Leading at the Edge
Canadian Association of Management Consultants

Leading at the Edge

Book Review


By Michael Kennedy, CMC
Kennedy Management Services
Tel: (416) 385-3942
E-mail: mkennedy@idirect.com


Book Title: Leading at the Edge
Publication Information: Published in 2000 by the American Management Association.
ISBN: 0 - 8144 - 0543 - 6


Author Profile: The principal author of this book is Dr. Dennis Perkins, President of The Syncretics Group, a consulting firm based in Branford, Connecticut that focuses on helping executives and organizations deal with the challenges of leadership in demanding situations.


Throughout his 40-year career Dr. Perkins has studied leadership from a variety of different perspectives. After graduating from the Unites States Naval Academy in 1964 he began his professional career as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, and his military career involved a tour of duty in combat in Vietnam. Later, he earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan, and taught for several years as a professor in the School of Management at Yale University prior to founding his present organization.


Dr. Perkins co-authored Leading at the Edge with three professional colleagues, Margaret Holtman, Paul Kessler, and Catherine McCarthy.


The overall theme of Leading at the Edge focuses on a discussion of the elements of effective leadership in situations that pose serious challenges for the people involved. The book draws heavily upon the experiences of the famed explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew during their ill-fated Antarctic expedition in the early part of the 20th century. After their ship the Endurance was trapped and later crushed by heavy ice, Shackleton led his men on an extraordinary journey through some of the most extreme conditions imaginable, and after a two year ordeal, successfully managed to ensure that every member of his 22-man crew was safely rescued.


Synopsis:

Using the author's analysis of Shackleton's own leadership during this expedition, Leading at the Edge identifies ten key principles for leaders to follow when they find themselves faced with situations of extraordinary difficulty:


  1. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and focus energy on short-term objectives.
  2. Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviours.
  3. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.
  4. Take care of yourself: Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt.
  5. Reinforce the team message constantly: "We are one - we live or die together."
  6. Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect.
  7. Master conflict - deal with anger in small doses, engage dissidents, and avoid needless power struggles.
  8. Find something to celebrate and laugh about.
  9. Be willing to take the Big Risk.
  10. Never give up - there's always another move.

To illustrate the applicability of these principles to the business world, Leading at the Edge features a series of four in-depth case studies discussing how CEO's facing various kinds of crises responded successfully to them and acted in ways that illustrate the guiding principles laid out in the book.


Why This Book is Useful to Management Consultants:
There seems to be virtually unanimous agreement among senior executives everywhere that the most important element of their jobs is leadership, but the fact remains that many executives never really manage to fulfill their inherent potential as leaders. The difficulties that business executives face in dealing with their leadership responsibilities often become especially apparent when a crisis appears on the horizon; faced with problems that can appear very complex and daunting, some executives will focus on delivering short term results that pay little attention to more important long term priorities, and others will retreat altogether into a defensive posture and avoid making the difficult decisions that are needed to deal with the problems at hand.


Leading at the Edge provides a framework of that consultants can use to help guide clients through periods of significant difficulty. The book is a comprehensive, insightful, and highly readable analysis of the elements of effective leadership.