Book Review: 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis
Reprinted from First Friday Book Synopsis
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 – Posted by Bob Morris
In two of his previous books, Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value and True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership co-authored with Peter Sims, Bill George urges his reader to discover or rediscover what he characterizes as “the internal compass that guides you as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orienting point – your fixed point in a spinning world – that helps you stay on track as a leader…pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership.” George as well as Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas (among others who also include playwrights Arthur Miller and Robert Bolt) have also written about “crucibles” of severe pressure from which some people emerge stronger while many others don’t. Given the current and imminent economy, there seems to be no shortage of crises, of “crucibles,” that test one’s character as well as one’s resources.
This is a slender but deceptively profound book, “a practical guide to leaders about navigating through a crisis,” in which more than 70 leaders featured in this book serve as exemplars of George’s key points, for better or worse. A few are admirable or contemptible but most are ranged somewhere in between. While reading this book, it is important to keep in mind that he is examining human behavior in extreme circumstances. George duly acknowledges his own deficiencies. At one point in his narrative, he confides that his own defining moment occurred in 1988 when he realized that, for reasons best revealed in context, he “was in the midst of a crisis and drifting away from his True North.” While driving near his home, he looked into the rearview of his car and saw “a person striving so hard to become CEO of a large company like Honeywell that he was rapidly abandoned his True North,” his internal compass, his personal GPS to remain on as proper course.
Although presumably written primarily for adults and especially for those entrusted with leadership responsibilities, I think this primer will also be of substantial value to school and college students who will soon – too soon – be facing even greater challenges to their judgment and character. Bill George makes no claim that he is providing all the “right answers” but in this volume, I think he is raising many of the right questions that can help his readers locate their own right answers.
