|
Harvard Business Review
|
Parables
of Leadership
W. Chan Kim and Renée
Mauborgne
|
Why do the same activities lead to renewal
in one company and to more-of-the same performance in another? Almost
always, the explanation comes down to "leadership." But while it
is easy to recognize leadership in action, defining the essence of leadership
is hard because it cannot be reduced to a set of personal attributes nor
confined to particular activities and roles.
Intent on capturing the essence of leadership, W. Chan Kim and Renée
Mauborgne articulate five parables that capture the essence of leadership.
These parables deal with the qualities that define true leaders, and allow
their points to be made through stories, not through statistics or research.
A young prince sent into a forest to learn to hear
the unheard. A discouraged disciple whose journey down a mountain
teaches him perspective. A tale of fire and water. In these
and their other parables, the authors illuminate the qualities and actions
that define a leader. In so doing, they give every reader an occasion
to reflect on his or her own life and work.
| W. Chan Kim is The Boston Consulting Group Bruce D. Henderson Chair
Professor of International Management at INSEAD, France.
Renée Mauborgne is The INSEAD Distinguished
Fellow and Affiliate Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD.
She is also President of ITM Research.
|
|