...9 Timeless Leadership Lessons from Cyrus the Great Comment Now Cyrus The Great Cyrus The Great (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Forget 1-800-CEO Read. The greatest book on business and leadership was written in the 4th century BC by a Greek about a Persian King. Yeah, that’s right. Behold: Cyrus the Great, the man that historians call “the most amiable of conquerors,” and the first king to found “his empire on generosity” instead of violence and tyranny. Consider Cyrus the antithesis to Machiavelli’s ideal Prince. The author, himself the opposite of Machiavelli, was Xenophon, a student of Socrates. The book is a veritable classic in the art of leadership, execution, and responsibility. Adapted from Larry Hendrick’s excellent translation, here are nine lessons in leadership from Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great: Be Self-Reliant “Never be slow in replenishing your supplies. You’ll always bee on better terms with your allies if you can secure your own provisions…Give them all they need and your troops will follow you to the end of the earth.” Be Generous “Success always calls for greater generosity–though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed. Collecting boot [is] not an end itself, but only a means for building [an] empire. Riches would be of little use to us now–except as a means of winning new friends.” Be Brief “Brevity is the soul of command. Too much talking suggests desperation on the part of the leader. Speak...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...Running head: Constitution Timeline Julie Haire Grand Canyon University: POS-301 June 29, 2012 Paul Oranika Constitution Timelines The great nation we live in is unlike any other because of “liberty, equality, individual rights, self-government, and lawful powers” that are afforded to its people through the United States Constitution (Patterson, 2011, p28). Since we began our journey away from parliamentary government, the colonists who created this nation worked hard to create a nation that would be fair to all who lived here. Americans enjoy the pursuit of happiness, freedom of living and equality because of our Constitution. The foundation for our constitution can be traced back as far as medieval times and the Magna Carta. Even then people were fighting for the rights of the people. Through the signing of this document the King could not infringe upon the rights of the people in any unfair or unjust way. The colonist used many ideas from this document to help create our first constitution it helped to create the due process of law. “This concept, embraced by the leaders of the American Revolution, is embedded in the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and enforced by the Supreme Court”( Edsitement, 2012, parg 1). As time passed many who lived in England began to feel conflict with in the country they lived in and set sail for a new land called the America’s. Upon arrival they began to build colonies. During this time the Mayflower...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...author of A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All, and One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way. Wendy Kopp also serves as the chief executive of Teach for All, which supports the development of Teach for America’s model in other countries. Wendy Kopp shows all characteristics of an entrepreneurial leader: cognitive ambidexterity with her creation of Teach for America, self-awareness and context awareness with knowing her desire to meet a need in society, social, environmental, and economic responsible (SEERS) helping to make educational change. Wendy Kopp is also shows characteristics of an Ethical entrepreneur by increased happiness and reduced suffering. Wendy Kopp shows cognitive ambidexterity in her creation of her organization Teach for America, by showing both the creation and prediction aspects of cognitive ambidexterity. For individuals to be cognitively ambidextrous they must have the ability to shift between creation and prediction approach. They must know when to take action, even when all the variables are unknown. Individuals must be able to look beyond the financial statements and create social, environmental and economic value. Wendy Kopp founded Teach for America in her 1989 Princeton University undergraduate thesis....
Words: 1153 - Pages: 5
...bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 1995. Dissatisfied working in corporate America for software giant, Oracle, Hsieh left his employment after only several months. He started his own business, an internet advertising company, and became a venture capitalist. In 1998, at the age of 24, Hsieh sold that internet start-up company, LinkExchange, instantly making him a millionaire. He then invested heavily in Zappos. In addition to investing in Zappos, he also worked for the company as a consultant. (businessider) By the year 2000, Hsieh was CEO of the Zappos and maintains that position today. #2) Analyze the CEO’s leadership style and philosophy and how the CEO’s leadership style aligns with the culture. Tony Hsieh has a casual leadership style. He left Oracle because he was not happy or comfortable with traditional corporate culture. He brought that casual leadership style to Zappos. His management technique and viewpoint is built on the notion of allowing employees to do what they are zealous about and placing them in the correct milieus to excel. His guidance and philosophy support Zappos’ culture of being less structured and not formally ranked as with most corporations. At Zappos, the...
Words: 1662 - Pages: 7
...ways to get a promotion or becoming a better leader/manager, listening a couple of these audio books is guaranteed to change your life for good. 1 The Small Business Bible - Everything You Need to Know to Succeed in Your Small Business 2 Talent is Overrated - What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin 3 The Start-up of You - Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman 4 Essentialism; The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - Greg McKeown 5 Zero to One - Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel 6 Titan - The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. - Ron Chernow 7 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 8 Unbroken; A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption- Laura Hillenbrand 9 What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast By Laura Vanderkam 10 David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell 11 Delivering Happiness; A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh 12 English for Business Communication by...
Words: 1357 - Pages: 6
...Lincoln on Leadership, Executive Strategies for Tough Times Authored By Donald T. Phillips This report has been completed by Karie Jeisel and Gregory Heintschel DDS For Management 6013, October 2009 Book Overview Author, Donald T. Phillips, wrote Lincoln on Leadership after realizing that many strategies on effective leadership being taught to business leaders today are those which Abraham Lincoln so eloquently employed during his presidency. Phillip’s book points out fifteen different leadership principles that stand the test of time and can be taught and used to improve business strategic planning techniques, models for changing organizations and leadership performance and effectiveness. Abe Lincoln cultivated a deep understanding of the human nature of people. Through this concept, he practiced several principles that led him to meet his goals and his larger vision for the nation to remain united. By spending most of his time with people to understand their nature and motives, Lincoln used the knowledge he gained and his keen ability to persuade in a positive manner rather than using coercive power. His basic philosophy of persuasion, support and delegation was exactly the style of leadership needed to pull the country back to together during the Civil War. Abe appealed to his subordinates’ sense of self-efficacy. He knew the value of making requests and empowering others as opposed to issuing orders. Everyone today can improve his or her leadership and organizational...
Words: 2047 - Pages: 9
... utilizing tools such as Mary Munter’s Audience Strategy. The stakeholders have been identified as the firm’s employees, customers, shareholders, and the financial regulators. The shared common concerns of this group are the financial health of XYZ global financial services firm balance sheet, and the plans to meet regulatory obligations and compliance, and the lessons learned from the national investment crisis and plans for risk management. In addition, it will discuss the recommendation of three areas that as the new CEO of XYZ global financial services firm needs to focus and apply to influence the values of the firm and prevent a future crises by creating a culture of candor, trust, and learning. Introduction Values are beliefs that people have about what is important or worthwhile to them. Values influence behavior because people seek more of what they value. Values therefore can be seen as the guideposts for behavior. An individual’s values are in large part, derived from the social environment in which he or she lives. For example, in Western democracies, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are some of the things we value. Similarly, our home life, our friends, and fraternal societies we join, experiences obtaining an education, and the companies we work for, may influence our value frameworks (Crossan, M., Gandz, J., & Seijts, G., 2012). Sharing a common set of core values helps employees work together toward the same goals. It is management's...
Words: 2073 - Pages: 9
...Towards Higher Sustainable Economic Growth with People Welfare: Good governance in Kautilya's literature is aimed at fulfilling the welfare of the people. "In the happiness of the King's subjects lies his happiness, in their welfare, his welfare." The jargons related to Financial & Human Resource Management were not prevalent then, but its essence was widely observed in Kautilya's writings. "The King should look to the bodily comforts of his servants by providing such emoluments as can infuse in them the spirit of enthusiasm to work. He should not violate the course of righteousness and wealth. Thus, he shall not only maintain his servants, but also increase their subsistence and wages in consideration of their learning and work." Kautilya said that good governance and financial stability go hand in hand. According to him, there is stability if rulers (managers) are responsive, responsible, accountable, removable, and recallable, otherwise there would be instability. Clearly Kautilya's Arthashastra provides many valuable lessons to be learned by the present day rulers, managers and administrators. What is surprising is that what he taught about 2,400 years ago is equally, if not more relevant, even today. His vision and farsightedness, revealed in his text, is a precious gift to mangers and management education. Themes Roger Boesche describes the Arthaśāstra as "a book of political realism, a book analysing how the political world does work and not very often stating...
Words: 2604 - Pages: 11
...Core Values: The Foundation of Leadership James Jarrett, Professor of Leader Development Introduction The United States of America began by establishing its core values in the Declaration of Independence, which reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”1 The core values of equality, freedom, and opportunity were established for this Nation in the Declaration of Independence. These core values provided the focus by which this country moved towards greatness and created a source of contention from within to ensure that all citizens receive equal and fair treatment. From the example of the United States establishing core values, leaders must determine their own core values. Identifying and establishing individual, as well as, organizational core values is a critical function if leaders are to bring their organization to high performance. Leaders‟ goals, decisions, and actions must be aligned with their core values to obtain personal and organizational success. This chapter examines the importance of establishing core values and posits that the process for establishing them should be a vital part of individual goal setting and organizational goal- and vision-setting. In On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis writes, “Until you truly know yourself, strengths and weaknesses, and know what you want to do and why...
Words: 3231 - Pages: 13
...Today, as we look around the world, we see an increase in the number of corporations; as capitalism has spiraled to a peak. While corporation’s products and services are needs and wants of the economy, their moral actions, or lack there of, are not, however, directly or indirectly affect us each day. Are corporations people? Can corporations be considered moral? Questions such as these have been raised by Shaw and Barry in the text Moral Issues in Business. While the answers to these questions are debatable, the infamous Enron Corporation shows us that while the people make up the company, the company as a whole receives the reputation of being immoral or unethical. We consider Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffery Skilling, the former president and CEO of Enron, the driving forces behind Enron’s bogus success and responsible for the moral code that should have been set for the organization. These unethical actions Enron took part in even had support by auditor, Arthur Anderson, and attorneys, Vinson & Elkin. The top leaders of Enron had a passion for capitalism, which drove the company to illegal and unethical behaviors, eventually leading to the catastrophic fall of the company. However, in order for Enron to deceive as long as they did without being caught, a lot of their actions were actually legal, but immoral. Enron’s use of mark-to market (MTM) accounting and taking advantage of energy deregulation in California, led to their “profit at all costs” mentality, legal, moral,...
Words: 3760 - Pages: 16
...A Vision to 21st century leadership The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. --Martin Luther King Jr. Abstract: Great quotes, great literature, great historical leaders, but still world is exploring the real essence of leadership. When we talk about leadership skills what exactly do we mean? Leadership skills are tools, behaviors and capabilities that a person need in order to be successful at motivating and directing others. Yet true leadership skills involve something more; the ability to help people grow in their own abilities. It can be said that the most successful leaders are those that drive others to achieve their own success. There are many leadership styles and has lot many leadership qualities attributed to the styles. Which one is perfect and what qualities make a good leader is slowly becoming the context and situation oriented. The dynamics and characteristics of this 21st century world are greatly varied than previous centuries. As the society becomes faster paced and dynamic the problems and challenges are also evolving in rapid fashion, making them even more difficult to resolve. People perception and demands on their leadership is also changing fast. They demand new styles of leadership which provide solutions, not necessary an autocratic way but a blend of different styles and qualities to suite these dynamic, challenging, complex 21st and future...
Words: 5442 - Pages: 22
...things up. Every one of us wakes up in the morning, walks out into the world and does the best we can do based on what we know and the skills we have. But even more importantly, every so-called "mistake' is actually a rich source of learning. An opportunity to build more awareness and understanding and gain precious experience. Just maybe what we could call failures are actually growth lessons in wolf's clothing. And just maybe the person who experiences the most, wins. 2. A world-class company puts systems in place to ensure consistency of results. If you want to get something done and if you want to see consistent results, build a system around it. Celebrate the previous days wins and then rededicate to work for the mission. Systems‛ thinking builds structures into your life so that your best practices actually get integrated into your life. Systems allow you to live in a proactive rather than in a reactive way. And having a bunch of systems in place to keep you at your best doesn't mean that your life will be overly structured and full of stress Because nothing deprives a human being of happiness as much as seeing a life being wasted. 3. ABC. Always Be Connecting with everybody, everything around you. The best leaders build strong, strikingly well, social networks and rich communities of teammates, suppliers and customers that will help them get to where they're going (while they, in turn, reciprocate). Find ways to connect. With the people you work with. With the loved ones you...
Words: 29078 - Pages: 117
...than is necessary, just a realization that some may want to write more in a last minute attempt to raise their final grade. This exam must be submitted to me via the assignment link in the Final exam folder on the assignments page by Saturday March 19th at 10 AM CT. Early submissions are encouraged! PART 1 Instructions Your task is to explain each of the 17 quotes below in terms of material we have talked about in this class. Each quote should be given some thought as to what theory/concept/approach we have talked about ties into each snippet, and what OB lessons can taken from each quote. Some notes before you start… 1) Each quote was chosen for what it says, not for who said it. 2) It is possible that these quotes could be tied to multiple ideas. 3) I am looking for explanations of what you see, and demonstrations of understanding of the material. For example, telling me that #1 is about leadership is not enough. 4) You are allowed to take as much time on this test as you would like, and use any source that you would like. Some of you, being more research minded, might want to surf the net looking for information about the quote or the person – I do not see this as necessary, instead you should remember point #1 above. 5) Finally, not all of the quotes below are equal, some will, and should, take a lot more time and effort than others. PART 2 Instructions You are applying for...
Words: 3291 - Pages: 14
...Battle of Vicksburg The United States Civil War separated our country, the war had Americans fighting Americans, brother against brother. During the Civil War over 600,000 Soldiers gave their lives for their side of the war from 1861-1865. More Soldiers gave their lives during their Civil War than any one war or conflict combined. Historians believe the American Civil War was fought over pressures and differences that coming to a head during the country’s early history. This friction built up over time and came down to five basic differences basically. Some of those differences were economic and social differences concerning the North and the South, the Northern financial budget was based more on factories and industry. Simply put the North was moving away from agriculture life, thus moving away from slavery. However, the Southern states moved from other crops to primarily cotton crops with the invention of the cotton gin. At the same time they increased the number of plantations which in turn made it vitally important for a greater need for cheap labor, i.e. slaves. Thus, the Southern economy turned out to be a one crop economy, dependent on cotton and consequently on slavery. The next thing that played part in the beginning of the Civil War was the state rights versus federal rights. The North was pushing for more federal government laws and regulation, but the South wanted laws and regulation, that were handle at the state level with less federal involvement. Last, but...
Words: 1851 - Pages: 8
...common concerns of this group are the financial health of XYZ global financial services firm balance sheet, and the plans to meet regulatory obligations and compliance, and the lessons learned from the national investment crisis that will be incorporated into a risk management plan. In addition, it will discuss the recommendation of three areas that as the new CEO of XYZ global financial services firm needs to focus and apply to influence the values of the firm and prevent a future crisis by creating a culture of candor, trust, and learning. Introduction Values are beliefs that people have about what is important or worthwhile to them. Values influence behavior because people seek more of what they value. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart concluded, “There is a difference between what you have a right to do, and what is right to do.” (JWMI 505, Wk 8, Lecture 1). Values therefore can be seen as the guideposts for behavior. As opposed to rules, which are always transmitted from the top down, values should be developed in a more participative way. (JWMI 505, Wk 8, Lecture 1). An individual’s values are in large part, derived from the social environment in which he or she lives. For example, in Western democracies, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are some of the things we value. Sharing a common...
Words: 2382 - Pages: 10
