I would walk barefoot to the bookstore to read something new by Peter Drucker. Now in his ninety-fourth year the man still seems preternaturally able to unearth new insights, no matter what subject commands his attention.
The 23 essays in Leading Beyond the Walls are based around the premise that weve all gotten a little too comfortable with business as usual. More to the point, that our comfort zones arent only comfortable, but limiting. Its a slightly self-evident conclusion called by a new and more awkward name.
Drucker gets first crack at the topic with an essay on the hazards of unfettered pluralism. Drucker is always didactic, but not in a painful way. One never feels talked down to. Instead its as if a wise old man has watched things develop from the vantage point of a tall tower, then comes down periodically to tell us where things really stand. His call for new community in an age of pluralism is cogent, to the point, and on the money.
The remaining essays come from some name brand organizational thinkers including the likes of Jim Collins, Peter Senge and Steven R. Covey. Not surprisingly the writing and thinking are little uneven. Thats the usual price of admission for these collected works.
Leading was published in 1999 and theres more than a little of the Fast Company group-think that now has been so thoroughly disavowed. ...
And so reading parts of Leading Beyond the Walls now is a little like déjà vu all over again. For instance, C.K. Prahalads breathless, dense essay Preparing for Leadership reads like old Latin after Vatican II. In separate essays William Bridges and Sally Helgesen wave the everythings different banner so reminiscent of the go-go 1990s when it comes, respectively, to partners and leaders. Time will tell.
By contrast, there is a wonderful timelessness to Stratford Shermans The Power of Choice, an insightful case study on a Catholic priest in the Philippines who successfully uses choice to redeem Manilas most hardened street children.
There are no bombs thrown in Leading. But one of the more incendiary essays comes from consultant Charles Roussel, who suggests that corporate governance is paternalistic and determinalistic. Roussel wouldnt abolish boards and executive teams just yet. But he finds them largely unprepared to change or lead change, especially when it comes to modern alliances. Instead, new decision routines should be established and governance decisions driven by decision expeditors, alliance champions, and frontline employees.
Theres a lot of meat here and my pages of Decision Making Beyond the Boundaries were well marked by the time I finished reading it. Roussels conclusions may be right on, but Im still digesting his rather challenging recommendations.