The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership

In this offbeat approach to leadership, college president Steven B. Sample-the man who turned the University of Southern California into one of the most respected and highly rated universities in the country-challenges many conventional teachings on the subject. Here, Sample outlines an iconoclastic style of leadership that flies in the face of current leadership thought, but a style that unquestionably works, nevertheless. Sample urges leaders and aspiring leaders to focus on some key counterintuitive truths. He offers his own down-to-earth, homespun, and often provocative advice on some complex and thoughtful issues. And he provides many practical, if controversial, tactics for successful leadership, suggesting, among other things, that leaders should sometimes compromise their principles, not read everything that comes across their desks, and always put off decisions.Steven Sample ist President der University of Southern California, die kürzlich vom Time Magazine zum besten College Amerikas gekürt wurde. Sample genießt den Ruf eines gefürchteten und abtrünnigen Freidenkers. Darüber hinaus ist er - einzigartig für einen Mann in seiner Position - Inhaber einer Vielzahl von Patenten, auf deren Basis etwa über 200 Millionen Haushaltsgeräte hergestellt wurden. In seinem Buch "The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" bringt er seine Einstellungen und Erfahrungen ein zum Thema konventionelle Führungsansichten, indem er Führungskräfte (und jene, die es noch werden wollen) dazu auffordert, sich auf einige wichtige, der Intuition zuwiderlaufende Überzeugungen zu konzentrieren. Seine einfache und bisweilen provokante Denkweise reicht bis hin zu einigen sehr komplexen und gut durchdachten Führungsthemen und gipfelt in so ungewöhnlichen Ratschlägen für Führungskräfte, wie z.B. Entscheidungen sollte man immer hinausschieben, man sollte so wenig wie möglich lesen und man sollte bei seinen Prinzipien Kompromissbereitschaft zeigen. In der Fachwelt wird Samples revolutionärer Führungsstil zwar heftig kritisiert, doch seine Erfolge sprechen für sich. "The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" - Hier lernen Sie, wie auch konträre Ansichten zum gewünschten Erfolg führen.

Foreword, Warren Bennis.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Introduction.

1. Thinking Gray, and Free.

2. Artful Listening.

3. Experts: Saviors and Charlatans.

4. You Are What You Read.

5. Decisions, Decisions.

6. Give the Devil His Due.

7. Know Which Hill You're Willing to Die On.

8. Work for Those Who Work for You.

9. Follow the Leader.

10. Being President Versus Doing President.

11. The University of Southern California: A Case Study in Contrarian Leadership.

Conclusion.

Steven B. Sample—an electrical engineer, musician, outdoorsman, professor, and inventor-is the tenth president of the University of Southern California. Under Sample's leadership USC has become a world-renowned in the fields of communication and multimedia technologies, has received national recognition for its innovative community partnerships, and has solidified its status as one of the nation's leading research universities. USC was selected as College of the Year 2000 by TIME and the Princeton Review, was named a "hot school" by Newsweek/Kaplan Review, and has been widely acclaimed in recent years for the excellence of its highly selective undergraduate programs. In this provocative new book, Steven Sample, one of the nation's most highly regarded university presidents, explodes many romanticized views of leadership and demonstrates how leaders can free themselves from the shackles of conventional wisdom.

• Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off to tomorrow.
• Don't form opinions if you don't have to. Think gray.
• Shoot your own horse. Don't force others to do your dirty work.
• The best leaders don't keep up with the popular media and the trades.
• Machiavelli can help make you a more moral leader.
• Know what hill you are willing to die on-and keep its exact location to yourself.
• Know the all important difference between being leader and doing leader.
• You can't copy your way to the top.

"This is an intoxicating read, a bushwacker's delight. With swift, sure strokes, Steve Sample cuts down a lot of bad ideas about leadership and opens up a new path for the next generation to follow. No wonder he has turned around not one but two major universities."
--David Gergen, noted commentator, bestselling author, and adviser to four United States Presidents