Seven Lessons for Leading in Crisis

by Bill George

Book Overview

One of the country's most trusted leaders offers time-tested and real world advice for leading in economic hard times

From business giant Bill George, the acclaimed author of Wall Street Journal's bestseller True North, comes the just-in-time guide for anyone in a leadership position facing today's unprecedented economic challenges. The former CEO of Medtronic draws from his own in-the-trenches experience and lessons from leaders...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470531878
• ISBN13: 9780470531877
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Timely Lessons For Tough Times and Good Times

In this short and very readable book Bill George provides seven valuable lessons for leading, not just in times of crisis, but in good times as well. The seven lessons are: 1. Face reality, starting with yourself; 2. Don't be Atlas; Get the world off your shoulders; 3. Dig deep for root causes; 4. Get ready for the long haul; 5. Never waste a good crisis; 6. You're in the spotlight: Follow True North, and 7. Go on offense, focus on winning now. George draws not only on his own considerable experience but on the experiences of numerous other high profile successful, and some unsuccessful, leaders. As is his usual style, he is especially candid about his own learnings and failings which make the book all the more credible. The book is a quick read but is filled with valuable insights, informative stories, and plenty of good advice.

A leadership book for today's challenging times...

... is what Bill George has created in 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis. I read this book last night on my flight from LA to Minneapolis and it was informative, engaging and filled with great insight. Most leaders have more questions than answers these days in the turbulent world we live and lead in. Being a leader in tough times is not for the faint of heart. Bill doesn't give "vanilla" how-to answers, but he does cause the reader to reflect, think for himself and operate in a high integrity, authentic way. Bill candidly shared examples of leadership meltdowns and shortfalls that have been part of the fabric of the recession we've experienced since 2007. He is courageous in naming names and pulls no punches. He also gives credit to a number of leaders who follow their True North and lead by their values. While this is Bill's shortest book (160 pages), I think it might be his best. I give two thumbs up. Invest a couple of hours reading this book and you'll learn something, I promise. It's the right book for the right time. I'll be purchasing copies for my CEO executive coaching clients. Thanks, Bill.

A beacon of hope for leading in crisis for all people in any circumstance.

Bill George once again provides timely practical advice to any one in a leadership role. In this gem of a book, he highlights how to manage oneself and an organization through a crisis. Whether it is your own life situation or an institution in business, academia or not-for-profit, this book offers insights and strategies for taking advantage of a crisis that will lead to sustainable growth of the leader and the organization. Leaders young and seasoned will benefit from real life examples analyzed in this book. Bill George's gift is to sift through the facts, identify the heart of the issue and apply his own wisdom and expertise to help leaders make a contribution to address the problems our country faces. 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis is not only a beacon of hope for the current economic crisis, but is chalk full of inspiring stories that anyone can immediately apply to achieve positive results for a lifetime.

Harvard Student Grades the Professor: A+

Bill George is one of Harvard Business School students' favorite professors. Why? He has led real people in the real world and produced real results. In 7 Lessons For Leading In Crisis he shares the lessons of principled, effective leadership. 7 Lessons is an entertaining, efficient guide for how leaders should react when crisis strikes, margins grow thin, and board members become restless. Bringing seasoned business acumen and analysis to the page, Bill also includes firsthand accounts of his career and others to provide the best and worst examples of leadership in adverse conditions. Highlighting such successful leaders as Anne Mulcahy at Xerox and Greg Steinhafel at Target, while also profiling the downfalls of Lehman Brothers' Dick Fuld and AIG's Martin Sullivan, he offers advice with an energetic writing style. There are lots of books about the current crisis by reporters. There are lots of books prescribing formulas for leading by professional authors. This book is entirely different. It's a thought-provoking guide to leading in crisis by someone who is on the inside who has actually led. By illuminating the "dos" and "don'ts" of crisis-time leadership through case-study analysis, he sidesteps the ambiguity that so often plagues business "how-to" books and strikes at the heart of the issues that are particularly pertinent in today's for today's recession-stricken leaders. I highly recommend it.

A primer for principled as well as effective leadership while under duress

In two of his previous books, Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value and True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership co-authored with Peter Sims, Bill George urges his reader to discover or rediscover what he characterizes as "the internal compass that guides you as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orienting point - your fixed point in a spinning world - that helps you stay on track as a leader. Your True North is based on what is most important to you, your most cherished values, your passions and motivations, the sources of satisfaction in your life. Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership." George as well as Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas (among others who also include playwrights Arthur Miller and Robert Bolt) have also written about "crucibles" of severe pressure from which some people emerge stronger while many others don't. Given the current and imminent economy, there seems to be no shortage of crises, of "crucibles," that test one's character as well as one's resources. What George offers in this slender but deceptively profound book is "a practical guide to leaders about navigating through a crisis." Actually, that is somewhat misleading. If I understand the thrust of his thinking, he is talking about the initiatives that almost anyone must take (regardless of rank or status) to get through whatever dire circumstances they may have now. Ever the pragmatic idealist, he identifies and then discusses seven "lessons" he has learned throughout his own life thus far. None is a head-snapping revelation, nor does George make any such claim. All are easy to provide as guidelines for positive thought and productive behavior but none is easy to follow consistently. For example, "Face reality, starting with yourself." Nonetheless, especially during a crisis, many people find it difficult (if not impossible) to face the painful realities of their circumstances, much less respond effectively to them. Lesson #4 urges us to "get ready for the long haul." OK, but most people have the interest span of a finger snap and little (if any) patience, especially during an extended period of fear, anxiety, confusion, and discomfort. Throughout history, the human race has been provided with various commandments, laws, rules, etc. that, more often than not, have been ignored. What George recommends may suffer the same fate as "Don't eat that apple" and "Don't kill anyone" but he cannot be blamed for trying to help his reader "navigate" the perilous journey ahead. There are more than 70 leaders featured in this book who serve as exemplars of George's key points, for better or worse. A few are admirable or contemptible but most are ranged somewhere in between. While reading this book, it is important to keep in mind that he is examining human behavior in extreme circumstances. He duly acknowledges his deficiencies. At one point in his n