Amazon.com Review
Rosabeth Moss Kanter will convince you that the goal of winning is not losing two times in a row. In her view, success and failure are not events, they are self-fulfilling tendencies. “Confidence is the sweet spot between arrogance and despair–consisting of positive expectations for favorable outcomes.” says Kanter, a Harvard Business School Professor and author of The Change Masters.
She applies the literature of cognitive psychology (dissonance, explanatory models, learned optimism) to explore the winning and losing streaks of a diverse lineup including the BBC, Gillette, Verizon, Continental Airlines, the Chicago Cubs, and Target. The result is a brilliant anatomy lesson of the big decisions and the small gestures that build and restore confidence.
Three cornerstones are clearly detailed: “Accountability,” the actions that involve facing facts without humiliation; “Collaboration,” the rituals of respect that create teamwork, and “Initiative/Innovation,” the “kaleidoscope thinking” that unlocks energy and creativity. A standout chapter describes how Nelson Mandela created a culture of confidence in South Africa. Some readers may wish for more strategies about positive habits of mind in individuals. Others will search for a quick fix. Instead, Moss Kanter?s in-depth examples and ideas about resilient organizations will become required reading. They add up to a persuasive and informed optimism. –Barbara Mackoff
–This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on more than 300 interviews with leaders in business, sports and politics, Kanter cogently explains the role confidence plays in the performance of institutions and individuals. Losing streaks are often created and then perpetuated when people lose confidence in their leaders and systems, while winning streaks are fueled by confident people who are secure in their own abilities and the ability of their leaders. Winning streaks are characterized by continuity and continued investment, Kanter argues, while losing streaks are marked by disruption and a lack of investment that typically give way to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. Combining theory with practical advice, Kanter details how losing organizations can instill accountability, collaboration and initiative—Kanter’s three pillars of confidence—to help start a turnaround. She illustrates her ideas with a number of real-world examples, among them how the new owner of the Philadelphia Eagles stopped the team’s chronic losing ways and built a winning organization. Kanter, a professor at the Harvard Business School and author of numerous books (including Men and Women of the Corporation), delivers valuable insights on the importance of confidence to success and on how organizations can create practices that build that much needed asset.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
–This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Seductive Promise: Fails to Deliver
Alluring promise of exposing “how winning streaks and losing streaks begin and end”, but fails to deliver insight or applicable information.
REVIEW SUMMARY: The author of CONFIDENCE informs the reader “I wrote this book not only to show teams, companies, communities, and countries how to cultivate better leadership. I also had a grander goal: to help people in many walks of life to find the confidence to win whatever game they are playing…” (page 350) Unfortunately, the product of these laudable goals falls woefully short both as a source of wisdom and as an interesting read. Those seeking insight into to how to best lead change, how to increase their own confidence, or strategies for effective leadership in general, should select other sources. Several excellent books are recommended at the end of this review.
REVIEW: CONFIDENCE fails the reader for 3 reasons: 1) the few insights provided are so basic as to be best described as trite; 2) the surplus verbiage and detail embedded in the text and examples causes the reader’s mind to wander; and 3) the author’s excessive reference to herself is in conflict with the leadership advice she is offering and seems to border on narcissism.
In the book’s final chapter Ms. Kanter boils down the breadth of her wisdom to the following hackneyed bit of advice: “By now the secret of winning should be clear: Try not to lose twice in a row.” (page 350) The author believes this sentence to be so valuable, indeed, so profound, that she makes it a separate paragraph.
The author indulges herself with superfluous detail that can drive the reader to distraction. For example, in describing the Philadelphia Eagles’ need to prioritize their resources and efforts, Ms. Kanter included the following sentence: “Andy Reid’s request for software for his Avid computer system had to take a backseat to the technology needs of the stadium.” (page 157). This excess verbiage, and countless other examples, is testament to the author’s lack of consideration for the fact that the reader’s time is valuable, and we struggle with information overload.
Ms. Kanter’s frequent references to herself reminds one of a tabloid gossip columnist seeking to convey his/her own self importance. We learn the names of her son and husband, the breed of dog she has, that she lives in Cambridge and walks to work at Harvard Business School along the Charles River in Boston and that she vacations in Martha’s Vineyard and Miami. That she was one of the few to be invited to the Economic Summits of both Presidents Bush (senior) and Clinton. And that she plays tennis. It seems to this reviewer that the author includes this insipid text to hide the fact that she does not have much to say of value to the reader.
The excessive use of first person pronouns is perhaps unequaled in managerial professional literature. In the 3.5 paragraphs found on the first page of the Preface, a reader will find the words “my” or “I” 20 times – that’s not a typo, twenty uses of first person pronouns in 3.5 paragraphs. I compared the first Preface page of several of the highly regarded management guru Peter Drucker’s books and found a complete lack of first person pronouns. Ms. Kanter’s extreme reference to herself is consistent throughout the book. It’s as if she had no help researching and writing the book. Her assistants and collaborators should be forever thankful of the oversight.
If this book was written by “John Doe” of “No-Name Business School,” it would have never been accepted for publication because it is poorly written and contains very little of value.
Recommendations:
Wonderful books on leadership available from Amazon:
1) “John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do” by John P. Kotter. The entire book is great, though a little dry, chapters 1 and 4 are brilliant and are worth rereading every year.
2) “Leading At The Edge” by Dennis N. T. Perkins. Perkins’ book draws on the incredible story of Shackleton’s 1914 – 1916 Antarctic Expedition to reveal the power of effective organizational leadership under conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity, and rapid change. The book uncovers 10 lessons complete with inspiring examples from the Shackleton expedition, as well as contemporary business case studies of the strategies in action on what it takes to be a great leader. A wonderfully written book with very valuable ideas.
Books on “confidence” from Amazon:
1) “Learned Optimism” by Martin E. P. Seligman. Optimism and confidence are inextricably linked. The book is a very interesting to read and provides a self-test to help the reader determine if they look at the world with pessimistic lenses or optimistic lenses. He then goes on to offer techniques for enhancing one’s optimism and, therefore, one’s confidence. A well researched and written book.
The word “confidence” gets overused and abused among many personal and business coaches, so I was surprised to see Kanter’s choice of title. In a way, it’s misleading, because Kanter focuses more broadly on how to capitalize on winning streaks and turn around losing streaks. Confidence is only part of a leadership formula.
Kanter chooses sports examples because they’re clear-cut. Wins and losses are easy to identify. However, the lessons from those case histories apply to a variety of business, organizational and personal situations.
If you read carefully, she warns that turnarounds aren’t easy. “Try not to lose twice in a row,” she warns. If you conclude there’s no point in trying to win, there’s trouble ahead. Signs of a losing streak include weak accountability, deteriorating relationships and disappearing initiative. “The only good thing about losing is that it sounds an alarm bell,” she concludes.
Once you realize you’re on a losing streak, Kanter emphasizes, you need to build, not retreat. Stay calm, she says. Dig deeper. Work harder. Seek support, even when you feel like hiding. And most important, remember you can’t “jump the processes.” Use small steps to achieve big goals. Everybody wants a quick fix and that’s a surefire recipe for disaster.
As a career consultant, I am often asked how to break individual losing streaks. Typically a client says something like, “I lost my job, got sick, had family crises, and had to move. And now I’m defeated.” Or clients lose one job after another, fueled by discouragement.
Kanter’s book has to be translated to reach individuals. Her message seems to be, “Someone has to take charge.” In one moving example, a family rallied behind a teenager who was failing math. They bought him nice clothes to communicate, “You’re worth it.” The stigma of hiring a tutor was defused by making the tutor a member of “Team Robert.” In another example, a woman’s public humiliation was defused by her husband’s strong encouragement.
So if you lack an insightful manager or empathetic relatives, you may have to draw your own plan. Coaches and consultants may become your change managers. I’m working on an article for my website on this very topic.
Bottom line, though, this book clearly targets managers who are in a position to mastermind a turnaround. I’d have liked to see more about the way individual employees or team members can handle themselves, regardless of the leader’s capabilities. Should they leave a losing organization? Strengthen themselves and create their own goals?
Kanter has always studied organizations at the macro level and it’s not reasonable to ask her to address individuals now. This book deserves attention for frank, unsparing focus on winners and losers, and for an understanding of the way organizations win and lose every day, all around us.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative perspective on winning and losing
Most of us have either witnessed or been a part of a “winning streak” whether on an individual basis or part of a larger group.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s latest work has successfully identified and elaborated an essential, but often glossed-over component of success (and failure): Confidence (and the lack thereof). The book does a terrific job at tackling a slippery subject — one that would, at first glance, appear to be very hard to study, and even harder to explain. This book could have laid out a theory and left it at that – or it could have told stories without developing a robust conceptual framework. Instead, Kanter’s book digs deep inside the concept with surprisingly in-depth case studies of winners and losers (including business leaders, sports teams, and political leaders), and also builds a fresh and incisive model, filled with valuable take-away lessons. Her penetrating analysis of confidence, though intellectual and serious, is written in a clear and accessible manner. I found it not only to be an interesting and fun read, but also a useful resource for work.
Although it is often implied that confidence is a special quality found only in extraordinary individuals – either you have it or you don’t – or, alternatively, that “all it takes is believing in yourself,” Rosabeth Moss Kanter shows, rather, that confidence is actually a purposeful endeavor, one that can be organized, systematized, and practiced. Only when we understand confidence better, can we successfully apply it in our own lives. And this is why this book is an important read.
1.0 out of 5 stars
A waste of time and money
This was an impulse buy that I now regret. In retrospect I wish I had first gone to Amazon to check the unusually high number of 1-star reviews this book has received…
5.0 out of 5 stars
A life explained
This book is about me, you, my company, you company and our countries. Rosabeth details with exact science why we experience highs and unfortunately the lows.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great concept! Wish it had been a better read.
I’m torn in this review… LOVED the high points and the premise – intriguing and powerful… the concepts are tought provoking and the illustrations on point.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dynamics of Success
With the recent surge in books about presidential politics, national intelligence failures, international terrorism, the testimonies of present and past military heroes, and Iraq,…
1.0 out of 5 stars
“patience” –needed to read this book from begin to end
I had great expectations of this book as it started out OK. But soon (within a couple chapters) I realized that the author had run out of new things to say.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A professorial look at the key components of confidence
Why do winning streaks and losing streaks continue in sports, business, politics, education and even in individual personal lives?
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accountability, Collaboration and Initiative!
Confidence, as argued by Rosabeth Kanter, is not a state, it is a trajectory. Whether you look at a sports team, a business, a nation, or an individual, they are all subject to…
1.0 out of 5 stars
Makes Harvard Look Bad
This is one of the worst written books I’ve had the displeasure of reading. I can spare you the misery.