Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

It was not a boring read by any stretch, and the briefly mentioned case studies were convoluted and true. I think my general management philosophy is in discord with Mr. Badaracco and I found myself debating with him throughout the book. I enjoyed the use of philosophy to illustrate his examples and ideas, but thought they were oversimplified and possibly misrepresented at times. I could see this being useful for some managers-and it was not a waste of time, just not incredibly beneficial to me.

The best thing about this book is that it is anecdotal which means that it is an easy read. The author tells the stories well. I found it hard to put down which is a striking achievement for a book on business ethics

The worst thing about this book is that it is anecdotal: you can draw any conclusions you like from anecdotes. The book is one man's opinion and no doubt the stories are chosen and interpreted to reflect that opinion. At the end of the book, he describes his "methodology" which show more draws heavily on second hand evidence (ie stories that have already been filtered through someone else's perceptions) and also includes drawing on fiction.

This book is also not really about leadership. The anecdotes generally describe situations from the viewpoint of a single protagonist, and we get little insight into the impact of their actions on the thinking of others. I came to this book hoping for insights into the success of leaders like Stephen Green (group chairman of HSBC, described by the Guardian as "An ordained Anglican priest...tall, bookish and self effacing") but I was disappointed.

Lastly the book for me sometimes flirted with the sleazy, with it's talk of political capital, rule bending and playing for time. The author does attempt to draw lines in the sand on all these issues, which I applaud; but I was hoping for guidance on transforming an organisation where these games are needed into one where they are not. I didn't get any. show less

While some of the information and concepts given in the book are interesting, I found what Badaracco was saying to be a bit disturbing moral-wise. I definitely disagree with the traits he believes make up a good leader.

This book is based on the idea that serious fiction can give us a "unique, inside view of leadership." So, the author uses various works of fiction - from Death of a Salesmen, to Antigone - to examine what different people do in different leadership positions, then, the author (who teaches business classes at Harvard) discusses the outcome of the decision.