How Leaders Decide

February 11, 2019
Bustin—chair of three Vistage International groups, for CEOs, presidents, and partners—issues lessons on aping the successes, while avoiding the errors, of history’s greats in this slapdash, skimpy guide. After witnessing Vistage members struggling with decision-making, Bustin was moved, he explains, to assemble this collection of stories, some “stirring,” others cautionary. Businesspeople are meant to read it over the course of a year, one lesson per week, in 10 minutes or less. Each describes a decision made by a notable figure during a critical moment, such as Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon or General Custer ordering the pursuit of Native American forces before the Battle of Little Bighorn. However, with 52 separate chapters, the individual entries can only touch briefly on each person—including Charles Darwin, Charles Dow, Alfred Nobel, and Steve Jobs—and thus rarely have the opportunity to say anything new. Moreover, of the 52 people and groups profiled, all but five (Hattie Caraway, Marie Curie, Queen Elizabeth I, Emily Post, and Mary Edwards Walker) are men and all but four (Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Jesse Owen) are white. The would-be tycoons of tomorrow are unlikely to feel either inspired or enlightened by this superficial survey. Agent: Cynthia Zigmund, Literary Services, Inc.