The General Managers

by John P. Kotter

In this unprecedented study of America's leading executives, John Kotter shatters the popular management notion of the effective "generalist" manager who can step into any business or division and run it. Based on his first-hand observations of fifteen top GMs from nine major companies, Kotter persuasively shows that the best manager is actually a specialist who has spent most of his or her career in one industry, learning its intricacies and establishing cooperative working relationships. Acquiring the painstaking knowledge and large, informal networks vital to being a successful manager takes years; outsiders, no matter how talented or well-trained seldom can do as well, this in-depth profile reveals. Much more than a fascinating collective portrait of the day-to-day activities of today's top executives, The General Managers provides stimulating new insights into the nature of modern management and the tactics of its most accomplished practitioners.

Genres: Business, Management

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

About the author

John P. Kotter, world-renowned expert on leadership, is the author of many books, including Leading Change, Our Iceberg is Melting, The Heart of Change, and his latest book, That's Not How We Do It Here!. He is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, and a graduate of MIT and Harvard. He is co-founder of Kotter International, a change management and strategy execution firm that helps organizations engage employees in a movement to drive change and reach sustainable results. He and his wife Nancy live in Boston, Massachusetts.

http://www.kotterinternational.com/ab...

Reviews

[Gerrit Gmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most of these books, their content fits on a couple of bullet points and their relevance is limited to a fairly small target audience.

For me, being in this exact role it was quite a good read, but for the general reader this is a pass. I would have preferred a more modern take as well.

[Anthony Korolev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book based on field research. One of the first studies in the theme.
Nice plain language, clear reasoning.

[Bader Al-Shafei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Flipped through the pgs. Didnt read it.

[Andy Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good.