work. a must read for anyone that wants to lead an organization and who has read any of the good to great series