Leadership and Innovation: Entrepreneurs in Government Abridged edition

Jacket Description/Back: Jameson W. Doig and Erwin C. Hargrove outline a perspective on leadership in government that emphasizes entrepreneurship. They show how government executives' ability to set goals, generate support inside and outside the bureaucracy, and implement innovative ideas-- even at risk to their own careers-- can have a significant impact on their organizations and on society. In this abridged edition, biographical studies of David Lilienthal, Hyman Rickover, James Webb, Nancy Hanks, Robert McNamara, Wilbur Cohen, Robert Ball, and Austin Tobin illustrate a variety of skills and strategies used by effective executives. Doig and Hargrove describe their styles as ranging from "rhetorical leaders" to "entrepreneurial administrators". Yet these diverse leaders share some important traits, including a capacity to see historical opportunity, the ability to mobilize constituencies, and a desire to "make a difference". Review Quotes: "Many of our high-ranking officials in public life have been as innovative and influential as those in the private sector. However, this book is no simple upbeat tract of inspired tales; it is a thoroughly researched, closely argued blend of theory and biography." -- David B. Sicilia, Public HistorianReview Quotes:"Many of our high-ranking officials in public life have been as innovative and influential as those in the private sector. However, this book is no simple upbeat tract of inspired tales; it is a thoroughly researched, closely argued blend of theory and biography." -- David B. Sicilia, Public HistorianReview Quotes: Many of our high-ranking officials in public life have been as innovative and influential as those in the private sector. However, this book is no simple upbeat tract of inspired tales; it is a thoroughly researched, closely argued blend of theory and biography.--David B. Sicilia "Public Historian "Publisher Marketing: Jameson W. Doig and Erwin C. Hargrove outline a perspective on leadership in government that emphasizes entrepreneurship. They show how government executives' ability to set goals, generate support inside and outside the bureaucracy, and implement innovative ideas-- even at risk to their own careers-- can have a significant impact on their organizations and on society. In this abridged edition, biographical studies of David Lilienthal, Hyman Rickover, James Webb, Nancy Hanks, Robert McNamara, Wilbur Cohen, Robert Ball, and Austin Tobin illustrate a variety of skills and strategies used by effective executives. Doig and Hargrove describe their styles as ranging from "rhetorical leaders" to "entrepreneurial administrators." Yet these diverse leaders share some important traits, including a capacity to see historical opportunity, the ability to mobilize constituencies, and a desire to "make a difference."

Contributor Bio:  Doig, Jameson W Jameson W. Doig is professor of politics and public affairs in the Politics Department and Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. His previous books include "New York: The Politics of Urban Regional Development" (with Michael N. Danielson) and "Leadership and Innovation: A Biographical Perspective on Entrepreneurs in Government" (with Erwin C. Hargrove). Contributor Bio:  Hargrove, Erwin C Erwin C. Hargrove is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Contributor Bio:  Neustadt, Richard E Neustadt is Douglas Dillon Professor of Government Emeritus at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. For three decades an advisor to presidents, their aides, and to members of the cabinet.