Overview

Steve Jobs, Dov Charney, Lance Armstrong, Donald Trump. Each one has reached the pinnacle of American success. Is it because they were ambitious visionaries and talented entrepreneurs? Most Americans would say yes to both. But what else do they have in common? They're known for being mean. Though heralded as great leaders, each of these men and many more have also been exposed as toxic, raging, and manipulative. Yet, because America loves a winner, we look past even the most outrageous behavior from our heroes if it generates a gold medal, a windfall IPO, or a political victory. But at what price does our complicity come? And what role does gender play--is meanness at this level reserved for men? Drawing on author Mark Lipton's extensive experience as adviser to major corporations, start-ups, government agencies, and not-for-profits, Mean Men synthesizes decades of psychological research to expose what really drives this subset of America's leaders. As surprising as it is alarming, the book reveals dark truths about a psychological disorder that rules many of our boardrooms, and challenges the status quo with a more effective humanistic approach to leadership.

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9780998613017

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Mark Lipton's unsettling masterpiece makes a compelling case for why, all too often, mean men get ahead in business and politics. He shows why their unhealthy nastiness and selfishness is too often confused with healthy competence and drive. He documents the damage they do and, thank goodness, shows that leaders don't need to be mean to get ahead--how some of our best (such as Mark Zuckerberg) have matured into caring and giving people and how such wisdom has helped them build great and civilized organizations. --Robert Sutton, professor of management at Stanford University and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide Mean Men is a book whose time has come. More than ever, in this 'Trumpian age, ' it's important to decipher the darker side of leadership. Mark Lipton provides a penetrating analysis of what can go wrong in the leadership equation. He helps us understand why Lord Acton's statement that 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is even more relevant in this day and age. --Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, distinguished clinical professor of leadership development and organizational change at INSEAD, France, and author of Riding the Leadership Rollercoaster; Leaders, Fools and Imposters; The Neurotic Organization; Unstable at the Top; and Prisoners of Leadership Like a kid afraid to see what was in the dark basement but compelled to do so, I kept creeping into Mark Lipton's incredible world of Mean Men. What I found was spellbinding and intellectually vital. What I left with is renewed hope that all of us can be leaders who can make the world better, day by day. This is an enduring volume. --Sydney Finkelstein, Steven Roth professor of management and director of the Tuck Leadership Center at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, and author of Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent and Why Smart Executives Fail What's worse than an asshole, or the worst sort of asshole? The guy who is abusively mean. Mark Lipton's engaging book gets into the head of mean men, why our entrepreneurial culture is spawning them, and how we might get back to true leadership and civil cooperation. --Aaron James, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Assholes: A Theory and Assholes: A Theory of Donald Trump

Author Information

"Mark Lipton is graduate professor of management at The New School in New York City. For over forty years, he has been a trusted adviser to Fortune 500 corporations, think tanks, nonprofits, international NGOs, and start-ups. His work has inspired his writing for the ""Harvard Business Review,"" ""MIT Sloan Management Review,"" and ""Journal of Management Consulting,"" as well as his book ""Guiding Growth: How Vision Keeps Companies on Course."" Mark holds a PhD from the School of Management at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He lives in New York City and western Massachusetts and serves on several boards, including SPRAT Artistic Ensemble, Isabella Geriatric Center, AchieveMission, and the Austen Riggs Center."

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