Why am I passionate about this?
Currently a Professor of Leadership and Strategy at Hult, I’ve been on the faculties of other top business schools, and an executive officer of a NASDAQ company. I’ve led “new to the world” technology projects and advised CXOs of global companies. These experiences convinced me that poor leadership is the biggest reason organizational initiatives fail. Two decades ago, I switched from being a technology scholar; I began researching leadership and writing for practitioners, not academics. My first book was on a 2009 “best business books” list. This one is in Sloan Management Review’s Management on the Cutting Edge series—books that its editors believe will influence executive behavior.
Amit's book list on global leadership capabilities needed now
Why did Amit love this book?
Read this book if you say, “Let’s find a win-win solution.”
Sadly, most aspiring leaders misuse and abuse the term “win-win.” Instead of considering it a strategic option that should be thoughtfully applied, they treat it as a moral virtue. They then espouse win-win while striving for what I call “win-no-lose”—the hope that “we” win but “they” don’t realize they lost.
This makes building coalitions and collaborating terribly difficult precisely at the time in history when we desperately need to do these well. The book is full of surprising insights (like why turning the other cheek—advocated by most religions—doesn’t work).
It also teaches (aspiring) leaders how a critical mass of people who believe in cooperation can transform their organizations even if their peers don’t agree with them.
3 authors picked The Evolution of Cooperation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
This widely praised and much-discussed book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoistswhether superpowers, businesses, or individualswhen there is no central authority to police their actions..