Change management. Reengineering. Knowledge management. Major new management ideas are thrown at today’s companies with increasing frequency and each comes with evangelizing gurus and eager-to-assist implementation consultants. Only a handful of these ideas will be a good fit for the organization. If the right idea at the right time is chosen, the company can become more efficient, more effective, and more innovative. If the wrong one is chosen, the company could fall hopelessly behind. In this book, the authors say that some managers have found ways to improve their odds of success in the risky but essential game of idea management. Drawing from decades of consulting, academic and business experiences and from the novel study of more than 100 of these critical change leaders, this book offers tools and frameworks for: assessing the merits of the top business gurus, scanning and tracking emerging ideas in the marketplace, distinguishing promising ideas from rhetoric, refining ideas to suit the organization’s particular needs, packaging and selling the idea internally and ensuring successful implementation. The authors claim in this book that there are no faddish management ideas - only faddish ways of adopting them. Encouraging managers to embrace the power of ideas while avoiding the hype that often accompanies them, this pragmatic guide shows how passion and reason combine to build innovative companies.

In the wake of continuing corporate scandals there have been few, if any, CEOs that have stepped forward as models of “doing things right” except the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, Bill George who has also become the unofficial spokesperson for reasonable leadership in business, media and academia. In this book, the author, Bill George makes the case that we need new leaders, not just new laws, to bring us out of the current corporate crisis. He persuasively demonstrates that authentic leaders of mission-driven companies will create far greater shareholder value than financially oriented companies. During George’s 12-year-long leadership at Medtronic, the company’s market capitalization soared from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35 per cent a year. The author in this book recounts many of the toughest challenges he encountered from ethical dilemmas to battles with the FDA to his own development as a leader. He shows how to develop the five essential dimensions of authentic leaders - purpose, values, heart, relationships and self-discipline. This book offers inspiring lessons to all who want to lead with heart and with compassion for those they serve. The author here helps readers answer vital questions such as: What should I do when my personal values conflict with company business values? How do I make trade-offs between the needs of my customers, my employees and my company’s shareholders? Do I really want to devote my talents to business? This book surely provides a tested guide for character-based leaders and all those who have a stake in the integrity and success of the corporations.