The issues fueling the intricate plots of Shakespeare’s four-hundred-year-old plays are the same common, yet complex issues that business leaders contend with today. And, as John Whitney and Tina Packer so convincingly demonstrate, no one but the Bard himself can penetrate the secrets of leadership with such piercing brilliance. Let him instruct you on the issues that managers face every day:Power: Richard II’s fall from power can enlighten us.Trust: Draw on the exp… More >>
Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management
Tags: bard, Brilliance, business leaders, intricate plots, john whitney, Leadership, leadership and management, Lessons, lessons in leadership, Management, Plays, Power, secrets of leadership, shakespeare, Shakespeare's, tina packer
#1 by Anonymous on May 3, 2010 - 12:08 am
This book is great for people just looking for some impressiv Shakespeare phrases to spice up their speeches. The book is full of common sense and does not provide any in-depth analysis of the characters. Beside that the endless desriptions of how the authors succeed in their businesses (good for them!) is boring and do not provide concrete ideas or strategies.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Jim Estill on May 3, 2010 - 12:16 am
I was given a great book for Christmas by my daughter, Laura, called Power Plays, Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management by John O’Whitney and Tina Packer. I think it is Laura’s attempt to add some culture and literature to my life since she is taking her masters in English Literature. The book is about John O’Whitney’s personal experiences in business and Shakespeare and what he has to say on life.
I have had many influencers in my life who are big Shakespeare advocates. One is Dr. Joe Martin who is a professor at the University of Toronto Business School who strongly recommends that any of his students attend a Shakespeare play to learn how to communicate. The second person is my Uncle Bruce Kellner who was a university professor and is a prolific author who is passionate about Shakespeare and culture. And of course my mom who took me to plays when I was young.
I enjoy live theatre but to be truthful tend to find Shakespeare daunting and sometimes boring. I tend to prefer Shaw and the lighter comedies.
Back to “Power Plays”, John O. Whitney appears to share many of my values (he is a very frugal person, has work eithic, is down to earth etc). Part of the book talks about the need for trusted lieutenants. Often in business people think that it is one person who builds the business but this is not the case. The only way that business people are successful is by surrounding themselves with many good people.
The book talks about creating trust and how trust is needed for leadership. This is one of the goals that any leader needs to work towards; however, it tends to be very delicate.
The book has an entire chapter on the uses and abuses of perks, pay, and privileges. Clearly John would like my office with my used furniture purchased at an office auction, etc.
The book talks about the parallels between acting and being a good CEO. There are three characteristics that are in common that are needed: physical stamina, energy, and mental stamina. It seems that much of my life centers around trying to increase all of these three characteristics.
It also talks about being genuine and not copying from someone else. I have always found that if someone else tries to prepare a speech for me, it never comes off very well. I have often found if I try to be exactly like someone else, it just doesn’t work. My best solution is to try to filter and take the best parts from different people.
John has been involved in a number of turnarounds and in turnarounds there tends to be hundreds of problems (SYNNEX is not a turnaround; however, there always seems to be hundreds of problems). What he looks for in these is to find a keystone. The one problem with solutions that will resolve the others. Solving that one problem will give the company the overall focus that it needs to get healthy again.
Rating: 4 / 5
#3 by Dupuy Etienne on May 3, 2010 - 3:07 am
one of the best books I ever read about management, insight on real life situations through the amazing writings of William, the analogical thinking works ! A book I would also recommend to shakespaere lovers !
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Anya Sherwood on May 3, 2010 - 3:24 am
The book was an excellent quick read. What one can derive from this comparison of leadership in Shakespeare’s time and our modern corporate leadership, is that fact that back then, just as today, people face the same social ailments in the corporate setting as they did during the aristocratic rule. Shakespeare played upon these themes, which happen to be the same power struggle themes in our corporate worlds. I like the different opinions of the shared authors on the character’s interpreted leadership. Very well written and in a light manner, that most managers might enjoy the read :)
Rating: 3 / 5
#5 by Jean Marie Hudson on May 3, 2010 - 6:07 am
Are you an English major, a Shakespeare devotee working in business? Or are you a business major who suffered through the required reading and complained, “Where would I use this?” Whichever describes you, Power Plays was written for you.
John Whitney and Tina Packer, both of whom are lovers of Shakespeare and business managers, have analyzed lessons in management and communication embodied in Shakespeare’s plays. They have enhanced the lessons with examples: some from their own experiences (most interestingly, both successes and failures) and others from well-known cases in recent corporate histories.
Any book that causes you to pull the Collected Works down from the top shelf to see what you missed when you read the play so long ago, broadens your awareness of the world. We must always be seeking new and old ways to perceive what is going on in our own lives.
There are reasons why Shakespeare holds the foremost position in English literature. This is a good book for those who didn’t grasp that fact during their formal education. We were so immature when we were first introduced to Shakespeare. Many of us were so involved in preparing ourselves for careers, that we failed to appreciate the treasures that were being offered to us.
So if to you Macbeth was just someone consumed by ambition, Hamlet one who let his chance go by, Henry V a king who made a long speech, Lear a father who failed to recognize hypocrisy – in reading Power Plays you will see more than you had seen, and possibly be inspired to reread these plays with a new perspective.
And if you already love Shakespeare, you may see the world with a new perspective.
Rating: 5 / 5