This book covers a wide range of managerial problems that leaders may encounter in business, often in unexpected or incomplete ways. Varied essays depict complex situations that organisational leaders encountered and had to resolve. The leadership challenge is to develop meta-skills for thinking strategically about them and then make sound business decisions in the face of uncertainty. Leaders usually confront opportunities and challenges in muddled fashions and their main task is to size them up properly and respond with creativity and wisdom. These leadership challenges require integrative thinking and creative problem solving skills of a kind that is nurtured through hard won experience in the trenches. The kaleidoscopic flavor of this collection of essays reflects a holistic and realistic view of leadership in varied situations that call for innovative strategic thinking, reflective problem reframing, and smart decision making alone and in teams.
Former Research Director of Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School, where he taught strategy and decision making, as he did earlier at the University of Chicago’s graduate school of business. He was also a founder, CEO, director or Chairman of more than ten companies, serving hundreds of organizations and leaders around the world.