Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer

May 30, 2005
In this highly readable volume, Harvard Business School professor Roberto demonstrates that the key to making successful strategic business decisions lies in the decision-making process itself. Through nine refreshingly jargon-free chapters, along with helpful graphs and charts, Roberto argues that "good process entails the astute management of the social, political and emotional aspects of decision making." Persuasively employing case studies-from an analysis of the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster to the deadly 1996 accident atop Mount Everest to John F. Kennedy's management the Cuban Missile Crisis-Roberto enlivens his primary thesis that failed leadership often fixates "on the question 'What decision should I make?' rather than asking 'How should I go about making the decision?'" With each case study Roberto points out where the process went awry and nimbly indicates how the lessons learned can be applied to any business decision. He explains how to effectively make and implement a final decision and how to efficiently handle groupthink, "yes men" and those who offer nothing but negative criticisms. The book is aimed primarily at a business executive audience, and other readers may get lost. But managers who must lead a group through a plan of action will surely benefit from Roberto's process-centered approach.