Written by noted executive consultant and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, LEADING TO THRIVE: Mastering Strategies for Sustainable Success in Business and Life is divided into two parts: “Mastering the Inner Game” and “Mastering the Outer Game.”
In the first part, Kleinfeld advises on building resilience, controlling stress, remaining healthy, and maintaining high energy levels. In the second part, he draws on his extensive experience as a CEO of two Fortune 500 companies and other firms to provide a compressed but comprehensive master class on effective leadership and management.
The problem is that Kleinfeld’s book isn’t two sections; it’s really two separate books. The first part is just a boilerplate set of recommendations about diet, breathing, exercise, sleep, and maintaining relationships. Kleinfeld justifies this section by arguing that, unless an executive takes care of his personal side first, he will not be an effective executive and may end up regretting his choices (both personal and professional). In fact, as Kleinfeld himself says in the introduction, the real reason for the first section is that he didn’t want “this to be yet another business book.” He aimed to produce a book that “provides a framework that you can use to design your path for achieving a [sic] professional excellence and living a fulfilled life.”
Unfortunately, Kleinfeld fails to connect the two sections. Part One has nothing about business; and, in Part Two, the only reference to personal focus is confined to one paragraph. He writes, “Your personal operating system is equally crucial.” Exacerbating the disconnect, Part Two has an entirely different tone and style from Part One. Kleinfeld tells great stories, provides management strategies from his professional experience, and lays out practical guidelines for keeping a firm competitive. “Leadership is about getting people to do what you want them to do at the time you want them to do it,” he writes.
To achieve this, he explains how to create and communicate a clear and inspiring vision, how to implement actionable plans with hard metrics, and why it’s important to “create a compelling case for change.” His recommendations for building effective teams are especially insightful, along with his personal tips for hiring and identifying high performers (e.g., Have the interview panel say if they would want the candidate on a desert island with them and look for the employee who makes cynical jokes about the company.)
So, despite Kleinfeld’s concern about writing just another business book, “the Outer Game” could have stood on its own and still been noteworthy.
Klaus Kleinfeld’s LEADING TO THRIVE: Mastering Strategies for Sustainable Success in Business and Life is really two separate books—one mediocre, one excellent. The first part has been handled more effectively in books dedicated to self-improvement. The second part skillfully outlines leadership principles and practical management techniques.
~Kevin Baldeosingh for IndieReader