Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary
Advance Praise for Common Purpose\ "Kurtzman writes with a glowing lucidity based on matters so important and meaningful, so indispensable and urgent this book will become the template of success for 21st century institutions. Kurtzman constantly reminds us of what's important: that in this uniquely turbulent and uncertain time, when every organization is more vulnerable to a fragmented incoherence, we must collectively and courageously be open to freshly imagine new and different...
Search in google:
In this groundbreaking book, business and management expert Joel Kurtzman tackles the central question of leadership. What is common purpose? It is that rare, almost palpable experience that happens when a leader coalesces a group, team, or community into a creative, dynamic, brave, and nearly invincible we. It happens the moment the organization's values, tools, objectives, and hopes are internalized in a way that enables people to work tirelessly toward a goal. Common purpose is rarely achieved. But Kurtzman has observed that when a leader is able to bring it about, the results are outsized, measurable, and inspiring.Based on Kurtzman's thirty years of experience working with global thought leaders and institutions, Common Purpose features personal interviews with some of the most dynamic, successful, and enduring leaders, including Joel Klein of New York City Schools, Simon Cooper of Ritz-Carlton, Ilene Lang of Catalyst, Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts, Shivan Subramaniam of FM Global, Mickey Arison of Carnival Cruise Lines, Michael Dell of Dell, Inc., Richard Boyatzis of Case Western Reserve University, Tom Kelley of IDEO, and distinguished professor and author Warren Bennis. In a world besieged by failures of leadership, leaders who hope to last must understand how to create sustainable, healthy organizations. With new insights on how to approach a leadership mindset, as well as how to implement it, Common Purpose sheds new light on the meaning of leadership, the crucial qualities of leaders, and most importantly, how to lead. Publishers Weekly A thoughtful—if somewhat long-winded—and ethics-based discussion of leadership in the modern age by lauded business consultant Kurtzman. The author takes an all-for-one-and-one-for-all view of management, stating that the heart and soul of leadership is the creation of common purpose. He advocates for flat organizations and the end of the traditional corporate hierarchy in the interests of forging a sense of identity and connection between leaders and led. He cites such successes as the long-lived Proctor & Gamble and the ever-lauded Apple, and failures like GM's former chairman taking the ill-advised private jet to ask Congress for a bailout as examples of how CEOs can save their companies by siding with employees—and fail by standing apart from them. A thought-provoking look at the behavior of young Gen X and Y leaders backs up his premise that leadership is evolving—for the better. He posits that in the years ahead, leaders will be kinder, more caring, and more empathic and are likely to create organizations superior to anything that has come before. While the material doesn't necessarily support an entire book's worth of encouragement, this is nonetheless a solid and readable look at “New Leadership.” (Mar.)
Foreword (Marshall Goldsmith). Introduction: No One Leads Alone. 1 The Leadership Disconnect. 2 The New Rules of Employment. 3 Leaders at All Levels. 4 Internalizing What the Organization Stands For. 5 The Best Leaders Are Part of the Group. 6 Cultivating Curiosity, Not Complacency. 7 Creating a Culture of Leadership. 8 We’re All in This Together. 9 How Leaders Stay Positive and Determined. 10 Leading Is a Mental Game. 11 Different Strokes for Different Generations. 12 You Don’t Have to Be Ruthless to Lead. 13 Ideas Matter. Epilogue: The Future of Leadership. A Leadership Library. About the Author. Index.
\ Publishers WeeklyA thoughtful—if somewhat long-winded—and ethics-based discussion of leadership in the modern age by lauded business consultant Kurtzman. The author takes an all-for-one-and-one-for-all view of management, stating that the heart and soul of leadership is the creation of common purpose. He advocates for flat organizations and the end of the traditional corporate hierarchy in the interests of forging a sense of identity and connection between leaders and led. He cites such successes as the long-lived Proctor & Gamble and the ever-lauded Apple, and failures like GM's former chairman taking the ill-advised private jet to ask Congress for a bailout as examples of how CEOs can save their companies by siding with employees—and fail by standing apart from them. A thought-provoking look at the behavior of young Gen X and Y leaders backs up his premise that leadership is evolving—for the better. He posits that in the years ahead, leaders will be kinder, more caring, and more empathic and are likely to create organizations superior to anything that has come before. While the material doesn't necessarily support an entire book's worth of encouragement, this is nonetheless a solid and readable look at “New Leadership.” (Mar.)\ \
