Leadership Is an Art

176 Pages·2004·0.99 MB·English

by  Max Depree

Praise for Leadership Is an Art
I, Astonishing." ~-Bill Clinton
"Small and soulful enough to be carried around lik~ a prayer
hook-and, in some respects, it is." -Washington Post
/IDe Pree's book is stunning ... From the start, De Pree re
veals his compulsion with putting people first. But he docsn't,
like most others, tiptoe around some of business's most forbid
den words-~pirit, tru!>t, love, grace, warmth, and intimacy."
-San Jose Mercury News
"Every manager should have [this book] on his or her desk."
-Mihon Moskowitz, coauthor of
The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America
"In today's financially driven business environment, Max De
Pree helps readers to pause, take a deep breath, and examine
their own personal'art of leadership.' This is an extraordinary
book that avoids quick management theory and brings the
reader back to the reality that human values form the basis for
extraordinary leadership."
-Joyce R. Clifford, founder and executive director,
Institute for :"Jursing Healthcare Leadership
"A perceptive and persunal appreciation of the obligatiolls
. facing those who play leadership roles in hierarchical organi
zations. .•. De Pree offers a wealth of uncommonly sensib:e
advisories . . . He does so, mirabile dictu, without conde
scension, preaching, or moralizing." -Kirkus Reviews
"De Pree has written a book In which virtually every sentence
could be a seminar topic ... No doubt the creativity of
Herman Miller's designing prumpts creativity in manage
ment," -Chicago Tribune
To mine from yours
Also by Max De Pree.
Leadership Jazz
Leading Without Power
Called to Serve
Dear Zoe
---- Max De Pree ----
LEADERSHIP
Is an
ART
•
nUILElAY
New York London Toronto Sydney Al,.;ckland
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Editor
Clark Malcolm
True Critics
JWy Handy
Lewis Smcdes
Patrick Thompson
Contributors
All the folks at Herman Miller and elsewhere
. who taught me-and are teaching me-
the art of leadership.
A CUKKENCY 1500K
PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY
a division of Random House, Inc.
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CURRENCY is iI tradernilrk of Random House. hlL., and DOUBLEDAY is a
registered trademark of Random House, Inc.
Leadership /5 an .... nwas originally published in hardcover by Michigan State
University Press in 1987. It was reprinted In hardcover by Currency
Doubleday in 1989 and in trade paperbilLk by Dell in 1990.
Book design by Richard 0,.;010
Cataloglng-in-Publicatlon Data Is on file with the Library of Congress.
IS8,' Q·J85·5124&·Ij
e
Copyraght 1004 by Max De Pree
:>RINTtO IN Tr-lE UN TED STATES OF AMERICA
SP[CIAI. SAI.ES
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7 9 10 8
CONTENTS
Preface by Max De Pree vi i
Foreword: History, Leadership, and a Vision
for Corporate Life xiii
Introduction 1
The l\1lillwright Died 7
What Is Leadership? 11
Participative Premises 23
Theory Fastball 31
Roving Leadership 45
Intimacy 53
Whither Capitalism? 63,
Giant Tales 73
Tribal Storytelling 81
Who OWIlS This Place? 93
v
CONTENTS
Communicate! 101
Pink Ice in the Urinal 109
What's Next? 113
Some Thoughts for CEOs Who Build
Buildings 121
To Make One Vice President, Mix Well. .. 129
Why Should I Weep? 135
The Marks of Elegance 141
Postscript 147
vi
PREFACE
Leadership Is an Art was first published in 1987, just as I
was retiring as CEO of Herman Miller, Inc. During the
years since, I served for eight more years as board chair
man at Herman Miller. Sect.jons on "leadership" have
become de rigueur at almost every bookstore I wander
into. We have seen examples at the highest levels of
both good leadership and bad. I wrote four more books,
did some teaching, and have been especially active as a
mentor of young leaders. Mentoring has become, for
me, one of the chief duties of any leader.
Being a mentor is both challenging and rewarding. To
be a good mentor requires us to take the time to learn a
vii
LEADERSHIP IS AN ART
good deal about our mentorees' worlds. It's the only way
to be truly helpful. To observe and be part of the won
derful maturations thal oft~n take place more than justi
fies the effort. Although I didn't quite realize it at the
time, I was soaking up the lessons of successful mentors
many years ago when I, myself, was mentored by Carl
Frost, David Hubbard, and Peter Drucker.
At the time I was writing Leadership Is an Art, I did not
realize how crucial a mentoring relationship could be to
one's development as a leader. Today I'm convinced of
it, and I urge you to seek out one or two mentors to guide
you along the path to discovering authentic leadership.
Then remember that the best way to c;ompensate a men
tor is by becoming one yourself.
The number of letters in response to Leadership Is an
Art over these past fifteen years-and the insights and
comments of their writers-have astonished me. An
amazing number of people have read (and taken owner-
viii
PREFACE
ship of) this book. One man wrote to tell me that his
wife gave a copy to her boss, thinking it might do him
some good. She was fircd: Thankfully, she soon got a
bctter job. People in the military, the church, education,
lhe nonprofit world-many, many people have written
with questions and comments. Most have confirmed my
belief that leadership is difficult and important, and a
fundamental subject. The number of letters I've received
speaks more to the struggles people have with leader
ship than anything else.
Several themes run through most of the chapters in
o
Leadership /s an Art. I!d like to mention three that stand
out clearly in my mind as eS!tenlial to artful leadership.
Over the years, readers have named all three as espe
cially important.
One is integrity. Many people have written about its
connection to leadership. We know that integrity is one
of the preserving principles of the free-market system.
ix