Leading with Wisdom: Spiritual-Based Leadership in Business [Hardcover]

Peter Pruzan (Author), Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1874719594 | ISBN-13: 978-1874719595 | Publication Date: June 30, 2007

Many business executives are increasingly becoming workaholic human-doings, longing to be full and integrated human-beings. They aspire to live with integrity, where their thoughts, values, words and deeds are in harmony. The problem is that they don't know how to do so in a business world that is increasingly characterised by complexity, turbulence and greed. Leading with Wisdom provides food for thought for people dealing with these challenges. It contains stories and reflections of 31 inspiring and compassionate business leaders who care about what is truly important in life and who integrate this awareness and sensitivity into their leadership. Leaders who search for meaning, purpose and fulfilment both in the external world of business and in the internal world of consciousness and conscience. Leaders whose leadership is a natural expression of their hearts, minds and souls. In other words, leaders who lead from a spiritual basis. Such perspectives on leadership are not yet mainstream. Greed, prestige and power appear to still be prime motivating forces for leaders of the world's larger corporations. In spite of 25 years of globalisation, poverty is still devastatingly ubiquitous in many parts of the world. In striking contrast, the compensation packages of top leaders in business, particularly in the West, have skyrocketed, reaching levels that would have been considered impossible only a decade ago. What is clearly needed is a change in the mind-set, values and principles of our leaders, as well as of those who finance our enterprises, and of those who teach and mentor our future leaders. At the very minimum, what is needed is an expansion of the concept of success so that it transcends the prevailing myopic focus on short-term financial gains. It can be argued that this rampant greed is gradually being tamed, not just by laws, but also by social and ethical norms. In the last two decades there has been an amazing and uplifting focus on such perspectives

Editorial Reviews

Review

I was truly surprised and in disbelief, when Peter Pruzan, a life-long source of inspiration, started lecturing about spirituality and leadership. We shared the conviction that the business of business was much more than business. But spirituality ? What had happened to this stringent and analytical academic? Leading with Wisdom provides the answers. Kirsten and Peter call it Spirituality ; I have thought of it as decency, dignity and love of your fellow man. This discussion is not important. This book reminds us that true leadership does not exist unless you are a friend of all mankind and have that as a guiding higher principle. Leading with Wisdom inspires and gives you the courage to preach what you practice. - Mads Øvlisen: Chairman of LEGO; Board member, UN Global Compact; Former CEO and Chairman, Novo Nordisk, (Denmark) --Mads Øvlisen: Chairman of LEGO; Board member, UN Global Compact; Former CEO and Chairman, Novo Nordisk, (Denmark)

As human beings, we pass wisdom on through stories, and this book is full of eloquent stories that are full of the new wisdom that is emerging all over the planet. Leading with Wisdom profiles people who are breaking new ground and leading the way towards a more humane role for business in the world. This is a book that will appeal to your mind, your heart, and your soul. It will give you the courage to live and lead and love from a more integrated place. - Dr Judi Neal (USA): President and CEO, Association for Spirit at Work; President of Judi Neal & Associates; author of Edgewalkers --Dr Judi Neal (USA): President and CEO, Association for Spirit at Work; President of Judi Neal & Associates; author of Edgewalkers

Leading with Wisdom is a fascinating attempt to capture the essence of the timeless in the tapestry of our times. The authors bring together very credible voices in corporate story telling. The book will take the reader on a voyage of self-discovery in space and time. It may just as well provide a fundamental shift in the way we look at the very purpose of business. This book is a trend-setter and a refreshing contrast to conventional success literature. - Dr Debashis Chatterjee: Professor and Head, Leadership Centre, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow --Dr Debashis Chatterjee: Professor and Head, Leadership Centre, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

About the Author

Dr Peter Pruzan is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He is internationally known for his work on business ethics, values-based leadership, corporate responsibility and spirituality in business. He has degrees from Princeton (BSc), Harvard (MBA), Case- Western Reserve (PhD) and the University of Copenhagen (Dr Polit.). He has been the president of a successful, international business and has authored 11 books and over 100 articles in international scientific journals. Together with his wife, Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen, he spends several months each year in India, where he is guest professor at leading business schools. Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen is an eminent journalist and former newspaper editor at Berlingske Tidende, a major daily national newspaper in Denmark. As a journalist she has worked on assignments in more than 50 countries reporting on the human aspects of development politics as well as interviewing politicians, presidents, kings, spiritual masters, authors and business executives. ... together with: Debra and William Miller, residents of India and the co-founders of the USA-based Global Dharma Center, a non-sectarian, non-profit spiritual institution. Together they have dedicated their more than 50 years of combined corporate and consulting experience to inspire and empower people of all professions to live and work from a spiritual basis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Publishing (June 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1874719594
• ISBN-13: 978-1874719595
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,825,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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