View From the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World
TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING,View From the Topis a true achievement. Books on power and leadership rarely present insights that are fundamentally new, and they seldom ground their conclusions in original scientific research. This remarkable book does both. It presents the key results of sociologist Michael Lindsay’s unprecedented Platinum Study, an examination of how the most powerful people in the United States operate.A few elite leaders in business and government make decisions that affect all 300 million Americans. Dr. Michael Lindsay set out to discover what sets this handful of influential people apart. Through in-depth interviews with 550 top CEOs and senior officials, including two former U.S. presidents and a sizeable group of Fortune 100 leaders, Lindsay learned that power is not a matter of luck or breeding, but follows a set of seven surprising—and surprisingly simple—principles.The findings of the Platinum Study have the potential to change the way we think about leadership. The stereotypical image of the hard-nosed Ivy League boss who’s always looking out for number one may ring true somewhere, but it completely fails in the upper echelons of leadership.View From the Topwill surprise readers by demonstrating the compassion, hard work, and humanity that unites the most influential Americans. For the first time, Michael Lindsay has revealed the characteristics and behaviors of the people who shape the world we live in.By shedding light on the inner workings of America’s elite, this book serves as an inspiration and a guide for anyone who dreams of making it to the top. It’s easy enough to be an effective leader, but to lead some of the most powerful institutions on Earth requires something special. Ambitious leaders and leaders-to-be will find guidance in firsthand stories and advice. The author allows the gurus to speak for themselves, and then follows up with helpful synthesis of leaders’ candid revelations. The result is a book that stands alone among business titles in terms of both insight and impact. If you read only one business book this year, make itView From the Top.