Overview

"""For some [dominant visionaries], too much interference will stifle their ambition. For others, not interfering might allow them to go haywire and destroy the company. The Brilliant Jerk Conundrum shows how to tell the difference and what to do about it."" --Srikant M. Datar, professor and senior associate dean at Harvard Business School and member of four boards ""In my 50 years as an executive and board member in Silicon Valley, I interacted with many brilliant jerks. I came within a whisker of joining the Theranos board and pulled out at the last minute. Disruptors can be unpredictable and unrealistic. You've captured how to navigate that challenge in this book."" --Dick Levy, former CEO and chairman of Varian With a strong leader at the helm, what can possibly go wrong? Betting on a dominant visionary is one of the biggest business gambles an investor, employee, or board member will ever make. If things go right, a visionary's wizardry changes entire industries and generates massive value for shareholders, employees, and society. But if things go wrong, millions (possibly billions) of dollars are lost--and sometimes people go to jail. The challenge for investors, employees, and board members is knowing the difference between an inspired visionary such as Steve Jobs, a firebrand entrepreneur like Elon Musk, and an idealistic time bomb like Elizabeth Holmes and if, when, and how to intervene. Rob Shelton and Marc J. Epstein have gathered the cautionary tales and the wisdom of board of directors and executives who have dealt with dominant visionaries to deliver a prescription for success. With this guide, you'll be able to identify what kind of leadership you have and develop successful tactics to gover and thrive with the brainiest and jerkiest of them all."

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9781733981309

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Marc J. Epstein was, until recently, Distinguished Research Professor of Management at Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Prior to joining Rice, Dr. Epstein was a professor at Stanford Business School, Harvard Business School, and INSEAD (European Institute of Business Administration). With extensive academic research and practical experience in the implementation of corporate strategies and the development of performance metrics for use in them, Marc is considered one of the global leaders in the areas of innovation, governance, performance measurement, and accountability in both corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Marc has written extensively on corporate and nonprofit board governance, the role of boards of directors, organizational trust, and corporate accountability. He is the author of twenty books and well over two hundred professional papers that have won numerous top academic, professional, and business awards. He also provides seminars, executive courses, consulting, and presentations to senior managerial audiences throughout the world. Rob Shelton is a globally recognized Silicon Valley-based consultant, author, and speaker on entrepreneurial excellence, breakthrough innovation, and scaling to drive rapid growth. Over the past forty years, Rob served as trusted partner and adviser to CEOs and senior executives at leading organizations in the valley and around the world. He led the innovation practice at PwC and was also founder of PwC's Global Financial Service Innovation Center. Rob was a speaker at the 2013 World Economic Forum's Summer Davos.

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