I am a big fan of schumpeter’s column in the Economist. If all schumpeter’s articles were bundled into a book it would certainly make a very useful navigational guide to the business badlands like terrain. The write-up on leadership and power (Sep 2010) and what it takes to climb up the corporate ladder is particularly well written. It confirms the vox populi – lack of correlation between ability and power. However, the fact that power leads to better health, more friends, and a healthier heart doesn’t really resonate with what we have witnessed in the lost decade. None of the above attributes can be ascribed to the profligate leaders of the disgraced corporations – BP, Lehman, Enron. A critical attribute of a successful leader that Schumpeter might have missed out is the effective articulation of a compelling vision and ensuring that this vision trickles down and continously energises all employees.
Power and leadership
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