The Book

View from the Top
An Inside Look at How the People in Power See and Shape the World (Wiley, 2014)
by D. Michael Lindsay

The Idea

D. Michael Lindsay (sociologist and president of Gordon College), conducted in-depth interviews with 550 of the most powerful leaders in the world over the course of 10 years. His subjects included 250 CEOs (including 20 of the Fortune 100 companies), 100 leaders of the world's largest non-profit organizations, 80 U.S. cabinet secretaries, and two former U.S. presidents. Lindsay set out to discover what sets these elite leaders apart. View from the Top details his findings, many of which overturn conventional thinking about what enables people to ascend to the upper echelons of leadership.

Overview

Introduction: Lindsay begins by describing his research methods and goal for the book: "to utilize narratives from the lives of individual leaders to explain general principles." He also addresses the apparent tension between Christian ...