If you want to be as successful as Jack Welch Larry Bossidy or Michael Dell read their autobiographical advice books right? Wrong says Roger Martin inThe Opposable Mind. Though following best practice can help in some ways it also poses a danger: By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation youll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results. Why? Your situation is different. Instead of focusing on what exceptional leaders do we need to understand and emulate how they think. Successful businesspeople engage in what Martin callsintegrative thinking creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones. Drawing on stories of leaders as diverse as AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble Meg Whitman of eBay Victoria Hale of the Institute for One World Health and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys Martin shows how integrative thinkers are relentlessly diagnosing and synthesizing by asking probing questions including: What are the causal relationships at work here? and What are the implied trade-offs? Martin also presents a model for strengthening your integrative thinking skills by drawing on different kinds of knowledge including conceptual and experiential knowledge. Integrative thinking can be learned andThe Opposable Mind helps you master this vital skill.
