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Nobody in Charge: Essays on the Future of Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series)

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Everyone remembers the reaction when U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig took the podium at the White House the day John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981. "I'm in control here," Haig tried to reassure the public, contrary to the constitutional rules of succession. The response was neither outrage nor reassurance that someone was taking the helm. Why? Harlan Cleveland thoughtfully suggests good reasons that the primary reaction to Haig's statement was bemusement tinged with ridicule. He makes an articulate argument that the era when anyone could be in complete control anywhere has long since passed. The reason? Systems have simply grown too complex to be managed by one individual. Thus, the best leader for the "Nobody's-In-Charge" society is someone comfortable with decentralization, someone who can arrive at resourceful, unusual solutions. By way of imprimatur, management guru Warren Bennis wrote this volume's foreword. We from getAbstract recommend this treatise to those who are seriously curious about the ways that technological and societal changes are altering the leader's role.