The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
Sell Us Your Item
For a $0.96 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership [Hardcover]

Gary Burnison
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

List Price: $28.00
Price: $17.94 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $10.06 (36%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 18 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Tuesday, May 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $14.63  
Hardcover $17.94  
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

March 13, 2012

ALL IN, ALL THE TIME

For Gary Burnison, CEO of the world’s largest executive search firm, these five simple words perfectly capture the essence of great leadership. There can be no half measures. Complete commitment, total engagement, and a powerful sense of personal responsibility are the criteria for true leadership excellence. It’s more than a job; it’s a way of life. But how do you get there? In this groundbreaking book, Burnison provides the answer.

As the leader of Korn/Ferry International, Burnison is particularly well qualified to write a guide to effective leadership. On a personal level, he experiences every day what it’s like to be responsible for the lives of others, the careers of his employees, and the expectations of stakeholders. He also deals one-on-one with some of the world’s top leaders.

In The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, Burnison distills this vast experience into an actionable plan for building world-class leadership skills. You’ll learn how to train your focus on the twelve most critical elements of leadership, so you can

  • Establish your vision and develop a strategy for achieving it
  • Inspire your people to embrace the change you envision
  • Measure the effectiveness of your leadership
  • Build powerful teams that are aligned in purpose and strategy
  • Foresee new opportunities and adjust your course to meet them

Nothing in business or life generates greater personal satisfaction than affecting peoples’ lives in a positive way through excellent leadership. Burnison refers to it as the “eighth wonder of the world.”

The prospect might seem daunting, but Burnison makes it more accessible than you thought possible. He presents a framework based on enduring human truths, which is applicable in every leadership role and arena. All you have to do is apply it with dedication and determination.

You have the ability. Take your first steps to leadership excellence with The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership.

Praise for The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership:

“In The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, Gary Burnison captures the timeless principles that leaders must possess, beyond intelligence, courage and heart. These essential elements speak to the integrity and authenticity that underscore all effective leadership.”
—Carlos Slim, entrepreneur, Investor, and the world’s richest man

“Only a few good leaders have paused to reflect seriously on being leaders. Xenophon and Ulysses S. Grant did, and now Gary Burnison can be added to the list. This is not a business book. This is a book about the business of life.”
—P.J. O’Rourke, political satirist, journalist, and author

“Gary Burnison has distilled leadership into its essential elements—the absolute truths about leadership that apply in every arena. For those who want to know what leadership is all about, this book has the answers.”
—Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck

“Leadership is the most important ingredient in any successful organization. Gary Burnison explores the essential elements of leadership through conversations with some of the world’s most seasoned and accomplished leaders.”
—Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundations, KB Home, and SunAmerica

”Gary Burnison’s wisdom and insight cut straight to the heart of the matter—to the essential elements of any leadership framework. His stories, observations, and conversations with leaders artfully illustrate these principles, applicable to everyone.”
—Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico


Best Value

Buy 12 Disciplines of Leadership Excellence: How Leaders Achieve Sustainable High Performance and get The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

12 Disciplines of Leadership Excellence: How Leaders Achieve Sustainable High Performance + The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership
Buy together today: $33.34

Show availability and shipping details



Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Burnison is Chief Executive Officer of Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest executive recruiting firm and a leading global provider of talent management solutions. Based in Los Angeles, the firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to attract, deploy, develop, and reward their talent. Burnison is a regular contributor to CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, and to other international news outlets.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (March 13, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0071787127
  • ISBN-13: 978-0071787123
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary D. Burnison is Chief Executive Officer of Korn/Ferry International, the worldwide leader in executive recruitment and a premier provider of talent management solutions, assisting global organizations to achieve extraordinary outcomes through talent. Korn/Ferry employs more than 2,500 people in 40 countries. He is also a member of the Firm's Board of Directors.

Under his strategy, Mr. Burnison spearheads the Firm's transformation as a diversified human capital organization. He brings hands-on experience to his current position, having served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Korn/Ferry from 2003-2007. Mr. Burnison joined Korn/Ferry as Chief Financial Officer in 2002.

Prior to Korn/Ferry, he was principal and chief financial officer of Guidance Solutions, a privately held consulting firm developing and supporting technology solutions, from 1999 to 2001.

Before Guidance Solutions, Mr. Burnison served as a senior executive officer and director of Jefferies & Company, Inc., the principal operating subsidiary of Jeffries Group, Inc., where he worked from 1995 to 1999. Earlier, he served as partner at KPMG Peat Marwick from 1984 to 1995.

In 2011, Mr. Burnison published No Fear of Failure: Real Stories of How Leaders Deal with Risk and Change - a book offering insightful conversations with some of the world's top leaders in business, politics, education, and philanthropy. He is also a regular contributor to CNBC, CNN, Fox Business and other international news outlets.

He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
(7)
4.9 out of 5 stars
3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Absolutes April 15, 2012
Format:Hardcover
Burnison is an impressive guy. CEO of Korn Ferry. It seems logical he would know a thing or two about leadership not just because he runs his own company but as a recruiter, he would have seen hundreds of leaders. And he already a published best seller ("No Fear of Failure")

I liked the simple one word chapter titles. 12 Absolutes - 12 chapters one for each.

The 12 absolutes are:

1 - Lead - This seemed like too simple of a place to start but the chapter is quite good. I got hooked by the subhead "Anchor yourself in Humility". I see a lack of humility in leadership and I think this does not serve us. Leader need to move above the me to the we.

2 - Purpose - This is the true enabler of any company.

3 - Strategy - In the end, it is all about execution.

4 - People - Clearly key to everything. I always had the theory that a leaders' job was to hire average people and help them grow to be above average (by empowering, training, coaching, mentoring and giving them the tools to do the job well)

5 - Measure - I find this easy on the "hard stuff" like sales, profits, delivery standards etc but always struggle trying to measure the "soft" like culture. I also find too often, measures are short term where the organization really needs long term.

6 - Empower - I am a big believer in this. No business can scale without empowering people - not just delegating but trusting them to make the right choices to help a company thrive.

7 - Reward - obvious. If the company does well, the people should do well.

8 - Anticipate - "It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan" Elanor Roosevelt.

9 - Navigate - the unexpected will happen.

10 - Communicate - key to all leadership.

11 - Listen - I would have put this before communicate.

12 - Learn - I love learning and always wanted any company I am involved in to be a constant learning company.

Some quotes:

"Leaders are mirrors of the organization"

"Leadership is Grace, Dignity and Restraint."

"Shared Purpose Creates Shared Urgency"
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book right up my Avenue April 7, 2013
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm still reading this book and the more I get pass the chapters the more I see myself involved like the characters in the book, Awesome...Pass it on to my friends, YES, I would.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!! April 3, 2013
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is mandatory reading material for anybody who is in any position of leadership regardless of the arena. Whether you're an active leader in your church, at your job, or in your community, this book gives you fundamental aspects of leadership in an easy to understand lay out. I highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to become a better leader. Definitely a great buy!!!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 





Look for Similar Items by Category