When John Kennedy announced a vision to send a man to the moon and bring him back safely, none of the resources needed to do the job were in place. By creating a vision for the American people, Kennedy motivated the technical and scientific community who ultimately accomplished the feat. On another level, but equally visionary, is a manager's goal of fostering cooperation and team spirit that goes beyond the winning of a single game. Chapter 2 investigates the role of character in building a community. This section explores human values using themes from noted management authors John Gardner and Peter Drucker.
Readers can take several quizzes and learn about values and their importance in the community.
Chapter 3 compares traditional organizations with non-traditional organizations. Differences include obedience to authority versus vision and values, homogeneity versus diversity, and autocratic style versus democratic style. Although members may have considerable influence, organizational climate is determined primarily by leaders. Those in charge establish the character and define norms of behavior. The authors refer to the classic management books In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. and New Patterns of Management by Rensis Likert.