Audiobooks by Michael Useem

The Edge: How Ten CEOs Learned to Lead--And the Lessons for Us All

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." -Jim Whittaker, first American to climb Mt. Everest A leader's job-in a radically changing world-is standing on the cliff edge, getting a grip on unfamiliar landscapes, and acquiring the skills for leading the enterprise into new territory. In a world facing the unprecedented challenges of global pandemic and economic distruption, every leader needs to find the edge for leaping across the breach and breaking new ground on the other side. Michael Useem provides rare insight into how ten leaders confronted hard realities. He looked close-in at the lide and work of people such as Bill McNabb of Vanguard, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson, and Tricia Griffith of Progressive Insurance. His "you are there" profiles chronicle fateful decisions such as: - Meeting the concerns of a next-generation workforce that considers inclusiveness an integral part of business - Developing a strategy for growth in a market that is cratering - Escaping the confines of an insane, always-on, 24/7 world to learn about the real, granular changes happening in the marketplace Useem's profiles of leaders on the edge provide the inspiration and the guidance we all need for adapting and thriving in an era of massive disruption and continuous transformation.

Michael Useem (Author), Tom Parks (Narrator)

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Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking is Your Best Short-Term Strategy

In Go Long, authors Dennis Carey, Brian Dumaine, Michael Useem, and Rodney Zemmel take you behind-the-scenes to witness the business decisions that are enabling leading organizations to outsmart and outlast the competition. - Why did CEO Larry Merlo allow CVS to take a 2 billion dollar hit-on purpose? - How did CEO Alan Mulally maneuver Ford's 48 billion dollar turnaround? - How did director Maggie Wilderotter and her fellow board members engage top management to embark on an unusual exercise to help Hewlett Packard Enterprise build a long-term strategy? - Why did CEO Paul Polman's turn back to Unilever's original mission of leading with a purpose to fuel profits? - How did CEO Ivan Seidenberg convince his investors and board to allow him to make a 150 billion dollar bet? - How did CEO George Buckley find a way to address investor calls for 3M to spend less on research and development while still finding a way to innovate? These leaders argue that a short-term mindset might satisfy investors for this quarter or next, but there's a heavy price to be paid. Instead, they argue, long-term thinking is your best short-term strategy.

Brian Dumaine, Dennis Carey, Michael Useem, Rodney Zemmel (Author), Daniel Thomas May (Narrator)

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Fortune Makers: The Leaders Creating China's Great Global Companies

When Peter Drucker wrote Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made the large American corporation tick. Similarly, The Art of Japanese Management by Richard Pascale in 1981 explained the unique practices developed by the Japanese to bring that country’s economy out of the ashes. The emerging Chinese juggernauts—the Alibabas, Lenovos, and Haiers—need similar revelation since they are a different breed in their own right. Little is understood about them, how they work, and what makes them such potentially imposing competitors. Now, based on unprecedented access to the people who have created and grown the great private companies of China—the “General Electrics and Sonys' of that country, Michael Useem, Harbir Singh, Peter Cappelli and Neng Liang bring to life the distinctive practices of Chinese business leaders as they invent their own way forward to create world-class companies, and provide a comprehensive look at the leaders and businesses that are the future of the Chinese economy—and major competition to Western companies. Chinese companies are emerging on the global stage as never before, and their leadership lessons are invaluable in understanding and coping with their growing commercial presence worldwide. Company managers everywhere will want to understand China’s distinct way of doing business if they are to compete against the companies that already dominate the domestic Chinese market and are coming to the fore in foreign markets, including the U.S.

Habir Singh, Liang Neng, Michael Useem, Peter Cappelli (Author), Jeff Cummings (Narrator)

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The Strategic Leader's Roadmap: 6 Steps for Integrating Leadership and Strategy

"We can all become strategic leaders if we stay on the right path." -Harbir Singh & Michael Useem Even a strong leader can flounder without an effective strategy, and the most powerful strategy can fail without the right leader. Only those who master and integrate both skills can effectively navigate the challenges that lay ahead for today's organizations. The Strategic Leader's Roadmap, by Wharton management professors Harbir Singh and Michael Useem, offers a 6-point checklist for leading strategically that will help managers strengthen their capacity to develop strategy and to lead its execution. Drawing on one-on-one interviews with CEOs, in-depth research, and their experience teaching today's executives and tomorrow's leaders, Singh and Useem take readers into the offices-and mindsets-of some of today's foremost strategic leaders, including: Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan Indra Nooyi, chief executive of PepsiCo Jack Ma, founder and chief executive of Alibaba Group John Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco Systems Fast-moving and inspiring, The Strategic Leader's Roadmap will enable leaders at all levels to master today's most vital capability.

Harbir Singh, Michael Useem (Author), Walter Dixon (Narrator)

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The Leader's Checklist, Expanded Edition: 15 Mission-Critical Principles

Named to The Washington Post's 2011 List of Best Leadership Books In this illuminating expanded edition of the bestselling Leader's Checklist, world-renowned leadership expert Michael Useem deepens his examination of 15 mission-critical principles for leaders Based on the lessons from astonishing stories, solid research, and years of leadership development work with a wide array of companies and organizations in the United States and abroad, Useem presents today's leaders with 15 guiding principles that form the core of The Leader's Checklist, which will help you develop your ability to make good and timely decisions in unpredictable and stressful environments-for those moments when leadership really matters. To illustrate how The Leader's Checklist can assist leaders, Useem zeroes in on accounts of extraordinary leaders who rose to the challenge, including Laurence Golborne's role in the triumphant rescue of 33 miners in Chile, Joseph Pfeifer's remarkable heroism as the first FDNY Fire Chief to take command at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and Union officer Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's transformative actions after the Confederate army's surrender. He also explores the colossal failure of AIG, one of the greatest corporate collapses in business history. This updated and expanded edition features a new preface by the author and three new Knowledge@Wharton interviews with Laurence Golborne, Chile's Minister of Mining, on leading the rescue operation of 33 miners trapped in the San José Mine; Joseph Pfeifer, New York City Fire Department's Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, on being the first Battalion Chief to take command at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001; and the author on why he wrote The Leader's Checklist and what he has learned about the most vital items on the checklist from his recent leadership development work with more than a dozen companies and organizations. Gildan Media is proud to bring you another Wharton Digital Press Audiobook. These notable audiobooks contain the essential tools that can be applied to every facet of your career.

Michael Useem (Author), Erik Synnestvedt (Narrator)

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Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss So You Both Win

Eight true stories show that Leaders today arent just bosses, theyre self-starters who take charge even when they havent been given a charge. Upward leaders get results by helping their superiors lead. They make sure that good ideas dont die on the vine because a bosss understanding doesnt reach down deep enough into the organization. Upward leadership assures that advice arrives from all points on the corporate compass, not just from the top down. And it applies at every level: Even CEOs need to learn about leading up because they ultimately answer to their boards. In Leading Up, Michael Useem offers instructive accounts of this vital and unexplored facet of leadership. Drawing on the extraordinary experiences of real people, Useem shows us what happens when those not in charge rise to the challenge, and also what happens when those who should step forward fail to do so: * Civil War generals openly disrespected and frequently misinformed their commanders in chief, with tragic consequences for both sides. * COO David Pottruck learned how to lead with his superiors at Charles Schwab & Co. in order to radically change Schwabs core business. * Had he been able to convince his superiors of the dire situation in Rwanda, United Nations commander Roméo Dallaire might have prevented the genocide that claimed 800,000 lives. * The CEOs of CBS, Compaq, and British Airways concentrated on leading down when they needed to lead up to their boards, too. The result: All three were fired. * U.S. Marine Corps general Peter Pace reconciled conflicting priorities while reporting to six bosses with varying agendas by keeping all of them informed and challenging them when necessary. * Mount Everest mountaineers admitted they might have protected themselves and others from harm during a fateful ascent if only they had questioned their guides flawed instructions and decisions. * Even in government, representatives often need to first strike a deal, then lead their bosses to embrace it, as examples from the United States and Argentina illustrate. * No one ever had a tougher job of leading up than Old Testament prophets Moses, Abraham, and Samuel, who interceded with the ultimate authority. Leading up is not the same as managing up. Managing up is running the office; leading up is taking the reins and exceeding whats expected. As hierarchies everywhere shed much of their rigidity, upward leadership at all levels becomes more possible, and more necessary. Leading Up is a call to action. It asks us to build on the best in everybodys nature, and it offers a pragmatic blueprint for doing so.From the Hardcover edition.

Michael Useem (Author), James Lurie (Narrator)

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