General Managers [Paperback]

In this unprecedented study of America's leading executives, John Kotter shatters the popular management notion of the effective generalist manager who can step into any business or division and run it. Based on his first-hand observations of fifteen top GMs from nine major companies, Kotter persuasively shows that the best manager is actually a specialist who has spent most of his or her career in one industry, learning its intricacies and establishing cooperative working relationships. Acquiring the painstaking knowledge and large, informal networks vital to being a successful manager takes years; outsiders, no matter how talented or well-trained seldom can do as well, this in-depth profile reveals. Much more than a fascinating collective portrait of the day-to-day activities of today's top executives,The General Managersprovides stimulating new insights into the nature of modern management and the tactics of its most accomplished practitioners.John P. Kotteris Chairman of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Area at the Harvard Business School. The winner of two McKinsey Awards from theHarvard Business Review,he is the author of six books, includingPower and Influence(also published by The Free Press).Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Preface

1. INTRODUCTION

The Participants in the Study

A Few Examples: Gaines, Thompson, and Richardson

The Findings and Their Presentations: Some Initial Comments

The Organization of the Book

The Major Themes

2. THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT JOBS: KEY CHALLENGES AND DILEMMAS

The Jobs, the Context and the Emergent Demands

Job Demands I: Challenges and Dilemmas Associated with the Responsibilities

Job Demands II: Challenges and Dilemmas Associated with the Relationships

The Overall Demands: A Summary

Differences in Job Demands

Seven Difl“)