“Shackleton’s extraordinary adventure demonstrates invaluable, practical traits of leadership. I could not recommend Leading at the Edge more highly.”
John H. DaltonFormer Secretary of the Navy
“Fascinating. Great story after story, along with important learnings about leadership.”
Ed LawlerDirector, Center for
Effective Organizations, USC.
Overview of Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition
By Dennis N. T. Perkins, with Margaret P. Holtman, Paul R. Kessler and Catherine McCarthy
Part adventure story, part leadership guide, this engaging book examines Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition through the lens of business to reveal a set of powerful strategies for corporate leaders.
In the chronicles of extraordinary adventures and against-the-odds survival, nothing compares to the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team of South Pole explorers. Stranded in the frozen sea for nearly two years, they endured extreme temperatures, hazardous ice, dwindling food, complete isolation, and perpetual blackness.
Yet, despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the group remained cohesive, congenial, and mercifully alive - a fact that speaks not just to luck but to an unparalleled feat of leadership. Leading at the Edge is the first book to draw on this amazing story for revealing the power of effective organizational leadership under conditions of adversity, uncertainty, and rapid change. The book offers ten lessons for leading at The Edge, complete with stirring examples from the Shackleton expedition, as well as contemporary business cases that show the strategies in action. Readers learn how to:
- Set a personal example with vivid symbols and behaviors
- Instill optimism while staying grounded in reality
- Reinforce the team message constantly
- Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about
- Have the courage to take big risks, and more.
For managers and executives who feel the constant pressure to change and grow, these memorable strategies will help bring order to chaos and achieve success in the face of the most daunting challenges.
Table of Contents
Praise for Leading at the Edge
Media Reviews
The New York Times: "Perkins is a connoisseur of leadership in circumstances of great peril...This thoughtful work...distills 10 principles from [Shackleton's] survival experiences and offers them as a guide for business leadership at the edge."
National Post (Canada): "Mr. Perkins presents his views on the art of leadership with the candour and conviction of someone who's clearly been there, and his gripping description of the arduous conditions that Shackleton and his comrades endured make Leading at the Edge a real page-tuner. This is a work that should definitely be read by anyone who aspires to assume the mantle of leadership. It's one I believe is destined to be regarded as one of the most important contributions to management literature we've seen in recent years."
Book Page: "Leading at the Edge demonstrates that executives who want to stretch the bounds of organizational inertia have much to learn from those who have tested the limits of human endurance. In addressing Shackleton's adventure and business leadership, Perkins combines two subjects over which much ink has been spilled in recent years -- and yet he has managed to synthesize that material into a distinctive work filled with remarkable insights."
Expert Reviews
"Fascinating. Great story after story, along with important learnings about leadership."
ED LAWLER, Director, Center for Effective Organizations, USC.
"Dennis Perkins uses Shackleton's extraordinary adventure to demonstrate invaluable, practical traits of leadership. Leading at the Edge is a well-written, power-packed read. I could not recommend it more highly."
JOHN H. DALTON, Former Secretary of the Navy, and Chairman and CEO, Metal Technology, Inc.
"It is ironic that a 90-year-old story of courage and endurance should have lessons for the Internet Age-but it does! Anyone attempting to lead in the face of uncertainty and adversity will learn much from this tremendously engaging and compelling book."
DAVID A. NADLER, Chairman, Delta Consulting Group, Inc., and author of Champions of Change and Competing by Design
"Perkins offers a unique and refreshing perspective on the challenge of leadership. His insights-and skillful use of the Shackleton expedition as a case study make the book a valuable contribution and a must-read."
WILLIAM H. DONALDSON, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc., founding Dean, Professor of Management, Yale School of Management, Former Chairman and CEO, The New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
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