University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Power of We
Book

The Power of We

Succeeding Through Partnerships

Jonathan M. Tisch and Karl Weber
Wiley, 2004
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Hotelier Jonathan Tisch has little but contempt for the slash-and-burn business leaders of the ’90s. Now-disgraced CEOs such as Sunbeam’s Al Dunlap, Tyco’s Dennis Kozlowski and Enron’s Jeff Skilling embraced a new form of libertarianism, running their companies to enrich themselves. Tisch, head of the Loews Hotels chain, touts a different kind of capitalism, in which companies embrace the idea of cooperation and partnership instead of a strategy of winning at all costs. Tisch offers a compelling argument that this kinder and gentler approach is more profitable in the long run. He includes plenty of very interesting examples of partnership at his own company, although these tales can seem a bit self-serving. getAbstract.com recommends this intriguing title to managers who are interested in profits, but not profits at any cost.

Summary

A Different Approach to Leadership

Think of a titan of industry, and the image you’ll conjure up likely is that of a ruthless negotiator, a fierce competitor, an aggressive decision-maker and a no-nonsense manager. The captain of industry doesn’t let anyone within his own company stop his ambitions, nor does he allow competitors, regulators or other outsiders to interfere with the goals of his company. This self-fulfilling stereotype applies to many of the superstar CEOs who show up on the covers of business magazines, only to be disgraced later, done in by their all-too-effective skills at outmaneuvering, dominating and exploiting others. As these adept manipulators ultimately discover, fear is an effective management tool for only so long. CEOs who stand the test of time learn to temper their hard-nosed instincts and pursue partnerships instead.

Partnership isn’t a new idea, but it’s a concept that clearly fell out of favor amid the boom years of the ’90s. As the U.S. economy blossomed, many business leaders embraced a misguided form of libertarianism that places the individual above all. This ideology, touted by the acolytes of novelist Ayn Rand and economist Milton...

About the Authors

Jonathan M. Tisch is chairman and chief executive officer of Loews Hotels, the luxury lodging chain. A leader in the tourism industry, Tisch headed the Travel Business Roundtable, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and NYC & Co., New York City’s official tourism marketing group. Karl Weber is a freelance writer who covers business and current affairs. He is the co-author of How to Grow When Markets Don’t and How Digital Is Your Business?

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