The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey - Hardcover

Champy, Jim; Norhia, Nitin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738201030 ISBN 13: 9780738201030

Publisher: Perseus Books, 2000

Synopsis

From international bestselling author, Jim Champy, and rising star at Harvard Business School, Nitin Nohria, comes a provocative and inspirational approach to the art of management. . In businessor in any endeavorambition is the spirit of onward and upward, of striving for something worth achieving. It is the driving force behind all great experiments and risk-takings, triumphs and failures. For authors Jim Champy and Nitin Nohria, it is also the instinctive quality that makes the difference between mere management and leadership. Drawing from original interviews with contemporary figures from many walks of lifeincluding business, politics, science, and the artsChampy and Nohria take readers on a journey of discovery, pinpointing the defining moments, or turning points, in the evolution of leaders, as they wrestle with critical decisions and ethical dilemmas. In the process, they reveal some underlying truths about leadership, such as the ability to hold onto a dream and make it come true, know when its time to change the business or see it die, and recognize when its time to hand over the reins. Representing fundamentally new thinking from two of today's greatest business minds, The Arc of Ambition is certain to challenge and enlighten aspiring leaders everywhere.

About this title

Review

Nearly everyone aspires to something--wealth, fame, happiness. But a few people aspire to changing an entire paradigm, the way the Wright Brothers did when they invented a glider with an engine, the way Nelson Mandela did when he endured decades of imprisonment to see his nation transformed, the way Thomas Jefferson did when he doubled the territory of the young US by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France for less than three cents an acre. All seem like obvious ideas in retrospect, but in fact all appeared quixotic at the time, as wrong-headed as the alchemy that had been attempted for 300 years without ever succeeding in turning a base metal into gold.

In Arc of Ambition, authors James Champy (Reengineering Management, Reengineering the Corporation) and Nitin Nohria see these visionaries as creators but also recognise two other species of genius: capitalizers, who take great ideas and create great businesses or social movements from them, and consolidators, who lead these businesses or movements into maturity. All three types have the titular "arc of ambition". That is, they start with a great idea, realize it, cope with the success of it (the chapter on overreaching and squandering opportunity includes the cautionary tales of Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton) and decide when and how to turn the product of their imagination over to others. Ultimately, The Arc of Ambition is the entire history of the modern world, of its politics and technology and art. Everything we know and either cherish or loathe starts as someone's ambition and ends when the product of someone else's ambition becomes the dominant model. It's an interesting and entertaining way to organize the world, to look at the facts with new eyes. In that sense, the authors display the fruits of ambition even as they explain them. --LouSchuler, Amazon.com

Review

"Champy takes us on a marvellous wander through history and contemporary life...This is fascinating stuff. This is entertainment that different people will take different lessons from." (Computing, 23rd February 2001)

"A practical study of achievement." (People Management, March 2001)

"I can recommend The Arc of Ambition..... There is something for everything in the work and this helps to make the book a highly entertaining read." (Pipeline, May 2001)

"Few will fail to find something of value in this very readable book." (Supply Management, 10th May 2001)

"In a market saturated with leadership books Mr Champy and Mr Nohria have taken a new tack, choosing to examine the motivation of people who have a desire to lead. Mr Champy says the arc is an ideal model because it recognises that careers will peak at some point, then fall back." (Financial Times, 13th June 2001)

Edition details

• Publisher: Perseus Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738201030
• ISBN 13: 9780738201030
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288