2009
2015
The idea of hierarchy is breaking down everywhere, from politics to religion to social relationships-why should leadership be any different?
Our leadership models are still stuck in a top-down, command-and-control, Industrial Age mentality. But our globalized, data-drenched, 24/7 world is just too complex, with too much information coming from too many different directions, for any single person or group of people to stay on top of it. The idea of hierarchy is breaking down everywhere, from politics to religion to social relationships-why should leadership be any different?
Mila Baker's inspiration for a new way to lead is the peer-to-peer model of computing, which is also mirrored in social networking and crowdsource technologies. She shows that a network with "equipotent" nodes of power-think peer leaders-is infinitely more powerful than a "client-server" (leader-follower) network.
In organizations of equipotent nodes, leadership isn't fixed or siloed-it shifts based on the particular strengths of individuals and the particular needs of a situation. Rather than being guided into narrow predetermined channels, information flows freely so those who need it can find it easily and are empowered to act on it immediately. Constant change is built into the very structure of these organizations, and giving feedback is no longer a separate (and often dreaded and ineffective) process but becomes an organic part of the workflow, enabling rapid course corrections.
Baker still advocates the need for top-level executives and senior leaders, but their job is to optimize the health of the network rather than issue commands. Companies such as Gore and Herman Miller practice these principles and have achieved long-term success-Baker provides a structure for this approach that any organization can adapt to build flexibility, resiliency, and accountability.
2018
• By the author of Leadership and the New Science (over 250,000 copies sold)
• Shows how the simple but long neglected act of conversation-of thoughtfully talking and listening to one another-has the power to change lives
• Offers insightful advice on how to conduct conversations that will help us to genuinely connect with each other and restore hope to our individual lives
• Provides ten "conversation starters" to provoke rich and meaningful exchanges
• By one of the world's most widely-known business speakers and author of the bestselling Maximum Achievement (over 250,000 copies sold)
• Provides a wealth of practical advice anyone can use to become a self-made millionaire
• Over 2 million people have heard Brian Tracy speak and more than 1.5 million have purchased his audio and video programs