True Leaders: How Exceptional CEOs and Presidents Make a Difference by Building People and Profits (Hardcover)

~ (Author), George Ritcheske (Author) "True leaders are a rare breed..." (more)
Key Phrases: true leaders, The Container Store, David Novak, Radio Shack (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

At a time when companies are facing a shrinking workforce and a limited pool of highly skilled employees, leadership is everything. To achieve low turnover, high productivity, and sustained financial success, leaders in companies of all sizes must adopt proven leadership characteristics that build people and profits.

Drawing on interviews with more than 25 CEOs and presidents-including Irv Hockaday from Hallmark Cards, Len Roberts from RadioShack, Linda Huett from Weight Watchers International, and Jim Copeland from Deloitte & Touche-authors Bette Price and George Ritcheske outline ten leadership characteristics that can make a difference in an era when profits alone are no longer the sole measure of success.

True Leaders provides: *A model for defining success as a leader *Real-life examples of what true leaders do to make a difference in their organizations *Critical leadership characteristics necessary to attract and retain talented employees *A reference gauge for assessing your own leadership development process

About the Author

Bette Price -- Nationally recognized speaker and consultant Bette Price is president and CEO of The Price Group, an organization dedicated to assessing and developing strategic planning and performance issues and to building leadership teams in business environments. George Ritcheske -- George Ritcheske is president and CEO of CoachWorks Leadership Group, which specializes in leadership development and leadership team effectiveness.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Business; 1st edition (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079314826X
• ISBN-13: 978-0793148264
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,336,871 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical guide to becoming a better leader, December 10, 2001

By	Martin Schray (West Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great book. It has practical advice from interviews with 30 company presidents and CEOs on how to become a better leader. What makes the book different is that these leaders were selected because of their commitment to people and profits (in that order). These leaders where drawn from the Fortune list of The 100 best companies to work for as well the authors personal contacts. Another factor that I found appealing about the book was the broad group of executives that were drawn on with significant difference in lines of business, industries, and company size.

The book is written in a very approachable manner. Some leadership books are exciting and inspirational, but don't really provide any steps for becoming a leader. This book is exciting and inspirational because it provides practical steps for becoming a better leader. It addresses both personal and business culture related topics that are necessary to define a true leader.

The book defines a true leader as having the following traits:

Social - Lover of people and the desire to build others
Utilitarian - Value money and the return on investment
Individualistic - Desire to control one's destiny and influence the destiny of others.
Traditional - Strong belief system of doing the right thing.

The book is not a instant recipe for success, but rather a guide through a series of practical steps to improving leadership. I found it to be a useful exercise to take the chapters in the book and modify then slightly to form a rough leadership checklist. Here is that list:
o Passion is a Prerequisite
o See what is not yet visible
o Care enough to connect and convey
o Treating learning like dirty dishes
o Do what's right and tell the truth
o Trust is a must
o Recognize and build people
o Trust your intuition
o Risk to respond and grow
o Respect the importance of balance

Leadership styles and fads come and go. Bottom line who would not want management to treat them based on the list above. And if you are management what employee would not want to be treated based on the list above.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Values-Based Approach, February 2, 2002

By	Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've read a lot of books about leadership that use exemplary leaders to make the author's points. Most turn out to be biographical anthologies. True Leaders is different.

This tightly written (read: no fluff to bulk-up the book's size) book is organized around a set of values, which the authors found to be central to corporate success. With a focus on core values, leaders operate differently than those who are focused on what the bottom line will look like at the end of the next reporting period. Their results are stronger and more sustainable in the long run. Satisfaction levels-for them and for the people working for them-are much higher. Trust runs deep. True leadership is at work.

The authors interviewed 25 CEOs from both private and public sector organizations. They confirmed that ten core values are the essence of their work: Passion is a prerequisite. See what is not yet visible. Care enough to connect and convey. Treat learning like dirty dishes. Do what's right and tell the truth. Trust is a must. Recognize and build people. Trust your intuition. Risk to respond and grow. Respect the importance of balance. And those core values are the chapters of the book.

In each of the chapters, the authors explain the value and its importance, illustrating and reinforcing the concepts through stories from the CEOs. These perspectives are woven into the fabric of each chapter in a way that is very comfortable for the reader. The input from the CEOs brings the values to life, inspiring as well as educating the reader. The presentations are never "in-your-face," but fit nicely into the pattern of the reader's experience with the book.

Just about the time you'll feel like you've completed the book and are ready to close the cover with a silent "thanks" to the authors, you'll discover there's more. Over thirty more pages are organized into appendices talking about Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a leadership evaluation, a one-on-one discussion card, an attitudes and values graph, and profiles of the companies represented by the CEOs used in the book. And, of course, there's an index. Nice package.

You might want to get two copies of this book, one to keep on the shelf, and one to loan to friends.
shelf, and one to loan to friends.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" For All Executives, January 4, 2002

By	Derobee (Texas, United States) - See all my reviews

"True Leaders" is one of the best books that I've ever read on leadership and management behavior! Price and Ritcheske have done an outstanding job delineating the difference between managers and leaders, as well as wannabe leaders and "true leaders." The book is insightful, exceptionally well written, and will cause anyone aspiring to key leadership roles to seriously reevaluate their approach to the people vs. profits equation. I especially enjoyed the real-world stories offered by the diverse group of executives that were profiled. "True Leaders" is a "must read" for all corporate executives!