FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Copyright 2002
OUR YOUNGEST LEADERS matured in the glow of computer screens; our oldest in the shadow of the Depression and World War II. In a groundbreaking study of these two disparate groups affectionately labeled “geeks” and “geezers”-leadership experts Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas set out to find how era and values shape those who lead. What they discovered was something even more profound: the powerful process through which leaders of any era emerge.
Geeks and Geezers will forever change how we view leadership, but also how we reflect on our own formative experiences. Illustrated by compelling interviews with extraordinary individuals under thirty-five and over seventy years of age, the authors present a new model that predicts who is likely to become and remain a leader—and explains why others fail to rise to the challenge. At its heart are what the authors call “crucibles”. —utterly transfor- mational experiences from which one can emerge either hopelessly broken or powerfully emboldened to learn and to lead:
• Geezer Sidney Rittenberg survived sixteen harrowing years in a Chinese prison to pioneer ties between U.S. and Chinese businesses.
• Geek Tara Church, at age eight, found the inspiration for Tree Musketeers, a thriving nonprofit organization, in a downbeat discussion about deforestation.
• Geezer Muriel Siebert overcame sexist 1960s Wall Street to become the first female to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
• Geek Michael Klein leveraged his mentoring relationship with his grandfather into serial success in the “new economy.”
Beyond their remarkable capacity to embrace and learn from their crucibles, say the authors, true leaders of any age share other critical qualities: adaptive capacity, the ability to engage others through shared meaning, voice, integrity, and “neoteny” — a youthful curiosity and zest for knowledge.
Identifying the forces that enable anyone to learn and lead for a lifetime, this book is essential reading for geeks, geezers, and everyone in between.
FROM THE PGC TEAM:
This book is AVAILABLE to borrow at the PGC Library.
The PGC Library is in the Pruett Gerontology Center, Sherrod Building room 129. Feel free to stop by or contact us for on-campus delivery!