Ultimate Leadership: Winning Execution Strategies for Your Situation

253 Pages·2008·1.458 MB·English

by  Palmer, Russell E

Praise for
Ultimate Leadership
“All the management advice in the world won’t help you much if you
can’t adapt it to actual situations. That’s where Russ Palmer stands
out. These are smart, practical leadership principles that are tried and
tested in real-world business circumstances.”
—Edward Whitacre, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of AT&T, former
Chairman and CEO of AT&T and Southwest Bell
“It is very fitting that Ultimate Leadership is authored by Russ Palmer,
the ultimate leader. It was with his guidance and friendship that I
successfully transitioned from four orderly decades as a Marine to the
arcane world of corporate America.”
—General P.X. Kelley, USMC (Ret.),
28th Commandant of the Marine Corps
“Russ Palmer’s Ultimate Leadership is truly the last book you’ll ever
need on the subject. Encapsulating scientific studies and decades of
front-line experiences, Russ shows once again why he is the dean when
it comes to explaining why leadership matters and how effective
leadership strategies and tactics can be adapted to different settings
and circumstances. Scholarly yet accessible, Ultimate Leadership is the
ultimate statement on how leaders in business, government, and
nonprofits alike can keep up with changes and conquer diverse
organizational contexts.”
—John J. DiIulio, Jr., Frederic Fox Leadership Professor, University of
Pennsylvania, former director, White House Office
of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
“This book about leadership from a contextual viewpoint is nothing
short of brilliant. Russ’s easy-to-read book is filled with practical
examples of leading from the context of a particular situation. The
steps to extraordinary leadership are not hugely different, but the
applications are endless. Chapter 9 about leading in a global
environment is a personal favorite. Thank you, Russ, for making sense
out of a very disputable subject. “
—Gerard R. Roche, Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles
“This book is refreshing proof that the essential personal traits of
successful leaders are identifiable. Russ Palmer presents them in a
manner providing great reading and much food for thought. “
—Gordon Bethune, Chairman, Aloha Airgroup,
former CEO, Continental Airlines
“Russ Palmer’s Ultimate Leadership is a must-read for all those who
care about the art of leadership and seek to improve their effectiveness
as leaders. I was lucky enough to have Russ as a mentor during a
formative part of my career, and I can say that few know more about
leadership, and have the experience and wisdom to impart about it,
than Russ Palmer.”
—John Fry, President, Franklin & Marshall College
“Leadership is essential for all seasons, but its effective exercise
depends much upon the season. In a masterful account, Russ Palmer
draws on his rich store of personal experience in managing a
company, running a business school, and building an enterprise
to show how adaptive leadership makes the difference. For
understanding what actions are required of all leaders—and how
those actions must also be tailored to circumstance—Ultimate
Leadershipis the essential read.”
—Michael Useem, Professor of Management and Director
of the Center for Leadership at the Wharton School,
and author of The Go Point: When It’s Time to Decide
“Aside from being able to analyze leadership, Russ Palmer has lived a
life of leadership for so many wonderful and productive years. He has
managed to transfer his own life experience to paper. Truly, this is a
book about leadership—not only mastering it, but having lived
through all of it himself and so successfully.”
—William Ruder, founder and CEO, William Ruder Incorporated
“This isn’t just another book that identifies the traits of successful
leaders. Russ Palmer highlights the importance of leaders
understanding the context in which they operate. Successful
leadership in one context may not be successful in another context.
Palmer’s leadership experience as CEO of the Touche Ross accounting
firm and his transition to Dean of the Wharton Business School
provides great insight as to understanding the importance of context.”
—Robert B. Duncan, The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean,
The Eli Broad College of Business and The Eli Broad
Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University
ULTIMATE
LEADERSHIP
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ULTIMATE
LEADERSHIP
Winning Execution
Strategies for
Your Situation
Russell E. Palmer
Vice President, Publisher: Tim Moore
Associate Publisher and Director ofMarketing: Amy Neidlinger
Wharton Editor: Yoram (Jerry) Wind
Acquisitions Editor: Martha Cooley
Editorial Assistant: Pamela Boland
Digital Marketing Manager: Julie Phifer
Marketing Coordinator: Megan Colvin
Cover Designer: Alan Clements
Managing Editor: Gina Kanouse
Senior Project Editor: Lori Lyons
Copy Editor: Cheri Clark
Proofreader: Water Crest Publishing
Indexer: Erika Millen
Compositor: codeMantra
Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig
© 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as Wharton School Publishing
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Wharton School Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for
bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and
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Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of
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All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, with-
out permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
First Printing January 2008
ISBN-10: 0-13-193386-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-193386-6
Pearson Education LTD.
Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited.
Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd.
Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd.
Pearson Education Canada, Ltd.
Pearson Educatión de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
Pearson Education—Japan
Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palmer, Russell E.
Ultimate leadership : winning execution strategies for your situation / Russell Palmer.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-13-193386-8 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Leadership. I. Title.
HD57.7.P349 2007
658.4’092--dc22
2007026911
To
My Wife Wendy
The Kids
Brad ✦ Steve ✦ Russell ✦ Karen
And The Grandkids
Amelia ✦ Isabella ✦ Jackson ✦ Kate ✦ Kayleigh
Lizzie ✦ Natalie ✦ Sophia ✦ Teddy
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C
ONTENTS
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi
Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Leadership . . . . . . .1
Chapter 1 Leadership Principles: The Basis of Successful
Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Chapter 2 The Many Contexts of Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Mastering the Contexts of Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Chapter 3 The Top-Down Organization: Learning
That It’s Not So Simple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Chapter 4 The Organization of Peers: Leading
Your Equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Chapter 5 The Organization in Crisis: Turning Danger
into Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Chapter 6 When Organizations Change: Transforming
the Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Chapter 7 The Entrepreneurial Organization: Sharing
Your Vision with Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105