The Outsiders

What characterizes leaders who achieve truly exceptional results over long periods? They are unknown to the general public and implement management styles that nobody would recommend!

The author identified eight American leaders who obtained astounding growth rates even in times of crisis, while a Jack Welch ensured “only” 20% growth and the S&P 500 grew by a mere 14%. William Thorndike explores these eight examples and shows that the strategies of these leaders are very remote from the dominant models taught in business schools. They rely almost exclusively on a financial vision of the business. The author even speaks of a paradigm change, because these leaders choose to focus on the allocation of capital and delegate business matters entirely to the Director of Operations.

Although these leaders are diametrically opposite to Jack Welch or Donald Trump, they managed to build great successes in their respective fields. They offer an opportunity to take inspiration from counter-intuitive practices and challenge the choices and priorities that we consider—perhaps wrongly—to be perfectly rational and sensible.