You Need a Leader—Now What? How to Choose the Best Person for Your Organization by James M. Citrin and Julie Daum

You Need a Leader—Now What? How to Choose the Best Person for Your Organization
James M. Citrin and Julie Daum

Format: Hardcover, 256pp.
ISBN: 9780307587794
Publisher: Crown Business
Pub. Date: October 18, 2011

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Description and Reviews
From The Publisher:

Solving the Leadership Jigsaw Puzzle

You have a key leadership job to fill. You want the very best person. What exactly does this really mean?

How often have you seen someone with great credentials and terrific buzz take an important job, but before long people are wondering “what exactly were we thinking?”

Getting the best person is less about finding an individual superstar and more about deeply understanding what your organization needs, the kind of person who will fit into your culture and bring the right experience and skills to get the job done.

Based on decades of experience at Spencer Stuart, the gold standard in executive search, Jim Citrin and Julie Daum cut through conventional wisdom and “rules of thumb,” whether the job that needs filling is that of CEO or a key leader in marketing, technology, finance, or human resources.

Landmark original research from the United States, the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands provides evidence for how an organization can diagnose its needs and decide on who is the right leader for a specific situation at a particular point in time, and whether an outsider or insider would best fit the bill.
Eye-opening case studies, including how the New York Public Library worked its way through the maze of pressures—rapidly changing technologies, diverse, demanding constituencies, changing demographics and economic forces—to find the president who could best carry on its mission in the twenty-first century; how Starwood Hotels assessed the value of experience versus potential in choosing a CEO; the person who failed in one circumstance but achieved extraordinary success in others.
Steering clear of the red herrings of age, experience, and ethnicity
Avoiding the biggest traps of leadership selection, such as “his charisma was intoxicating,” and “we thought we really knew him.”

In a competitive environment as challenging as today’s, the one difference, as Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook notes, “Between companies that change the world and those that don’t is having the right people.” You Need a Leader—Now What? is the must-have guide for navigating the terrain.

Reviews

“The key to running a great business is matching the right person to the right situation. This wonderful book shows how to make that happen. Written by two of the most successful experts in the field, it's filled with illuminating case studies and very clear lessons. Even if you're not headhunting for new executives, this book is both a delight to read and filled with useful insights on how to be an effective leader.”

—Walter Isaacson, President & CEO, Aspen Institute and author of Einstein: His Life and Universe and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

“Finding the best leader for your organization is often a difficult and lengthy process. This important book offers three essential truths that can help guide and direct you through this puzzle. Through tremendous examples and comprehensive analysis, Citrin and Daum give you the pieces to put it all together.”

—Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me

"One of the most important yet challenging aspects of leadership is surrounding oneself with the right people. Although the process is more art more than science, Jim Citrin and Julie Daum do an outstanding job of lighting the way with research-based principles backed by true stories of success."

—Howard Schultz, Chairman, President & CEO, Starbucks and author of Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul

“ This book is a ‘must-read’ for anyone – a CEO, a board member or an HR professional – who may ever become part of the process of choosing a new leader for any organization. In clear and concise language that’s backed up by a wealth of research, the authors frame the challenge, provide a roadmap to success and practical advice. Read it. You’ll learn a lot. You’ll think a lot. And you’ll be prepared to choose the right leader when the time comes.”

—Ursula Burns, Chairman & CEO, Xerox

"Much has been written about the art of leadership. Jim Citrin and Julie Daum provide a provocative new lens, upending some commonly held assumptions and sharing a clear and empirically-proven roadmap for choosing leaders who will succeed."

—Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon

"The most challenging and most pressing job in business is connecting the right leader to the right opportunity. Jim Citrin is the world's expert at helping companies thrive and accelerate by choosing exceptional leaders that match the unique needs of the organization to the unique skills of the leader."

—Tim Armstrong, chairman & CEO, AOL

“Now what? Rethink. The book breaks all common assumptions about search for succession, destroying the myth that picking a new leader is a matter of finding a hero. Read the book to understand that the right person is most likely not who or where you think. Skills are not unimportant, but choosing the right person is a surprising alignment of paths, perceptions, personalities and potentials."

—Nicholas Negroponte

“There's one big difference between companies that change the world and those that don't: having the right people. You Need a Leader – Now What? offers a clear roadmap for how to identify and select the right people for all levels of your organization.”

—Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook

“For recruiting seasoned leaders, James Citrin and Julie Daum offer a powerful playbook. Based on gripping accounts from extensive executive-search experience in business and beyond, You Need a Leader tells us that the essence is strategic fit, a tight match of what they bring with what we require, and the right steps to make it stick.”

—Michael Useem, rrofessor of management and director of the Leadership Center, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

“There is nothing more important than hiring great people. Jim Citrin and Julie Daum are simply the best at identifying the perfect talent for high-level jobs and this book reveals exactly how they go about it.”

—Stephen B. Burke, CEO, NBC Universal

“Not only is this book invaluable to those seeking a new leader for their organization, but it is also a must read for anyone going through the process of being interviewed for a key leadership role.”

—Steve Case, Founder & CEO, Revolution and AOL

“Choosing a CEO is certainly the most important and difficult issue that boards have to deal with. And choosing a management team is similarly the most important and difficult task for a CEO. In You Need a Leader – Now What? Jim Citrin and Julie Daum demonstrate a clear-eyed, rigorous approach to leadership selection that works at the board level and across the organization. This is essential reading for everyone in the people business – which is everyone in business!

—James M. Kilts, Founding Partner, Centerview Partners, former chairman & CEO, Gillette and author of Doing What Matters

"An essential book that will make you completely rethink your approach to selecting a leader to run your organization. In You Need A Leader, Jim Citrin and Julie Hembrock Daum pick apart the myths associated with leadership selection and reveal why conventional wisdom in this area is so often flawed. The choice of a leader is one of the most critical decisions an organization can make. If you are looking for a guide to help you avoid the traps in leadership selection and instead, find the right individual to lead your organization, then this is the book for you.“

—Youngme Moon, senior associate dean and Donald K. David Professor, Harvard Business School

“A wonderful book for anyone who is grappling with the issues of succession. At a minimum it should be required reading for board members of private or non-profit organizations. Through compelling examples of successes and failures combined with great analysis and recommendations on how to approach this crucial process the authors have created a brilliant manual for choosing leaders in simple and complex organizations."

—Steve Kandarian, CEO, MetLife

“Jim Citrin and JulieDaum have written a highly engaging and valuable book on management and leadership. Like great coaches who have seen most every scenario, they are able to guide their players with unusual perspicacity and insight. Their case studies are cautionary and hugely instructive. If you read this book carefully, in whatever field you find yourself, you will make far fewer mistakes and may even be heralded as a visionary.”

—Richard L. Plepler, Co-President, Home Box Office

"Jim Citrin's and Julie Daum’s new book on how to choose a productive leader is a first-rate guide for organizations large and small. They cut through the received wisdom about picking a CEO to deliver a flexible but powerful framework for guiding an organization to a successful succession.

—Michael S. Roth, President, Wesleyan University

“For boards, CEOs, anyone managing an organization large or small, the most important decisions invariably come down to picking the right people for the right jobs. Jim Citrin and Julie Daum have distilled a career's worth of experience into this clear-headed exploration of a process that can help any organization identify, select and motivate the best leaders.“

—James Gorman, President & CEO, Morgan Stanley

“People decisions are the most important decisions in your company, yet they’re often made with the least rigor. This excellent book supplies rigor plus something even more valuable – wisdom."

—Geoff Colvin, Fortune Magazine Senior Editor, author of Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers From Everybody Else

“We all know that great people are the key to a great organization. But as and Julie Daum note, there's more to it then that: the key is matching the right person to the right situation using the right process. This book will show you how.”

—Greg Brenneman, Chairman, CCMP Capital Advisors

"Exceptional, illuminating and insightful book; an evidence-based, best-practice guide, for every corporate and non-profit board executing the selection of an outstanding CEO; invaluable principles for identifying the 'best fit' leader for navigating the waters of today's currents, who can imagine and execute for a future ahead of the curve. One of the top books on CEO selection, a must read"

—Dr. Indira Samarasekera, Ph.D, O.C., Corporate Director, president and vice-chancellor, University of Alberta

About the Authors

James M. Citron is a member of Spencer Stuart’s board of directors and co-leads its CEO and board practice. His diverse client work includes leading media, technology, communications, and consumer companies, as well as other multinational corporations and private-equity firms. A noted expert on leadership, governance, and professional success, Jim is the author of five books, including bestsellers Lessons from the Top, The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers, and You’re in Charge—Now What?

Julie Hembrock Daum is Spencer Stuart’s co-leader of Spencer Stuart’s CEO and board practice, and she serves on its board of directors. Julie consults with corporate boards, working with companies of all sizes, from the Fortune 10 to start-ups. Julie is also involved in the Northwestern Conference on Corporate Governance and the Wharton/Spencer Stuart Directors’ Institute.

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