Creating organizations that survive difficult times - How Higher Ambition Leaders Do it

My colleagues at TruePoint have written a new book: "Higher Ambition - How Great Leaders Create Economic and Social Value". The primary thesis of the book is that great leaders create organizations that survive even in difficult times because they are not focused only on creating economic wealth for shareholders - rather they are focused on creating institutions that not only do good in the societies they operate - but also create social capital through strong relationships among suppliers, employees and the communities they operate in. And they do this simultaneously. The choice between people and profits is a false choice and great leaders recognize this.

The book is based on extensive research and interviews with 36 CEOs around the world - including CEOs from Infosys, Tata Group, Volvo, Standard Chartered Bank, Royal Mail, Ikea and others. The book distills the five disciplines that leaders must follow to build great organizations. You can read more about the book and the disciplines here: www.higherambition.org.

While I contributed to the book tangentially by conducting a couple of interviews, I read the proof version of the book from cover to cover to provide my comments. And as I read it, I was excited. All the CEOs profiled in the book displayed the characteristics that I believed all leaders must have if they want to build sustainable organizations. And after the downfall of one CEO after another, I was heartened to read about the CEOs profiled in this book.

For example one clear message in the book is that leaders need to have a mission that is beyond themselves and beyond just making profits - they all have a higher mission - e.g. of providing products and services that we value, or of making the lives of people better. The point is there is a goal beyond that of short term profits - one of building capabilities, of engaging people and of building an institution that lasts. I see this in practice in other leaders not profiled in the book but who I believe are also "Higher Ambition" leaders.

For example I can think of Lew Kuan Yew of Singapore. He was not a CEO of a company - but a leader of a nation - and the man who transformed Singapore from a sleepy port to a modern metropolis. And he did this at a time when he could have gone the way of other politicians in the neighbourhood - by aggrandizing wealth for himself. But he did not do so. It is because of his Higher Ambition that Singapore is largely a meritocratic society and a role model, nothwithstanding some of the social challenges that seem to be emerging of late.

Another leader who fits this mold (not profiled in this book) in my view is Pradeep Sindhu of Juniper Networks. Pradeep had been at Xerox PARC - in 1996 he decided to start Juniper - the big decision was however when he decided to give away part of his company to more seasoned managers so that they could help him build an organization that would last more than his lifetime. And he made a decision not to appoint himself as CEO, but as CTO, based on his own assessment of his capabilities.

The book is going to become a classic and I would recommend it to all aspiring entrepreneurs, CEOs and leaders from all walks of life. This is not just another book on leadership. It provides deep insights on how the leaders actually behaved, how they made decisions and the challenges they encountered.