Social Power and the CEO: Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System [Hardcover]

Elliott Jaques (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1567205518 | ISBN-13: 978-1567205510 | Publication Date: February 28, 2002

The power of top management is pervasive and profound. It affects the quality of economic life, but also our personal and social lives. Equally strong is its impact on the sustainability of a free enterprise system. Psychoanalyst, teacher, and management consultant, Elliott Jaques argues that great as this power is, it is being squandered, not because of what managers do but because of what they don't know. Serious misconceptions about managerial leadership--and equally serious misunderstandings of people--abound. Jaques argues that the problems inherent in the way management is practiced are attributable to gravely dysfunctional systems of managerial leadership, systems that have evolved over the years and are now, despite their ineffectualities, taken for granted. He shows how the CEO class will determine the future of free enterprise democracy, but how massive misconceptions about human behavior have undermined its capability for leadership. It's the managerial leadership systems that need changing, he maintains, not the people who implement them. The result of more than a half century of thought, observation, analysis and experimentation, Jaques' book offers a totally new and creative system of managerial leadership and a unique system of managerial organization. In doing so, it becomes essential reading for academics, students, consultants, top management, and executives on the way up throughout the public and private sectors. Jaques argues that the problem of achieving effective and sustainable managerial organizations does not lie in poor decision making, interpersonal stress, lack of innovation, greedy self-interest, and other ills and defects, although they certainly play a part. The art of management, somewhat like alchemy, is not securely grounded in science. This is its most severe weakness, and the reason why organizations have always been badly managed. He cites examples to show that management tends to blame its shortcomings and inefficiencies on other people, yet there is no research to prove that the source of managerial failure is really to be found there. People strive to do their best, he has found, but they are stymied by poor organization and systems that pitch people into conflict with each other. Jaques looks at these systems closely, particularly our current systems of compensation, and itemizes his findings, showing how the the same problems are to be found throughout industry, public service, health and services organizations, and less surprisingly perhaps, the military. He then lays out the ways in which a new system of managing operations and organizations could work, shows that it is already working in certain selected places, and provides convincing evidence that his assertions and recommendations have much to offer, as we continue to search for better, more efficient, and more productive, profitable organizations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ELLIOTT JAQUES is Research Professor of Management Science, Department of Management, George Washington University, and Professor Emeritus of Social Science at Brunel University, England. He holds an M.D. from Johns Hopkins, a Ph.D. from Harvard, and is a member of the British Psycho-Analytical Society. Dr. Jaques was cited by (then General) Colin Powell for ". . . his outstanding contribution in the field of military leadership theory and instruction. . . ." He is author of numerous articles, in one of which he created the concept of the mid-life crisis, and more than 20 books, among them The Life and Behavior of Living Organisms, published by another imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Praeger Publishers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Quorum Books (February 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567205518
• ISBN-13: 978-1567205510
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading, November 26, 2007

By 

Arthur K. Mann Sr. (lancaster PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Social Power and the CEO: Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System (Hardcover)

I sometimes ask my oldest son just what did he learn at Wharton School studying for his MBA? Not much as far as he can tell me.

This book should be required reading for anyone who aspires or already is a CEO. Jaques wisdom in this book is worth two years of graduate business study. It should also inspire the reader to read his other works.

Perhaps you have wondered where GE found its storied organization and leadership development system. Well, wonder no more. It is all based on Jaques work over the past 60 years.

So, why is Jaques such a secret? Because companies using his theories in practice consider it a competitive advantage.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1st Book a CEO MUST Read, September 20, 2002

By 

Sergey Ivanov "Sergey" (Ashburn, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Social Power and the CEO: Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System (Hardcover)

If you want to destroy and demolish your company -- then you should avoid this book. Otherwise, if you actually care about your people, profits to go up, and a better and more effective business -- here is your beginner's guide to success.