Visionary Leadership (Jossey-Bass Leadership Series)

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The title says it all. The underlying premise of this book is that the vision of an organization is all-important. Everything else is commentary. Nanus begins by defining a vision as a realistic, creditable, attractive future and explaining how it works and why it is needed. He then moves to the development of that vision and finally concludes with the implementation of the vision. Prime Pet Foods is used as an example of the steps that can be taken in the process of developing and implementing such a vision."See the whole picture; Adjust the lens to see the stars far and deep.Let the wide angle admit all of life's light and shadows.See the whole picture; Focus the mind's eye like a spotlight on the center stage.Only with eyes shut tight can there be the brilliant insight.See the whole picture; Scan the edges, for meaning may not lie in the center,As the sculpture is revealed in its form and the sea defined by its shore.See the whole picture; Study the dreams of the great dreamers and sages.Thus did Martin, through Gandhi's eyes, see freedom in Montgomery's masses.Now -- see the whole picture." (Page 96-97).

Can't say much of anything positive about this book. The advice and points given to supposedly help you become a visionary leader were some of the worst I've read.

They were great and very reasonable priced!!!

I used this book as part of my research for a college thesis and found it useful not only in terms of informing my research but I also found it to have helped me to develop my concept of leadership. The book does a fine job of describing what vision is and crafting a vision that is achievable, believable, and demonstrates endurance in the face of a changing world with changing parameters.The book uses a lot of bullet point lists, and uses a question/answer format frequently which makes it very easy for using as a reference guide that one can refer back to over time.The book is loaded with action steps and answers to a very wide variety of clarification questions that a person might have whilst in the process of trying to craft a vision for an organization. It carefully balances a focus on the present with a focus on the future, it also balances well the focus on the details with a focus on the big picture.

This book was required reading for my leadership class. It gave a better understanding behind visioning as a leader.

This isn't a book on leadership at all. Rather, it would be a good sourcebook for a management or marketing division. To be honest, I couldn't read the whole book. The writing style was dry and the business of focus 'Prime Pet Foods' isn't a Forbes 500 company. In fact, I'm not sure it's an actual company at all. Maybe one day when I have nothing else to read I'll pick it back up and try to slog my way through it. No, probably not. There are just too many other, very good books on the subject to waste my time with this one.

It's not often that an author keeps "topping" previous work in terms of refining intricate concepts, but that is what Nanus has done here. If you are in a leadership position, the diagram of the essential components of leadership in the first chapter is alone worth the price of admission. These are insights by someone who has studied and analyzed what it takes to be a "facilitative" leader--not a boss leader, not a manager, but a true "inspirer" of others who can harness the energies and maximize the focus of an organization--a "leader of leaders"--this book essentially lays out how to maximize BOTH alignment and empowerment----this is a great book.