Handbook of Organizational and Managerial Wisdom

“A brilliant and comprehensive introduction to the most seminal component of leadership: wisdom. The diversity of the readings and wisdom of the authors make this a most original and valuable addition to the management canon.”

—Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management, University of Southern California and author of On Becoming a Leader

“This wonderful compilation proves that management is as much art as science, and that deep thinking can inform and inspire practice to be more humane, ethical, and, yes, wise.”

—Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor and best-selling author of Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End

“If you'll forgive a pun, this is a wise book about organizational and managerial wisdom. It shows what's possible when some of our best thinkers turn their collective attention to such timely subjects as EQ, negotiation, global politics, and individual and organizational ethics.”

—Steve Kerr, Chief Learning Officer, Goldman Sachs, and Past President of the Academy of Management

“One of the ‘most promising’ forthcoming management books.”

—EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT

“To wade into the topic wisdom is to see organizing differently. To wade into this volume is to see wisdom differently. Both forms of effort embody a wonderful moment of wisdom itself.”

–Karl E. Weick, Distinguished Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology,University of Michigan

Some interesting issues emerge when one views organizations from a wisdom-based perspective. Does technology promote or inhibit wisdom? How do HR systems, organizational forms, management practices, and operational capabilities relate to wisdom? What are the ethical and social dimensions of wisdom? What makes a wise leader? Can wisdom be developed and utilized strategically? Do conceptions and manifestations of wisdom vary across cultures? Can one teach wisdom?

Editors Eric Kessler and James Bailey have produced a ground-breaking compendium of globally renowned thinkers in the Handbook of Organizational and Managerial Wisdom. This Handbook systematically explores the characteristics of understanding, applying, and developing organizational and managerial wisdom.

Key Features

• Organizes wisdom around the five primary philosophical branches—logic, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and metaphysics
• Applies wisdom in organizations and management through international examples that synthesize a set of practical principles for academics and practicing managers
• Offers an outstanding collection of world-renowned scholars who give profound insights regarding wisdom