Paradoxes of Leadership: Reflections from Twenty Years of Managing a Highly Participative Company by Charles R. Edmunson

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(Paperback)

  • Pub. Date: March 1999
  • 82pp
  • Sales Rank: 340,288

    Reader Rating: (2 ratings)

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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: March 1999
    • Publisher: Charles R. Edmunson
    • Format: Paperback, 82pp
    • Sales Rank: 340,288

    Synopsis

    Nestled in 14 paradoxes, Charles Edmunson conveys leadership principles that value the individual and challenge traditional management practices. Reflecting on his 20 years of business experience, Edmunson touches us intellectually as well as in the heart-causing each of us to ponder our management style. Paradoxes like "We have more influence when we listen than when we tell" and "We gain respect not by demanding it but by giving it" make this short book powerful.
    About the Author
    Charles Edmunson is that rare combination-a hands-on leader and a visionary. He is intimately familiar with the inner workings of both a slitting machine and the human spirit.
    Until his retirement at age 49 due to a degenerative neurological disease, he was the Vice President of Manufacturing at Web Industries. Web is a medium-sized employee-owned company, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, which provides slitting services to a range of corporate clients. At Web, Charles started as a packer while in graduate school at Boston University, where he was working on a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Having lost his enthusiasm for a career in philosophy, Charles dedicated himself to working full-time at Web, where he could promote his people- and values-centered vision.
    Charles has also served on the Board of Directors, and in other positions, for the ESOP Association. (ESOP stands for employee stock ownership plans.) The ESOP Foundation, a non-profit division of the ESOP Association, created a scholarship for outstanding employee-owners in honor of Charles: the Charles R. Edmunson Scholarship. Charles has spoken about his people-centered approach to management extensively throughout the U.S as well as in Hungary, China and Scotland.
    Starting in May, 1995, Charles developed PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy), a rare degenerative neurological disease. The disease has gradually taken away his ability to walk, read, talk, care for himself, and write. Charles' mission reads: "I will make a significant difference in the world by bringing grace with integrity into the lives of others. Therefore, through a disciplined focus, I will apply my life to creating peace for people who are in turmoil, healing for those who are wounded, hope for those in despair, and purpose for those who are drifting."

    Boston Sunday Globe

    Edmunson's paradoxes over turn conventional management style. They are humanistic principles based on the idea that the ideas and satisfaction of the most menial worker are essential to the success of a company. They begin with: 'We have more influence when we listen than when we tell' and end with 'A full life is achieved not by grasping but by giving.

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    Paradoxes of Leadership: Reflections from Twenty Years of Managing a Highly Participative Companyby Anonymous

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    March 10, 2000: Most good books on Management and Leadership require us to wade through 300 pages or more to reap the nuggets. Paradoxes of Leadership can be read and valuable lessons learned at the rate of 2 pages per day, one paradox at a time, or in one sitting of 1-2 hours. Each paradox is a condensed gem, based on the author's many years of experience, and highly relevant to leadership in any field. This is the ideal book for busy managers and executives, and for their consultants and advisors. Suggestion: Read it yourself, and then use it, Paradox by Paradox, as the kickoff for a weekly dialogue about leadership in your organization.

    Paradoxes of Leadership: Reflections from Twenty Years of Managing a Highly Participative Companyby Anonymous

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    January 14, 2000: True to its title and the premise of Chapter 6 of this work, 'Paradoxes' delivers more thought-provoking ideas with less padding than any work since Max DePree's 'Leadership Is An Art.' This is not a book that attempts to do the work for the reader. Rather, it suggests concepts that are universal to leadership and allows the reader the room to consider his/her own feelings as related to each. There is also the element of Edmunson's own journey inherent in these pages. He is candid about his own experiences, positive and negative, and that adds to the credibility and thought-provoking nature of the work. And finally, the reality of Edmunson's physical condition adds to the effect of the words, words coming from this man who now cannot speak. The total effect is marvelous and a wonderful learning opportunity.