Becoming the Best

Becoming the Best

by Harry M. Kraemer
Released March 2015
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118999424

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Book description

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.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Becoming the Best
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Introduction: From Four Principles to Five Bests
  7. Section One: Best Self
    1. Chapter 1: The Self-Reflective, Balanced Leader
      1. The Importance of Self-Reflection
      2. Self-Reflection and the Business Orientation of Leadership
      3. Eliminating Worry, Fear, Anxiety, Pressure, and Stress
      4. Centering Your Best Self
      5. Best Self in the Real World
      6. Leading Up
      7. Pause for Reflection
      8. Balance and Perspective
      9. A Balanced Individual
      10. Self-Reflection and Balance—Complementary Tools in the Leadership Toolbox
      11. Your Best Self, Every Day
    2. Chapter 2: The Humble, Self-Confident Leader
      1. True Self-Confidence: What I Know and What I Don't Know
      2. True and False Self-Confidence
      3. The Two-Question Test
      4. Admitting When You're Wrong
      5. True Self-Confidence and Leadership
      6. Genuine Humility
      7. The Genuinely Humble Leader
      8. How Did You Get to Where You Are?
      9. Can You Really Be Truly Self-Confident and Genuinely Humble in the Real World?
  8. Section Two: Best Team
    1. Chapter 3: Turning Around a Team
      1. From Best to Broken: What Can Go Wrong
      2. Turning Around an Icon: Campbell Soup and Doug Conant3
      3. Walking the Talk—Literally
      4. Winning on Four Dimensions
      5. The Turnaround Leader
    2. Chapter 4: Creating a Best Team From Scratch
      1. The Leader's Values
      2. From the Start: A Best Team
      3. Team First, Ego Last
      4. From Launch to Scale
      5. Creating Out-of-the-Box Thinking
      6. The Pre-Mortem
      7. Best Team, Start to Finish
      8. It's All About the People
  9. Section Three: Best Partner
    1. Chapter 5: Suppliers as Best Partners: A Holistic Relationship
      1. Partnerships to Respond to Competitive Pressures
      2. Long-Term Partnerships Are Earned
      3. Northshore University Healthsystem: Collaboration in Action
      4. Building Partnerships on Partnerships
      5. Success Builds on Success
      6. Best Partners and the Pursuit of Excellence
    2. Chapter 6: Building Best-Partner Customer Relationships
      1. What a Customer Best Partnership Is—And Isn't
      2. Focus on the Value Chain
      3. The Human Element
      4. Growing the Business With Best Partnerships: Catamaran Corporation
      5. Best Partnerships Promote Innovation
      6. When a Best Partner Becomes an Acquisition
      7. The Poster Child of Best-Partner Deals
      8. Best Partners
  10. Section Four: Best Investment
    1. Chapter 7: Making a Best Investment in Talent
      1. Getting the Priorities Right
      2. Setting the “People Agenda”
      3. Talent and Culture
      4. Where It Falls Apart
      5. Developing Talent
      6. Intellectual Agility
      7. The Team Mindset: A Best-Investment Perspective
    2. Chapter 8: The Proof Point: Shareholder Value
      1. Northern Trust: Building Shareholder Value by Doing the Right Thing1
      2. Becoming a Best Investment
      3. Tying Incentives to Becoming a Best Investment
      4. Private Equity: The Investor Point-of-View
      5. The Test of the Best
  11. Section Five: Best Citizen
    1. Chapter 9: Values in Action
      1. A Shift in Thinking
      2. Authenticity Creates Alignment
      3. Lead With a Purpose
      4. Targeting Education
      5. An Empowered Team
      6. The Values-Based Culture
    2. Chapter 10: Living the Legacy and Leaving a Global Footprint
      1. Farm Families Served per Year by One Acre Fund
      2. Putting Farmers First
      3. The Ethos of Giving
      4. Finding Meaning
      5. The One Acre Model
      6. Lessons Learned From a Kenyan Farm Field
      7. The Five Bests in Action
  12. Acknowledgments
  13. About the Author
  14. Index
  15. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Becoming the Best
  • Author(s): Harry M. Kraemer
  • Release date: March 2015
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9781118999424