book

Becoming the Best

by Harry M. Kraemer

March 2015

Intermediate to advanced

224 pages

5h 18m

English

Jossey-Bass

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The Importance of Self-ReflectionSelf-Reflection and the Business Orientation of LeadershipEliminating Worry, Fear, Anxiety, Pressure, and StressCentering Your Best SelfBest Self in the Real WorldLeading UpPause for ReflectionBalance and PerspectiveA Balanced IndividualSelf-Reflection and Balance—Complementary Tools in the Leadership ToolboxYour Best Self, Every Day
True Self-Confidence: What I Know and What I Don't KnowTrue and False Self-ConfidenceThe Two-Question TestAdmitting When You're WrongTrue Self-Confidence and LeadershipGenuine HumilityThe Genuinely Humble LeaderHow Did You Get to Where You Are?Can You Really Be Truly Self-Confident and Genuinely Humble in the Real World?

From Best to Broken: What Can Go WrongTurning Around an Icon: Campbell Soup and Doug Conant3Walking the Talk—LiterallyWinning on Four DimensionsThe Turnaround Leader
The Leader's ValuesFrom the Start: A Best TeamTeam First, Ego LastFrom Launch to ScaleCreating Out-of-the-Box ThinkingThe Pre-MortemBest Team, Start to FinishIt's All About the People
Partnerships to Respond to Competitive PressuresLong-Term Partnerships Are EarnedNorthshore University Healthsystem: Collaboration in ActionBuilding Partnerships on PartnershipsSuccess Builds on SuccessBest Partners and the Pursuit of Excellence
What a Customer Best Partnership Is—And Isn'tFocus on the Value ChainThe Human ElementGrowing the Business With Best Partnerships: Catamaran CorporationBest Partnerships Promote InnovationWhen a Best Partner Becomes an AcquisitionThe Poster Child of Best-Partner DealsBest Partners
Getting the Priorities RightSetting the “People Agenda”Talent and CultureWhere It Falls ApartDeveloping TalentIntellectual AgilityThe Team Mindset: A Best-Investment Perspective
Northern Trust: Building Shareholder Value by Doing the Right Thing1Becoming a Best InvestmentTying Incentives to Becoming a Best InvestmentPrivate Equity: The Investor Point-of-ViewThe Test of the Best
A Shift in ThinkingAuthenticity Creates AlignmentLead With a PurposeTargeting EducationAn Empowered TeamThe Values-Based Culture
Farm Families Served per Year by One Acre FundPutting Farmers FirstThe Ethos of GivingFinding MeaningThe One Acre ModelLessons Learned From a Kenyan Farm FieldThe Five Bests in Action

Overview

What does it mean in practice to be a values-based leader? When faced with real situations, how can you be your best self and create best teams—while also being a best partner with customers and vendors, a best investment for your stakeholders, and a best citizen making a difference in the world? It's a tall order, but these are the expectations for world-class organizations today.

In his bestselling book From Values to Action, Harry Kraemer showed how self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility are the traits of today's most effective leaders. In Becoming the Best, his highly anticipated follow-up, Kraemer reveals how, in practical terms, anyone can apply these principles to become a values-based leader and to help create values-based organizations.

Drawing on his own experiences as the former CEO and chairman of Baxter International, as well as those of other notable leaders and organizations, Kraemer lays out a pathway for understanding the principles and putting them into practice, showing specifically, how to:

Use self-reflection to become your "best self" as you lead yourself and others more effectively
Create a "best team" that understands and appreciates what they're doing, and why
Forge "best partnerships" through win/win collaboration with vendors and customers that enhance the end user's experience Support the mission, vision, and values of the organization to generate returns that distinguish a "best investment"
Make a difference in the world beyond the organization by becoming a "best citizen"

Powerful case studies from Campbell's Soup, Ernst & Young, Target, Northern Trust, and many others demonstrate the four principles of values-based leadership in action and show how thinking beyond the corporation can trigger positive outcomes for both the company and the world.

Regardless of level or job title, individuals can make a difference in their organization and beyond by embodying the essential traits of a great leader. Becoming the Best offers a definitive, actionable guide to show anyone how to apply in practice the principles of values-based leadership personally and professionally, making it an indispensable manual for the new wave of better leaders.