From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom Hardcover - 2013 - 1st Edition

From the rear cover

Smart people impress us with their intellectual power and uncanny ability to achieve their goals. But smartness alone is not always sufficient to keep leaders out of trouble and sustain their success over time. In From Smart to Wise, CEO advisor and coach Prasad Kaipa and strategy consultant Navi Radjou propose a different and counterintuitive approach to leadership that goes beyond optimizing "smartness."

Wise leadership, the authors argue, means cultivating a broader perspective and responding to external events with discernment, flexibility, and authenticity. It's the foundation for lasting success.

Kaipa and Radjou identify six capabilities that all leaders, both smart and wise, share--perspective, action orientation, role clarity, decision logic, fortitude, and motivation. Wise leaders optimize those capabilities, becoming better able to:

• switch from a narrow focus on operation or strategy to a more holistic perspective;
• act both authentically and appropriately in any context;
• know when to lead from the front and when to step back and let others lead;
• make intuitive decisions that are both ethically sound and utterly pragmatic;
• show true courage under fire, knowing when to hold and when to fold;
• act consistently out of enlightened self-interest, creating value for both shareholders and society.

From Smart to Wise offers a practical framework--and personalized tools--for you to operate consciously as a wise leader every day.

Based on Kaipa and Radjou's extensive research and consulting experience over twenty years, From Smart to Wise draws on real-life stories of leaders such as Alan Mulally (CEO, Ford), Sam Palmisano (former CEO, IBM), Bill Gates, Indra Nooyi (CEO, PepsiCo), Ratan Tata (chairman, Tata Group), John Mackey (CEO, Whole Foods), and Tim Cook (CEO, Apple). Filled with thought-provoking advice and insight, From Smart to Wise will help leaders at all levels nurture a resilient and balanced leadership style that is essential to succeed in our complex world.