A leadership blueprint for (almost) everyone
This book is for those headed into leadership within the next decade, and who may be trained in bad habits. This is for senior associates, junior partners, vice presidents and beyond who are slugging it out with outdated bosses/organizations that are loathe to, or incapable of, adaptation. Most of all, it’s a book for future entrepreneurs.
There are many lessons here, many of which we all know even if they’ve never all been articulated in one place. That’s the strength of this book.
The weakness is that there are too many anecdotes in the tech/data section. Maybe right-brained analysis is the best available method for overload, but the book would have benefited if it had a left-brained analysis highlighting specific industries that need to pay attention. This book was written for a general readership, but maybe Lewis and Malmgren will pick the data/tech theme up in another book, someday.
The chapter (7) on gender-balance and masculine/feminine framing was excellent. It really highlights the necessary balance required in strategy, operations and organizational psychology. This is especially critical for tech companies given the ongoing bro-culture that pervades tech startups. The emphasis on ensuring that balance, versus a conversion to masculine thinking, was essential to the argument.
Overall, this is a solid blueprint for framing leadership from startups to conglomerates going forward.