"Most successful leaders are mentally and emotionally askew." This statement introduces the book entitled Icons and Idiots: Straight Talk on Leadership written by the Swiss-American executive Bob Lutz. He spent the whole of his life in managerial positions in leading automotive companies (BMW, Ford, Chrysler, General Motors). While many books on leadership describe only the positive qualities of leaders, Bob Lutz reveals the leaders who impressed him the most during his career, even in the negative sense. That is why this book was acknowledged by the British magazine The Economist and was described in its reviews in the regular Business Books Quarterly column.
"We’ll examine bosses who were profane, insensitive, totally politically incorrect..." Bob Lutz is quoted on Amazon.com, "...no textbook or business school course can fully capture their idiosyncrasies, foibles and weaknesses – which can make or break companies in the real world."
The Economist's review tells us that thanks to his extensive experience, the author is in an ideal position to try to explain why and how the automotive industry, which has benefited from a strong domestic market in America, was managed by "petty tyrants unworthy to be in charge of a lemonade stand, let alone a vast industry."
Bob Lutz does not hesitate to describe the flaws in the characters of his former superiors - such as his first boss at GM Bob Wachtler: "Bob Wachtler was not without a sense of humour, however racist, sexist, homophobic...," the first director of Ford outside of the Ford family, Philip Caldwell, was "obsessed with senseless detail and acquiring insignificant items from hotels." He does not, however, focus only on the description of characters. He presents real situations and their economic consequences. The aim of the book is to show that we can learn from bad leaders, as well as from the good ones.
The book "Icons and Idiots: Straight Talk on Leadership was published by Portfolio Penguin in June 2013. It can be purchased through the online store Amazon.com here.
LUTZ, Bob. Icons and Idiots: Straight Talk on Leadership. New York: Portfolio Penguin, 2013. 227 p.
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