Synopses & Reviews
Too many leadership failures. Too many career derailments. Too many toxic workplaces filled with disengaged, distrustful employees. Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the author of
Power, offers an incisive dissection of the multibillion-dollar leadership industry and presents ways to fix its many problems.
In Leadership BS, Jeffrey Pfeffer pulls back the curtain, showing how leadership really works and why so many leadership development efforts fail. In this forthright and persuasive critique, Pfeffer argues that much of the oft-repeated wisdom about leadership is based more on hope than reality, on wishes rather than data, on beliefs instead of science. In an age when transparency is considered a virtue, Pfeffer makes the case that strategic misrepresentation isn't as harmful as you think, that breached agreements are a part of business, that immodesty is frequently a path to success, and that relying on the magnanimity of your boss is a bad bet.
Using research findings from social psychology, sociology, and sociobiology, and filled with practical, actionable advice, Leadership BS encourages readers to finally stop accepting sugar-laced but toxic potions as cures and to understand the realities of organizations and human behavior.
To make real change, Pfeffer argues, we need to get beyond the half-truths and self-serving stories that are so prominent in the mythology of leadership. In calling BS on so much conventional wisdom, Leadership BS offers both a provocative, scientific examination of how leadership actually works—and how it doesn't—and a prescription for leaders future and present.
Review
“[Power] ought to be required reading for would-be leaders...[E]xcellent.” -- < i=""> Financial Times <> (on < i=""> Power <> )
Review
“[Academics and consultants] have an interest in presenting business as a rational enterprise.... This leaves the analysis of power to retired businesspeople...(who strive to present themselves as business geniuses rather than Machiavellis) and practicing snake-oil salesmen…Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford Business School is an exception to this rule.” < i=""> The Economist <>
Review
“[Power] will help you get comfortable with challenging assumptions and lingering on the pause....[Pfeffer] draws on a wealth of social-science and psychology research.” < i=""> Inc <> magazine
Review
“Jeff Pfeffer stands as one of the great management thinkers of our time. Here in this important work, he challenges us to embrace a hippocratic oath of leadership: first do no harm. Diagnostic and prescriptive, passionate and incisive, provocative and inspired-Pfeffer yet again makes a noble contribution.” & #151;Jim Collins, author < i=""> Good to Great <> , co-author < i=""> Built to Last <> and < i=""> Great by Choice <>
Review
“As bracing as a splash of cold water, Leadership BS is at once a scathing indictment of the ‘leadership industry and a roadmap to success. Pfeffer dismantles the jargon-filled aphorisms of conventional leadership, replacing them with fact-based prescriptions for how to succeed.” & #151;Laszlo Bock, SVP of People Operations, Google and author of < i=""> New York Times <> bestseller, < i=""> Work Rules! <>
Review
“A provocative case that most leadership advice is baloney and the entire industry is broken. Pfeffer convincingly argues that we consistently give the wrong people power-and even when we get it right, authenticity is a recipe for disaster.” & #151;Adam Grant, Wharton professor and < i=""> New York Times <> bestselling author of < i=""> Give and Take <>
Review
“I wish I had read Leadership BS years go. Its not only honest but helpful, putting words to the disconnect Ive seen between what works and what were all “supposed to be” doing. This inconsistency has so much to say about the current state of professional womens progress.” & #151;Gina Bianchini, CEO, Mighty Bell and co-founder, Lean In
Review
“Leadership BS goes directly to the soul of leadership practices, exposing both the rewards and penalties of contemporary notions. Youll be challenged to look at qualities such as narcissism, vulnerability, immodesty and ego and consider why these too are important traits of effective leaders.” & #151;Curt Coffman, co-author of < i=""> First, Break all the Rules <>
Review
“A fascinating inquiry into why the “leadership industry” has failed to develop better leaders. Pfeffer turns conventional wisdom about leadership upside down, and challenges us to rethink why and how leaders behave. Its an indispensable book for every leader, executive coach, and others who seek to help leaders.” & #151;Morten T. Hansen, professor, University of California, Berkeley, co-author, < i=""> Great by Choice <>
Review
“Pfeffer offers no nostrums, no feel-good solutions; instead, he offers unvarnished insights and dry-eyed suggestions. Anyone who is seriously interested in leadership should read this book.” & #151;Stephen Kosslyn, founding dean, the Minerva Schools of Arts and Sciences at the Keck Graduate Institute
Review
“Jeff Pfeffer has done it again. He forces us to confront uncomfortable questions about ourselves and our cultures. This book reminds us of the dangers of pursuing comforting messages instead of practical truths.” & #151;Kent Thiry, CEO, Davita Healthcare Partners
Review
“Pfeffer persuasively attacks the simplistic generalities that masquerade as leadership advice. Offering examples of when such advice can hurt leaders. Turning some of our assumptions concerning authenticity, trust, and humility on their head. Essential reading for anyone who would rather rely on scientific evidence than merely on cool stories.” & #151;Sim B Sitkin, Duke University, Faculty Director, Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics
Review
“Challenges conventional thinking and traditional bromides, underscoring the importance of being evidence-based if you want to make an impact in developing leadership.” & #151;Barry Z. Posner, PhD, Accolti Endowed Professor of Leadership, Santa Clara University, co-author, < i=""> The Leadership Challenge <>
Review
“In this wonderful Book, Jeff Pfeffer takes on sacred cows and conventional wisdom, showing us a different path to the leadership excellence we all desire yet find so elusive. It should be required reading in every business school.” & #151;Herminia Ibarra, The Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning, INSEAD
Review
“Pfeffer explores what is most typically a feel-good field with the tools of a statistician and ferocious tenacity. Preferring evidence over anecdote, Pfeffer exposes bold truths, even when they are inconvenient. It turns out the meek often do not inherit the earth, or much else, for that matter.” & #151;Strauss Zelnick, partner at ZMC, chairman of Take-Two Interactive Software
Review
“In this must-read book, Pfeffer exposes the gap between what were told we should do to be leaders and what successful leaders actually do to climb the career ladder. Pfeffers take-no-prisoners approach to management research and practice always reveals insightful and shocking results.” & #151;Keith Ferrazzi, author of , < i=""> New York Times <> bestsellers < i=""> Never Eat Lunch Alone <> and < i=""> Who's Got Your Back? <>
Review
“This is an entertaining and inspiring read for anyone looking to shake things up at work.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Finalist for the 2015Financial Timesand McKinsey Business Book of the Year
Best business book of the week from Inc.com
The author of Power, Stanford business school professor, and a leading management thinker offers a hard-hitting dissection of the leadership industry and ways to make workplaces and careers work better.
The leadership enterprise is enormous, with billions of dollars, thousands of books, and hundreds of thousands of blogs and talks focused on improving leaders. But what we see worldwide is employee disengagement, high levels of leader turnover and career derailment, and failed leadership development efforts.
In Leadership BS, Jeffrey Pfeffer shines a bright light on the leadership industry, showing why it s failing and how it might be remade. He sets the record straight on the oft-made prescriptions for leaders to be honest, authentic, and modest, tell the truth, build trust, and take care of others. By calling BS on so many of the stories and myths of leadership, he gives people a more scientific look at the evidence and better information to guide their careers.
Rooted in social science, and will practical examples and advice for improving management, Leadership BS encourages readers to accept the truth and then use facts to change themselves and the world for the better.
"
Synopsis
The author of
Power, Stanford business school professor, and a leading management thinker offers a hard-hitting dissection of the leadership industry and ways to make workplaces and careers work better.
The leadership enterprise is enormous, with billions of dollars, thousands of books, and hundreds of thousands of blogs and talks focused on improving leaders. But what we see worldwide is employee disengagement, high levels of leader turnover and career derailment, and failed leadership development efforts.
In Leadership BS, Jeffrey Pfeffer shines a bright light on the leadership industry, showing why its failing and how it might be remade. He sets the record straight on the oft-made prescriptions for leaders to be honest, authentic, and modest, tell the truth, build trust, and take care of others. By calling BS on so many of the stories and myths of leadership, he gives people a more scientific look at the evidence and better information to guide their careers.
Rooted in social science, and will practical examples and advice for improving management, Leadership BS encourages readers to accept the truth and then use facts to change themselves and the world for the better.
About the Author
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979. He is the author or coauthor of thirteen books, and has also held visiting professorships at the Harvard Business School, London Business School, IESE Business School in Spain, and other institutions.