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In Their Time: The Greatest Business Leaders Of The Twentieth Century
Great business leaders possess more than celebrated traits like charisma and an appetite for risk. They have "contextual intelligence"—a profound ability to understand the Zeitgeist of their times and harness it to create successful organizations. Based on a comprehensive Harvard Business School Leadership Initiative study, Anthony J. Mayo and Nitin Nohria present a fascinating collection of stories of the 20th century's greatest leaders, from unsung heroes to legends like Sam Walton and Bill Gates. The book identifies three distinct paths these individuals followed to greatness: entrepreneurial innovation, savvy management, and transformational leadership. Through engaging stories of leaders in each category, the authors show how, by "reading" the context they operated in and embracing the opportunities their times presented, these individuals created, grew, or revitalized outstanding American enterprises. A canon of leadership success from the last century, In Their Time reveals insights for contemporary leaders hoping to build lasting legacies.
444 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 2, 2019
Preface: the author, Tony Mayo, was my professor for a leadership class in Business School.
'In Their Time' is the kind of book that business-folk should really read, but don't because it isn't flashy with a narrative arc and a singular takeaway. The book chronicles the 20th century with a focus on history and how business and business leaders intersected with the context of their day. In addition, Mayo and Nohria led a study to create a canon of sorts for business leaders that has been lacking, relative to the canons that exist surrounding literature, art, and poetry.
I loved learning about various leaders, such as Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farms and how govt. intervention, social mores, gender roles, etc. played an impact on her business. Even more so, I liked learning history and thinking about the role of contextual intelligence. Anywho, definitely a good read.
'In Their Time' is the kind of book that business-folk should really read, but don't because it isn't flashy with a narrative arc and a singular takeaway. The book chronicles the 20th century with a focus on history and how business and business leaders intersected with the context of their day. In addition, Mayo and Nohria led a study to create a canon of sorts for business leaders that has been lacking, relative to the canons that exist surrounding literature, art, and poetry.
I loved learning about various leaders, such as Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farms and how govt. intervention, social mores, gender roles, etc. played an impact on her business. Even more so, I liked learning history and thinking about the role of contextual intelligence. Anywho, definitely a good read.
September 2, 2019
Key Ideas:
Emotional Intelligence-‘getting other people’ and enabling them to ‘get you’ is crucial to leadership. ‘Contextual Intelligence’ goes beyond this to grasping and handling all the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence the direction an organization takes.
Howard Gardner, in ‘Leading Minds’, explored the notion of leader as STORYTELLER. A good leader can capture follower’s longings in words, can inspire narratives, and can even embody those narratives.
This book is about leadership in context-not leadership that emerges solely from the qualities of human character, but leadership that springs forth from an appreciation and understanding of one’s situation (Economic, Social, and Political) in the world.
6 contextual factors considered in this book: Government intervention, Global affairs, Demography, Social Mores, Technology, and Labor.
3 Types of Business Executives: Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Managers.
E’s create new businesses, Marshal resources, Identify new opportunities.
M’s expand existing businesses, align and optimize resources, harness growth potential.
L’s reinvigorate businesses, champion turnarounds, recognize latent potential.
Cost plus contracts invented by the US govmt to spur companies to produce all the manufacturing needs of WWI. Greatly increasing speed of production by reducing risk for companies.
Taxes raised on businesses in WWI to fund the war effort. First time this was significant.
The automobile becoming produced for the masses created installment payment plans which was a major contributor to unmanageable personal debt which led to the depression. Before the automobile, you had to have money to buy stuff and there wasn’t that many consumer items available.
Coca Cola was helped greatly in expanding worldwide because during WWII the govmt subsidized building bottling companies throughout the world because they offered it to any US soldier for 5 c.
Coca Cola created a modern org structure with smaller corporate offices with defined staff functions that provided services to decentralized and often autonomous business units head by independent general managers.
Rudkin (founder of pepperidge farms) had a background in public relations and so one of her first attempts to expand the business involved the hiring of a publicist. Articles resulted nationwide which lead to fast expansion. She noted that the ‘basis of developing public relations is to protect your product so intrinsically that it honestly constitutes the best value obtainable by the public for the price.”
After the Korean War, Eisenhower curbed defense spending so fast it created a recession in 1953, so he attempted to stimulate investment in nonmilitary capital by instituting a tax reform that allowed businesses to accelerate depreciation on their capital assets.
The head of Procter and Gamble (Morgens) had strong decentralized management teams running independent businesses, supported by central administrative functions, leading to success of his reorg of the whole company.
Steele, who defected from Coca Cola to Pepsi, installed a more autonomous management structure, and instituted an agressive advertising campaign to help grow Pepsi.
Michael McLean invented SeaLand containerized shipping, revolutionizing the shipping industry.
Singleton established Teledyne and bought many different companies to make it a conglomerate. He maintained tight financial controls on the company, as long as company presidents achieved the set financial hurdles, they were allowed to function autonomously, if not, they were removed. He showed a clear ability to understand market timing throughout his career. He noted, I believe in maximum flexibility so I reserve the right to change my position on any subject when the external environment relating to any topic changes.
Iverson’s early experience at Vulcraft played a large role in his subsequent approach to managing employees-minimizing levels of management,providing tangible and achievable financial incentives, and listening to ideas and suggestions from every level...a significant factor in defeating union organizing activities. Iverson was a stickler for the minimization of management layers, even as the company grew to become the second largest steel producer in the US, it retained no more than 4 layers in its organizational hierarchy and fewer than 25 employees in its HQ. Iverson placed decision making authority in the hands of his plan GMs, believing theywere in the best position to assess the needs of their individual operations.
Lewis threw himself into the operations, paring down unprofitable product lines, slashing costs, and focusing on high-margin performance.
Paul O’Neill lead Alcoa to become the world’s largest aluminum conglomerate, giving the company a solid image of integrity, and emphasizing life long learning by all employees as well as making occupational safety and environmental concerns synonymous with good business.
Max De Pree and Herman Miller measured the totality of their success not just in financial terms but most importantly by employee and customer satisfaction metrics. DePree practiced what he termed ‘roving leadership’. With it he empowered employees at all levels of the org to institute change and suggest improvements in productivity or design. In its hiring practices, the company sought character and chemistry over traditional capabilities, believing fit was far more important than functional expertise...ongoing communication was also a key component in nurturing an open and participatory environment and to that end, DePree willingly shared detailed financial and market info with employees. With a viable stake in the company performance, employees welcomed the monthly info sharing sessions. CEO pay was capped at no greater than 20 times the pay of the average factory worker.
Zeien of Gillette established Globalization, New Product Development, and Employee Development as his 3 pillars of his approach as CEO. He spent an inordinate amount of time on the road helping identify and cultivate leadership potential within the company. He encouraged diagonal promotions over vertical promotions. He noted: the best measure of a company is not what it’s accomplished, but how well it’s improved the prospect for the future.
Being a ‘first class noticer’ is key to long term success...these people recognize talent, identify opportunities, and avoid pitfalls. These are people who have built and continue to build a strong level of contextual intelligence.
Lessons Learned:
Context Matters-not just a great man theory, not just an individual’s personality and character but moreso a sensitivity to context.
Important to ascertain the path required to company success...do they need a leader, manager, or entrepreneur.
To sustain growth and maximize potential over a long period, an individual must possess flexibility and courage to change direction when needed.
When looking for CEOs, boards should not just look at an individual’s past record of success, but is it the right abilities required for the situation?
Know your business history so you understand what has worked or not in the past, there is a tendency to overlook the CONTEXT of an individual’s success and simply glorify them. The environment is important to know.
Enhance your contextual intelligence and become a first class noticer, you do this by having an interest and appreciation of HISTORY, Take time to READ and stay abreast of trends in regulations, geopolitics, and technology. Break out of your own world, travel to new areas and interact with customers to gain context. Participate in conferences and industry associations. Engage in disciplined processes for imaging the future including scenario assessment, strategic planning and contingency modeling. Finally, the development of contextual intelligence is an ongoing process that requires constant attention.
Book on matrix org: Cutting Edge: Gillette’s Journey to Global Leadership—McKibben
Emotional Intelligence-‘getting other people’ and enabling them to ‘get you’ is crucial to leadership. ‘Contextual Intelligence’ goes beyond this to grasping and handling all the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence the direction an organization takes.
Howard Gardner, in ‘Leading Minds’, explored the notion of leader as STORYTELLER. A good leader can capture follower’s longings in words, can inspire narratives, and can even embody those narratives.
This book is about leadership in context-not leadership that emerges solely from the qualities of human character, but leadership that springs forth from an appreciation and understanding of one’s situation (Economic, Social, and Political) in the world.
6 contextual factors considered in this book: Government intervention, Global affairs, Demography, Social Mores, Technology, and Labor.
3 Types of Business Executives: Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Managers.
E’s create new businesses, Marshal resources, Identify new opportunities.
M’s expand existing businesses, align and optimize resources, harness growth potential.
L’s reinvigorate businesses, champion turnarounds, recognize latent potential.
Cost plus contracts invented by the US govmt to spur companies to produce all the manufacturing needs of WWI. Greatly increasing speed of production by reducing risk for companies.
Taxes raised on businesses in WWI to fund the war effort. First time this was significant.
The automobile becoming produced for the masses created installment payment plans which was a major contributor to unmanageable personal debt which led to the depression. Before the automobile, you had to have money to buy stuff and there wasn’t that many consumer items available.
Coca Cola was helped greatly in expanding worldwide because during WWII the govmt subsidized building bottling companies throughout the world because they offered it to any US soldier for 5 c.
Coca Cola created a modern org structure with smaller corporate offices with defined staff functions that provided services to decentralized and often autonomous business units head by independent general managers.
Rudkin (founder of pepperidge farms) had a background in public relations and so one of her first attempts to expand the business involved the hiring of a publicist. Articles resulted nationwide which lead to fast expansion. She noted that the ‘basis of developing public relations is to protect your product so intrinsically that it honestly constitutes the best value obtainable by the public for the price.”
After the Korean War, Eisenhower curbed defense spending so fast it created a recession in 1953, so he attempted to stimulate investment in nonmilitary capital by instituting a tax reform that allowed businesses to accelerate depreciation on their capital assets.
The head of Procter and Gamble (Morgens) had strong decentralized management teams running independent businesses, supported by central administrative functions, leading to success of his reorg of the whole company.
Steele, who defected from Coca Cola to Pepsi, installed a more autonomous management structure, and instituted an agressive advertising campaign to help grow Pepsi.
Michael McLean invented SeaLand containerized shipping, revolutionizing the shipping industry.
Singleton established Teledyne and bought many different companies to make it a conglomerate. He maintained tight financial controls on the company, as long as company presidents achieved the set financial hurdles, they were allowed to function autonomously, if not, they were removed. He showed a clear ability to understand market timing throughout his career. He noted, I believe in maximum flexibility so I reserve the right to change my position on any subject when the external environment relating to any topic changes.
Iverson’s early experience at Vulcraft played a large role in his subsequent approach to managing employees-minimizing levels of management,providing tangible and achievable financial incentives, and listening to ideas and suggestions from every level...a significant factor in defeating union organizing activities. Iverson was a stickler for the minimization of management layers, even as the company grew to become the second largest steel producer in the US, it retained no more than 4 layers in its organizational hierarchy and fewer than 25 employees in its HQ. Iverson placed decision making authority in the hands of his plan GMs, believing theywere in the best position to assess the needs of their individual operations.
Lewis threw himself into the operations, paring down unprofitable product lines, slashing costs, and focusing on high-margin performance.
Paul O’Neill lead Alcoa to become the world’s largest aluminum conglomerate, giving the company a solid image of integrity, and emphasizing life long learning by all employees as well as making occupational safety and environmental concerns synonymous with good business.
Max De Pree and Herman Miller measured the totality of their success not just in financial terms but most importantly by employee and customer satisfaction metrics. DePree practiced what he termed ‘roving leadership’. With it he empowered employees at all levels of the org to institute change and suggest improvements in productivity or design. In its hiring practices, the company sought character and chemistry over traditional capabilities, believing fit was far more important than functional expertise...ongoing communication was also a key component in nurturing an open and participatory environment and to that end, DePree willingly shared detailed financial and market info with employees. With a viable stake in the company performance, employees welcomed the monthly info sharing sessions. CEO pay was capped at no greater than 20 times the pay of the average factory worker.
Zeien of Gillette established Globalization, New Product Development, and Employee Development as his 3 pillars of his approach as CEO. He spent an inordinate amount of time on the road helping identify and cultivate leadership potential within the company. He encouraged diagonal promotions over vertical promotions. He noted: the best measure of a company is not what it’s accomplished, but how well it’s improved the prospect for the future.
Being a ‘first class noticer’ is key to long term success...these people recognize talent, identify opportunities, and avoid pitfalls. These are people who have built and continue to build a strong level of contextual intelligence.
Lessons Learned:
Context Matters-not just a great man theory, not just an individual’s personality and character but moreso a sensitivity to context.
Important to ascertain the path required to company success...do they need a leader, manager, or entrepreneur.
To sustain growth and maximize potential over a long period, an individual must possess flexibility and courage to change direction when needed.
When looking for CEOs, boards should not just look at an individual’s past record of success, but is it the right abilities required for the situation?
Know your business history so you understand what has worked or not in the past, there is a tendency to overlook the CONTEXT of an individual’s success and simply glorify them. The environment is important to know.
Enhance your contextual intelligence and become a first class noticer, you do this by having an interest and appreciation of HISTORY, Take time to READ and stay abreast of trends in regulations, geopolitics, and technology. Break out of your own world, travel to new areas and interact with customers to gain context. Participate in conferences and industry associations. Engage in disciplined processes for imaging the future including scenario assessment, strategic planning and contingency modeling. Finally, the development of contextual intelligence is an ongoing process that requires constant attention.
Book on matrix org: Cutting Edge: Gillette’s Journey to Global Leadership—McKibben
March 30, 2013
A must-read book on leadership for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews