About the Book
American society has become increasingly polarized by single- and special-interest groups: the Greens, who demand environmental purity; admirers of Japan who want a national industrial policy; supply-side economists who want government to all but disappear. This collision of values has turned America into a battleground of either/or tradeoffs: the community vs. the individual, the environment vs. jobs, the rights of each ethnic group vs. the needs of the nation for
unity. Whose values should prevail? Those of Libertarians? Communitarians? Egalitarians? Corporatists? The nation's leadership role in the post-communist world will be largely determined by how such
conflicts in the political economy are resolved. Increasingly, business executives find themselves drawn into these values wars, forced to make decisions in a hothouse climate in which there are countless and conflicting opinions about what is right and wrong. Business leaders find themselves caught in the values thicket when they attempt to formulate corporate policy on such issues as plant closings, executive compensation, corporate governance, and affirmative action.
In The Executive's Compass, James O'Toole guides business leaders through this minefield of modern dilemmas. In the words of ARCO's CEO, Lod Cook, "O'Toole provides business leaders with a practical
compass to help them navigate the turbulent waters of social change and political conflict." O'Toole explores the philosophical and historical underpinnings of contemporary business problems, tracing their origins to the ideas of such great thinkers as Aristotle, Adam Smith, J.S. Mill, and Jefferson. By going to the roots of modern issues, he is able to clarify the sources of political disagreement, and to suggest a practical course of action for corporate leaders who
find themselves caught in the gridlock of democracy. He provides an innovative values compass--a tool he has honed for over forty years as a moderator of the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar--which has
been successfully applied at FORTUNE 500 firms as an introduction to the values-based management for which the Aspen Institute is renowned. The compass helps executives to understand what is wrong (and right) with our democratic system, and what the role of business is in creating The Good Society. For top executives, general managers, or anyone trying to make sense out of our rapidly changing world, The Executive's Compass helps managers deal more effectively
with today's thorny issues.
About the Author :
James O'Toole is Executive Director of the Leadership Institute. He holds the University Associates' Chair of Management at the USC Graduate School of Business. He has recently been Editor of New Management magazine and is author of ten books, including Vanguard Management, named by Business Week as one of the best business and economics books of 1985.
Review :
"Jim O'Toole's The Executive's Compass helped me clarify a number of the value issues involved in managerial decision-making. It makes an impressive case for the democratic process as the best way to deal with competing values and effectively shows that many of today's managerial challenges have deep historical roots in the great books."--Ed Lawler, Director, Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California, writing in Across
the Board
"At a time when American society has become increasingly polarized by a 'collision of values,' business leaders often find themselves stymied when trying to formulate corporate policies. O'Toole, executive director of the Leadership Institute and Chair of Management at the University of Southern California's Graduate School of Business, provides business leaders a 'values compass' for navigating these rocky channels. Developed during the author's forty years as
moderator of the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar, the book wends its way from Jefferson, Hobbes, and Locke to the philosophies of contemporary environmentalists, corporatists, and communitarians in
an effort to understand the ideas of liberty, equality, efficiency, and community. That O'Toole is able to cover such a vast amount of territory in such a slim, enjoyable volume is testament to his considerable talents--and the power of the ideas he clearly cherishes."--Business Ethics
"The 'executive's compass' is a tool O'Toole developed over his years at Aspen to provide a grounding for value-based decision making. Divided into four quadrants (liberty, equality, efficiency, and community), it maps the conflicting pull of values all decision makers must face."-- Booklist
"When I participated in Jim O'Toole's Aspen Institute seminar, I was exceptionally impressed with the seminar's breadth, originality of thought and practicality of application to real-life situations. In fact, I found that the seminar had only one deficiency--that it couldn't be made available to everyone. Now, with this book, it can. As a manager of a corporate culture, I find that I am constantly reconciling directly conflicting (and completely legitimate)
points of view. Jim's analysis is both intellectually provocative and pragmatically instructive for a corporate manager."--Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
"One of the stale truths of this complex age is that leaders must 'do the right thing." But doing the 'right thing' involves confusing questions of morality, values, needs of constituencies and a variety of other issues having to do with what a good society is all about. Jim O'Toole's book is the first relevant primer on these issues. It may well be the most useful and important management book of this complex decade."--Warren Bennis, author of An Invented
Life: Reflections on Leadership and Change and Beyond Bureaucracy
"Jim O'Toole's The Executive's Compass helped me clarify a number of the value issues involved in managerial decision-making. It makes an impressive case for the democratic process as the best way to deal with competing values and effectively shows that many of today's managerial challenges have deep historical roots in the great books."--Ed Lawler, Director, Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California, writing in Across
the Board
"At a time when American society has become increasingly polarized by a 'collision of values,' business leaders often find themselves stymied when trying to formulate corporate policies. O'Toole, executive director of the Leadership Institute and Chair of Management at the University of Southern California's Graduate School of Business, provides business leaders a 'values compass' for navigating these rocky channels. Developed during the author's forty years as
moderator of the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar, the book wends its way from Jefferson, Hobbes, and Locke to the philosophies of contemporary environmentalists, corporatists, and communitarians in
an effort to understand the ideas of liberty, equality, efficiency, and community. That O'Toole is able to cover such a vast amount of territory in such a slim, enjoyable volume is testament to his considerable talents--and the power of the ideas he clearly cherishes."--Business Ethics
"The 'executive's compass' is a tool O'Toole developed over his years at Aspen to provide a grounding for value-based decision making. Divided into four quadrants (liberty, equality, efficiency, and community), it maps the conflicting pull of values all decision makers must face."-- Booklist
"When I participated in Jim O'Toole's Aspen Institute seminar, I was exceptionally impressed with the seminar's breadth, originality of thought and practicality of application to real-life situations. In fact, I found that the seminar had only one deficiency--that it couldn't be made available to everyone. Now, with this book, it can. As a manager of a corporate culture, I find that I am constantly reconciling directly conflicting (and completely legitimate)
points of view. Jim's analysis is both intellectually provocative and pragmatically instructive for a corporate manager."--Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
"One of the stale truths of this complex age is that leaders must 'do the right thing." But doing the 'right thing' involves confusing questions of morality, values, needs of constituencies and a variety of other issues having to do with what a good society is all about. Jim O'Toole's book is the first relevant primer on these issues. It may well be the most useful and important management book of this complex decade."--Warren Bennis, author of An Invented
Life: Reflections on Leadership and Change and Beyond Bureaucracy
"Faced today with wildly conflicting values and opinions in regards to the environment, jobs, affirmative action, and leadership, business executives must somehow formulate a coherent corporate policy. In this book, O'Toole, executive director of the Leadership Institute, attempts such a guide through the minefield of divergent social and political values by offering an understanding of the historical and philosophical issues simmering beneath modern business
conflicts....This thought-provoking work is recommended."--Library Journal
"The Executive's Compass is a bold and thought-provoking book for those who seek to understand the roots of our social and political values. O'Toole thinks clearly and helps his reader think clearly."--John W. Gardner, Haas Centennial Professor in Public Service, Stanford University
"I met Jim O'Toole at an Aspen Seminar where I was first exposed to the ideas he presents in this book. That meeting was the turning point for our company and resulted in our determination to be the best--a model company, if you will, for all of our constituents. Any betterment we achieve in the lives of our associates, or in our contribution to our communities, is and will be directly attributable to Jim O'Toole."--Lawrence S. Phillips, Chairman, Phillips-Van
Heusen Corporation
"Jim O'Toole has written a remarkable book--scholarly in the best sense, but with a compelling focus on the issues central to our laborious efforts to manage our enterprises more effectively in an increasingly complicated world. My guess is that for most readers this book will provide as close an approximation to the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar as they could possibly have without being there--which is high praise indeed."--Thomas H. Wyman, Chairman, S.G.
Warburg and Co. Inc
"What a wonderful book! Whose values? What justice? Which dream? How to choose? Why? Leaders who are seriously selective will read this book first. It demands careful reflection, an open mind and a tolerant heart. The exercise is pure joy, adult education at its best."--Max De Free, Chairman, Herman Miller, Inc.
"Chief executives preoccupied with pressing problems can benefit far more than they realize by bringing to the surface the often unstated values that shape their decisions. James O'Toole's book helps busy business leaders understand why it's well worth their time to study the origins of the values--liberty, community, equality, efficiency--that inevitably clash in a democratic society."--John Brademas, President Emeritus, New York University
"Should provide an excellent impetus for constructive discussion. Hopefully, students will be spurred on to further rediness! I see this is an excellent text for internship settings. I was particularly pleased that there was virtually no attempt to "cram" a certain viewpoint down the reader's gullet - very even-handed approach!"--Curt M. Weber, Milwaukee Area Technical College
