Matsushita Leadership

He was one of the most inspirational role models of all time. Thrown into poverty at age four, Konosuke Matsushita (Mat-SOSH-ta) struggled with the early deaths of family members, an apprenticeship which demanded sixteen-hour days at age nine, all the problems associated with starting a business with neither money nor connections, the death of his only son, the Great Depression, the horror of World War II in Japan, and more. Yet John P. Kotter shows in this fascinating and instructive book how, instead of being ground down by these hardships, Matsushita grew to be a fabulously successful entrepreneur and business leader, the founder of Japan's General Electric: the $65 billion a year Matsushita Electric Corporation. His accomplishments as a leader, author, educator, philanthropist, and management innovator are astonishing, and outshine even Soichiro Honda, J.C. Penney, Sam Walton, and Henry Ford. In this immensely readable book, Kotter relates how Matsushita created a large business, invented management practices that are increasingly being used today, helped lead his country's economic miracle after World War II wrote dozens of books in his latter years, founded a graduate school of leadership, created Japan's version of a Nobel Prize, and gave away hundreds of millions to good causes. The Matsushita story expands our notion of the possible, even for a sickly youngster who did not have the benefit of a privileged background, education, good looks, or a charismatic presence. It tells us much about leadership, entrepreneurship, a drive for lifelong learning, and their roots. It demonstrates the power of a longterm outlook, idealistic goals, and humility in the face of great success. Matsushita Leadershipis both a biography and a set of lessons for careers and corporations in the 21st century. An inspirational story and a business primer, the implications are powerful, for organizations and for living a meaningful life.

This guide provides over 300 pages of resources suggested by leadership educators in surveys, Center for Creative Leadership staff, and search of library resources. This eighth edition is half-new, including web sites and listserv discussion groups, and it places a stronger focus on meeting the needs of human resources professionals and corporate trainers. An annotated bibliography groups leadership materials in several broad categories: overview; in context; history, biography and literature; competencies; research, theories, and models; training and development; social, global, and diversity issues; team leadership; and organizational leadership (180 pages). Includes annotated lists of: journals and newsletters (9 pages); instruments (21 pages); exercises (41 pages); instrument and exercise vendors (5 pages); videos (29 pages); video distributors (4 pages); web sites (6 pages); organizations (21 pages); and conferences (9 pages). (Contains a 66-page index of all resources.) (TEJ)

Snapshots of Great Leadership describes leaders who have either accomplished amazing feats or brought destruction. Although the goals of these individuals were often quite different, the leadership processes they used were frequently similar. The opening chapter explains the latest theories of leadership. Each leader snapshot adds an important "reality check" to the theories and models described in most introductory leadership textbooks, making this a key text for students taking leadership courses. This new edition features additional women and international leaders, a new "You Decide" section, and a Conclusion that clarifies the differences between good and bad leaders.

This book is not a leadership guide. It’s not some leadership 101 class that will draw you a picture of what a leader is supposed to look like and how you can learn to fit that mould. This is a book that will change the way you look at leadership and at yourself. It strives to hold a mirror up to your beliefs about who you are, and leadership in general, to help you discover what sort of leader you were naturally destined to be. While this book uses leadership science authored by academics to anchor principles and concepts, paired with anecdotal insights and perspective garnered through a wealth of professional and executive leadership experience, it should be treated as an instrument for creating dialogue and discussion, and formulating the necessary questions to put your own assumptions to the test. Reflection fuels, people matter, and relationships make a difference. These three threads are used to weave a tapestry of self-discovery and personal growth.

Highlighting the importance of regional and national differences in industrial development, this book is a pioneering long term comparison of the two regions of Lancashire and Kansai.

Leaders Talk Leadership is an impressive collection of interviews with some of the world's most respected corporate leaders and management scholars. Edited by Ashby and Miles of the preeminent executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles, this compilation of thought leadership spanning industries and geographies addresses the key issues facing executives today such as governance, leadership and strategy, how to lead in volatile times or through a corporate transformation, how to best leverage human capital and how to achieve competitive advantage in today's environment. Some of the CEO's featured in the book include Ken Chenault, of American Express, Steve Reinemund of PepsiCo, Heinrich von Pierer of Siemens, Ken Lewis of Bank of America, Edward Tian of China Netcom, Fred Smith of FedEx, Hank McKinnell of Pfizer, A.G. Lafley of Proctor and Gamble, Klaus Zumwinkel of Deutsche Post World Net, William Haseltine of Human Genome Sciences, Linda Sanford of IBM, Larry Weinbach of Unisys and Michael Dell of Dell Computer. Framing these cutting-edge concepts are interviews and written essays by preeminent academics, including Jay Conger from London Business School, Jim Collins of Good to Great, Mohanbir Sawhney of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University. Serving as the line executive's roadmap to recruiting, retaining and developing talent and an encyclopedia of MBA students worldwide, this book represents path-breaking leadership perspectives from path-breaking leaders.

Leaders are expected to show the way forward, especially in unpredictable circumstances or when resources are constrained. Yet frustratingly, what is common to good leadership is not often widely practised. Uncommon Leadership will help you explore the uncommon insights that can make a significant difference to your leadership. It will lead you to fresh strategic thinking by challenging conventional wisdom and asking you to reflect on some thought-provoking questions. Using their wealth of experience as managers, educators and consultants, Phil Higson and Anthony Sturgess will help you to think differently about leadership. In this highly readable book, they stimulate fresh thinking on leadership and give you the practical platforms you need to deliver uncommon success in your organization. They bring uncommon leadership to life, combining insights from some remarkable leaders and their surprising stories, with their own individual take on leadership. Uncommon Leadership is supported by a companion website: www.uncommonleadership.co.uk, providing updates, tools and resources to help you do the common things uncommonly well.

Highlighting the importance of regional and national differences in industrial development, this book is a pioneering long term comparison of the two regions of Lancashire and Kansai.