Leaders Talk Leadership

Top Executives Speak Their Minds

Edited by Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles

This impressive volume is a collection of thought leadership pieces written by leaders in business, academia and consulting firms from around the world, in conjunction with the firm Heidrick and Struggles. The book offers a compilation of knowledge from people across industries and across the globe on a variety of strategic issues facing the executives of today such as Governance, Leadership, Leading Transformation, Human Capital and the War For talent, Investing in the New Economy, and Emerging Business Models. Each section will consist of thought pieces and interviews by some of the leaders who are successfully navigating today's difficult and changing market environment including Craig Conway, President and CEO, PeopleSoft, Inc.; David S. Pottruck, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Charles Schwab Corporation; Fred Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, FedEx Corporation; Hank McKinnell, CEO, Pfizer; Kenneth Chanault, CEO, American Express; Steve Reinmund, CEO, PepsiCo; Edward Tian, CEO, China Netcom; and Heinrich von Pierer, CEO of Siemens. Framing these sections will be articles by leading academics in the field, including Jay Conger on governance, Mohanbir Sawhney on new business models and Elspeth Murray on change. This book cuts through the jargon and the fluff, and serves as a reference manual that senior managers can digest quickly, and which MBA students will find invaluable.

Leaders Talk Leadership

Top Executives Speak Their Minds

Edited by Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles

Description

Leaders Talk Leadership is an impressive collection of interviews with some of the world's most respected corporate leaders and management scholars. Edited by Ashby and Miles of the preeminent executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles, this compilation of thought leadership spanning industries and geographies addresses the key issues facing executives today such as governance, leadership and strategy, how to lead in volatile times or through a corporate transformation, how to best leverage human capital and how to achieve competitive advantage in today's environment. Some of the CEO's featured in the book include Ken Chenault, of American Express, Steve Reinemund of PepsiCo, Heinrich von Pierer of Siemens, Ken Lewis of Bank of America, Edward Tian of China Netcom, Fred Smith of FedEx, Hank McKinnell of Pfizer, A.G. Lafley of Proctor and Gamble, Klaus Zumwinkel of Deutsche Post World Net, William Haseltine of Human Genome Sciences, Linda Sanford of IBM, Larry Weinbach of Unisys and Michael Dell of Dell Computer. Framing these cutting-edge concepts are interviews and written essays by preeminent academics, including Jay Conger from London Business School, Jim Collins of Good to Great, Mohanbir Sawhney of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University. Serving as the line executive's roadmap to recruiting, retaining and developing talent and an encyclopedia of MBA students worldwide, this book represents path-breaking leadership perspectives from path-breaking leaders.

Leaders Talk Leadership

Top Executives Speak Their Minds

Edited by Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles

Preface
About the Editors
Foreword: Leading in the New Century: Storm Clouds and Silver Linings in the Horizon, Jay A. Conger
Introduction: Factors Affecting Leadership and Human Capital, Stephen A. Miles and Meredith A. Ashby
1. Leadership
2. Managing Human Capital
3. Establishing Competitive Advantage in Today's Market Environment
4. Strategic Change and Transformation
5. The Stakeholder's View
Epilogue: Optimizing Human Capital with a "People Operating System" Approach, Jay A. Conger, Stephen A. Miles, and Meredith D. Ashby
About the Contributors
Index

Leaders Talk Leadership

Top Executives Speak Their Minds

Edited by Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles

Reviews and Awards

"An impressive collection of insights in leadership" --Jay Fishman, CEO of St Paul Cos

Whether you are leading a transformation of your business, identifying your next generation of leaders or working to energixe yout organization's culture, this book provides valuable observations and advice from leaderhip's top echelon," --Jonathan Ward, Chairmane and Chief Executive Officer of The ServiceMaster Company

"From the human capital experts, Heidrick and Struggles comes this magnum opus of impactful advice-theoretical and practical-for the next generation of business."

"This book, with an array of leadership vignettes from some of the world's CEOs, academics, and management experts is a convenient 'pick up and read anytime' format for anyone wanting to know what's on the minds of those at the helm of remarkable companies."

"Leaders Talk Leadership ... is a landmark result of our effort to add continuously to our knowledge base. In this unique and unprecedented compendium of leadership perspectives, more than fifty of the business world's renowned and accomplished leaders spell out, in their own words and from their own experience, the philosophies and strategies they have used to transform their companies and keep their edge in an ever-shifting marketplace."--Piers Marmion, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Heidrick and Struggles International, Inc.