This book is great for anyone leading a company, and good for those wanting to know if they’re a part of an organization that is in it for the long haul. The basic premise is that companies without a proper Just Cause, and various other attributes, will at one point or another, succumb to their short sightedness, and fail. There are many examples to draw on, where companies prioritize profit over their purpose, and end up losing out to the inevitable innovation of competition.
Leading by purpose is not easy, and it is almost never rewarded by Wall Street. Therefore, Simon argues that leaders must have courage to do the right thing, in the face of short term incentives. To find that courage, he suggests the following:
“Find a Just Cause that inspires us; surround ourselves with others with whom we share common cause, people we trust and who trust us; identify a Rival worthy of comparison that will push us to constantly improve; and remind ourselves that we are more committed to the Cause than to any particular path or strategy we happen to be following right now.”
This excerpt was taken from the final chapter, and is a good summary of all the preceding chapters, which do a better job of highlighting why each of these ideas is important, and examples of what to-do, and what not-to-do.
3/5.