Recommended Reading - In Praise of the Decisive CEO, NY Times

Sunday's, February 3, 2008, Business Section of the New York Times had a review by Stephen Kotkin of Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis' latest book Judgment. The authors sing the praises of decisive executives. According to the authors winning C.E.O.s,

... affirm, frame and relentlessly narrate an apt story line about the company. They also pick very good people, and fire their blunders fast. Strategy matters, the authors note, but forming the team comes first.

And crises test not snap-decision prowess but rather prior preparation. The best C.E.O.’s gear up to make a major call before it becomes necessary, or impossible, to do so. Malcolm Gladwell is wrong, they say: judgment is a process, not an intuitive blink.

Compelling stuff, enriched by nuanced attention to even a good decision’s sometimes unpredictable aftermath — and the need for “redo loops.” But the authors’ well-told, if scattershot, stories often do not illuminate the line between great and mundane judgment.

For those interested in leadership qualities particularly as they relate to business, the book sounds like a worthwhile read. I have not had the opportunity to read the book yet, but the review makes for a compelling case to take a look.