Hail to the CEO: The Failure of George W. Bush and the Cult of Moral Leadership (Hardcover)

by James Hoopes (Author)
Key Phrases: charitable choice, moral mistake, loss announcement, George Bush, Harken Energy, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“In this short of tightly argued work, Hoopes presents a clear thesis: George W. Bush has misunderstood and misused his moral authority as president....Hoopes argues that a misguided moral superiority animates decision making in the Bush White House, blinding them to the perils of abusing power....Highly recommended. General readers and all undergraduates.”–Choice

“Hoopes, a Babson professor, takes the position that the prevailing "cult of moral leadership" is at least partially to blame for Bush's mistakes....Harvard's 1970s b-school curriculum would have emphasized a CEO's duty to lead through moral influence, Hoopes believes....Hoopes spends the rest of the book addressing those questions--though many of his readers will already have strong opinions about the answers.”–BizEd

“In this short but highly incisive book, business historian Jim Hoopes explains why contemporary America's "cult of moral leadership", as exercised by corporate CEOs as well as politicians and presidents, is such a problematic idea. Hoopes is an expert guide to the ethical borderland that links management and morality, which is why his explanation for the occasional successes and the vast failures of President George W. Bush is so fresh and revealing.”–Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of American Capitalism: Social Thought and Political Economy in 20th Century America.

“Jim Hoopes' inspired idea has been to approach George W. Bush as an archetypal corporate boss of the Enron era whose insistent claims to moral leadership are betrayed by a conduct of affairs which is both incompetent and morally flawed. An original and important book.”–Simon Head, Senior Fellow, Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford, UK

“Now here is a truly subversive book. Hoopes identifies a cult that has insidiously taken over in both politics and business. This is the cult of moral leadership--the illusion that our leaders have risen to their rank because of their moral character and that their decisions should be guided by their values. This cult is dangerous to democracy because it enjoins us to trust those in power. Hoopes reminds us of a deeper, hard-earned wisdom--that power corrupts and that democracy therefore requires checks and balances rather than obedience. Using Pres. Bush and various business leaders as compelling counter-examples, Hoopes make the case that truly moral leadership is too humble and too knowledgeable to claim a mantle of morality. Its legitimacy comes not from its proclaimed values, but from its honesty and competency.”–Paul S. Adler, Prof. of Management and Organization University of Southern California

Book Description

Hail to the CEO—a breakthrough book on leadership, business ethics, and the place of George W. Bush in the history of our time—explains how Bush's failed presidency reflects not just on him but on the business culture that created him.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Praeger; 1 edition (December 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313347840
• ISBN-13: 978-0313347849
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,440,112 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)