The Age of Heretics: A History of the Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management

by Art Kleiner, Warren Bennis (Foreword by), Steven Wheeler (Foreword by), Walt McFarland (Foreword by)

Overview

The Age of Heretics

When the first edition of The Age of Heretics was published to wide critical acclaim in 1996, it was considered the definitive account of the revolution in management from the 1940s to the current time.

In this second edition of his bestselling book, author Art Kleiner explores the nature of effective leadership in times of change and defines its importance to the corporation of the future. He describes a heretic as a visionary who creates change in large-scale companies, balancing the contrary truths they can't deny against their loyalty to their organizations. The Age of Heretics reveals how managers can get stuck in counterproductive ways of doing things and shows why it takes a heretical point of view to get past the deadlock and move forward.

This engrossing history lesson for business change agents and reformers is filled with groundbreaking management thought and compelling stories of the heretics of our time. Some of the figures, such as W. Edwards Deming, Kurt Lewin, Amory Lovins, and Saul Alinsky, are familiar to many, while others may be less widely known but influential behind the scenes. While these heretics were underappreciated in their time—and often demoted for their radical ideas—the ideals they fought for live on in the everchanging American corporation.

For today's leaders, The Age of Heretics reveals how to make transformative strategic changes while simultaneously running a company. This new edition explores the roots of today's most prevalent management ideas: lean production, organization development, the balanced scorecard, and reengineering, as well as other key areas of change such as group dynamics, scenario planning, shareholder activism, sociotechnical systems, and corporate environmentalism. This is the guidebook for progressive thinkers who want to transform their corporations and the entire business landscape.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470443415
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	10/03/2008
Series:	J-B Warren Bennis Series , #164
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

THE AUTHOR

ART KLEINER is the editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine strategy+business (http://www.strategy-business.com). He is the author or coauthor of several acclaimed business books, and is a faculty member at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program. His articles have been published in a variety of places, including Wired, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and The New York Times Magazine.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Warren Bennis.

Preface by Steven Wheeler and Walter McFarland.

To the Reader.

1. Monastics: Corporate Culture and Its Discontents, 1945 to Today.

2. Pelagians: National Training Laboratories, 1947–1962.

3. Reformists: Workplace Redesign at Procter & Gamble and the Gaines Dog Food Plant in Topeka, 1961–1973.

4. Protesters: Saul Alinsky, FIGHTON, Campaign GM, and the Shareholder Activism Movement, 1964–1971.

5. Mystics: Royal Dutch/Shell’s Scenario Planners, 1967–1973.

6. Lovers of Faith and Reason: Heretical Engineers at Stanford Research Institute and MIT, 1955–1971.

7. Parzival’s Dilemma: Edie Seashore, Chris Argyris, and Warren Bennis, 1959–1979.

8. Millenarians: Erewhon, the SRI Futures Group, Herman Kahn, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Amory Lovins, 1968–1979.

9. The Rapids: Hayes and Abernathy, Tom Peters, W. Edwards Deming, the Creators of GE Work-Out, and Other Synthesizers of Management Change, 1974–1982.

Bibliography.

Notes.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

"An inspiring and enlightening reading for any business person who fears their ideas may face initial rejection." (The Midwest Book Review, October 2008)

Voted a "Best Business Book of 2008" by the Miami Herald

From the Publisher