Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Paperback)

by Chris Lowney (Author) "After living for seven years as a Jesuit seminarian, practicing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the Jesuit general in Rome, I morphed into..." (more)
Key Phrases: world becomes our house, greater love than fear, daring was essential, Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, Matteo Ricci (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
What can a 16th-century priest tell a 21st-century business executive about leadership? Plenty, believes this author, who points out that from a 10-man "company" founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540, the Jesuits are now the world's largest religious order, with 21,000 professionals. In this absorbing, lucid book, Lowney, who left a seven-year stint as a Jesuit seminarian to become a managing director at J.P. Morgan, explores how the Jesuits have successfully grappled with challenges that test great companies-forging seamless multinational teams, motivating performance, being open to change and staying adaptable. As he takes the reader on an engaging romp through slices of Jesuit history, Lowney references four Jesuit pillars of success: self-awareness (reflection), ingenuity (embracing change), love (positive attitudes toward others) and heroism (energizing ambitions). Despite the emphasis on the four pillars, this is no formulaic "12-steps-to-success" tome. Rather than focusing on what leaders do, Lowney shows how the Jesuit approach focuses on who leaders are. His conversational voice draws the reader in as he unfolds leadership lessons from some unlikely Jesuit role models, including explorer Benedetto de Goes, linguist Matteo Ricci and mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Lowney's passion for history is appealing, and he is careful not to sugarcoat his historical role models. Professionals looking for a One-Minute type of business book won't find it here, but more reflective businesspeople of faith will find Lowney's insights a breath of fresh air.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
Now in paperback-a unique guide for leaders of all kinds, drawn from the experiences of one of the worldís most successful organizations. Author Chris Lowney offers leadership lessons from the Jesuits, the renowned religious order whose originality and expertise have stirred admiration for nearly five centuries.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Press (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829421157
• ISBN-13: 978-0829421156
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, August 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Hardcover)

A thought-provoking yet straightforward book of value to anyone interested in how to make an organization more successful. Whether or not you care for the spiritual aspects of the Jesuits, their extraordinary success from the earliest days and the principles which drove them apply directly to the modern day enterprise and offer lessons that counter many current management techniques. After all, a group that taught its members to be flexible in the face of rapid change, to set ambitious goals, to think globally, and to take risks seems to have had in mind the challenges facing many managers today -- yet those modes of thinking were developed more than 450 years ago. Not author's thunder, but any 10-person start-up with no experience in education which had 30 colleges up and running in a decade -- without modern day communications or transportation -- and then surpassed its competitors to become the largest of its kind, 450 years later boasting 21,000 professionals -- bears taking a look at in an era of 3 year wonders. How did they do it? Read the book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The greatest enterprise in the world." That describes my, March 22, 2004

By	David D. Begley (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Hardcover)

Jesuit high school and college. But then again I think just about every Jesuit school graduate would say the same thing.

Ten men, no money, no business plan and within ten years they had thirty schools established and running.

And not only has the Jesuit order survived for over four hundred years (after its abolition by the Pope everywhere but in Russia), but it has thrived. There is simply no comparable for-profit corporation with that same history of longevity and success.

Igantius Loyola set out some clear policies that survive and work to this day.

Almost thirty years out from high school graduation I value my Jesuit education more than ever. What I've found is that the ability to reason, calculate, write and think is much more rare than I previously thought. To this I have the Society of Jesus to thank. I really can't imagine my life without my Jesuit education.

The Jesuit high school course of study is essentially the same for my son's class of 2007 as it was for my class of 1975. But it should be noted that the Jesuits have adapted and requirements in Greek and Latin are no longer there. The key here is some foreign language is essential for a high school student.

Money can come and go but education lasts and that can't be taken away from you.

There were lots of things I didn't know about the Jesuits that I learned in this book. Looking back I can see where these principles were applied. Things such as "only the best teachers."

There is a definite Jesuit "way we do things" which is consistent at all Jesuit schools.

The references to "The Spiritual Exercises" were helpful and enlightening.

Some of the historical discussion about Paraguay, China and India was either unclear or slightly too long. Jim Rogers of "Adventure Capitalist" said it best about Paraguay. He described how the Jesuits had created a civilization there in the jungle and once the Jesuits were kicked out of the country,it relapsed and hasn't been the same since.

The readership for this book isn't limited to Jesuit school alumni or even those in business. If you want to lead a better and more productive life look at Lowney's distillation of Loyola's leadership principles, apply them and learn. ...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compass for All Seekers, June 27, 2005

By	George Zee (www.frzee.org, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an interesting, informative, insightful and inspiring book. Lowney teased out four strands or principles of leadership (self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism) from the heritage of St. Ignatius Loyola and has woven a very impressive tapestry based on the history and lives of outstanding Jesuits. The book is not just for organizational leaders and managers, but suitable for anyone who wants to lead a better and more fruitful life. I wish to thank all the previous reviewers for their excellent comments and summaries.
Having been a Jesuit for well over 40 years, I've found the book a timely wake-up call.
I have known personally and indirectly so many outstanding Jesuits who have continued the tradition. Yet there is also room for reflection. In contrast to the early boom and the revival after the Suppression of Jesuits (1750-1773), the Society of Jesus has been declining in numbers very steadily from the peak in the early 60s of 36000+ to just below 20,000 last year. Although the decrease in vocations to the religious life is a fairly universal phenomenon, except in some developing countries, it is still worthwhile for the Church, Christian organisations and Jesuits in particular, to look in the mirror of this book.
Are we are too set in our patterns or have we got off track at times, lacking in 1) self-awareness, 2) innovation, 3) love, and 4) the passionate and heroic desire for the greater glory of God (In Latin, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, Ignatius' motto). (Excuse a digression. St. Iranaeus, whose feast is today, said that the glory of God is the human person fully alive and being alive is the vision of God. One may think of "To love one another is to see the face of God." from the musical, Les Miserables,seemingly based on St. John.)
The value of The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius has been much stressed. But sometimes the transforming effect seems to be still limited and not lasting. Are people just going through the formality and the stipulated hours of prayer without ongoing personal appropriations of the "death and resurrection", or "call, exile and return" that are manifested in so many of the life-stories in the book, or in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", "The Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars"?
"Finding God in all things", and being "contemplatives in action" are the hallmarks of Jesuit spirituality. But do we not often just get too involved in action without deep contemplation? How self-aware are we? Are we just being driven along, even in lofty aspirations and zealous busyness, by our own compulsions to save ourselves, as depicted by the Enneagram types? How receptive to grace are we?
From Dec. 3rd this year, there will be the Jubilee Year for the 450th anniversary of the death of St. Ignatius and 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Faber. May this book continue to inspire and to awaken Jesuits in their life-long renewal and also share the perennial spirit and wisdom of these three giants and the Jesuit legacy with the whole of humankind.