Leadership BS

Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time

By: Jeffrey Pfeffer

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The author of Power, Stanford business school professor, and a leading management thinker offers a hard-hitting dissection of the leadership industry and ways to make workplaces and careers work better.

The leadership enterprise is enormous, with billions of dollars, thousands of books, and hundreds of thousands of blogs and talks focused on improving leaders. But what we see worldwide is employee disengagement, high levels of leader turnover and career derailment, and failed leadership development efforts.

In Leadership BS Jeffrey Pfeffer shines a bright light on the leadership industry, showing why it's failing and how it might be remade. He sets the record straight on the oft-made prescriptions for leaders to be honest, authentic, and modest; tell the truth; build trust; and take care of others. By calling BS on so many of the stories and myths of leadership, he gives people a more scientific look at the evidence and better information to guide their careers.

Rooted in social science and with practical examples and advice for improving management, Leadership BS encourages listeners to accept the truth and then use facts to change themselves and the world for the better.

©2015 Jeffrey Pfeffer (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Antidote to Bromides from Leadership Gurus

The leadership industry is full of inspirational, feel-good talk which does not match what the majority of organizational leaders look like. According to Pfeffer, most leaders act out of their own self-interest and are rarely held accountable for bad behavior. Individuals and organizations should recognize this and plan accordingly. Organizations should be made less leader-dependent, balances of power created, metrics and reward systems put in place that assume leaders act out of self-interest.

Excellent down to earth ideas

I started the book with great hesitation: is it just a cynic preaching cynicism? No. It is a book on the realities of life and what you will have to face if you want to climb certain highs. It seems that the only way to avoid these problems is thru entrepreneurship... And still, be mindful of the coup... Very good book, excellent narration .

Real talk

I have been studying management and leadership for a decade now and I think this book does a great job explaining the reality of the workplace.

you can handle the truth

pfefferer says it like it is.
modern school of leadership failed its followers, it is time to reconsider what guides decisions in the work place. it is not about being selfish, it is about being realistic.

Probably the best book ever written on leadership

I long felt cynical about leadership in general and was always sceptical about the stories of inspirational leaders. This book have provide me with evidence and data to back up my conclusions.

We need a new look at how leaders are taught.

Great premise... With no resolution

I tried to like this book but I just don't understand what it's point was. It's subtitled "Fixing workplace..." and yet he offers no solutions other than to blast the leadership industry. Half the people he talks about failed. Half were insanely successful. I get what we are doing isn't working but it's easy to throw out examples of it not working if you don't try to come up with a solution. Disappointing

Excellent Controversial book

Excellent narration and great book on pointing out the controversies of all the leaders.

grea book with no BS and a plethora of examples

it truly is no BS and gets right to the point of how leaders are more do as I say then do as I do because there is no such thing as a true leader only a true storyteller and Illusionist because whatever they say it said only 2 insight emotion and creating effect rather than to express the truth. many are not this way but most are. It goes with the territory.

a very different leadership book

he may be on to something, business model of put your own oxygen mask first

Eye Opener

I would recommend this book to many of my friends who are in organizational life and are slowly climbing the ladder. They are encountering some of these situations outlined in this book and I think this would help them to understand the world better.

Advice for careerists.

Others are selfish so be selfish. Lots of interesting observations very well passed, but few solutions and provides plenty of rationalisation/justifications for leadership abuse of the workforce.

I'm converted!

An excellent appraisal of the truths and realities which the leadership industry fails to account for. This book will open your mind to the way things are and what you need to do about it.