The Age of Heretics

The Age of Heretics WHEN THE FIRST EDITION OF The Age of Heretics was published to wide critical acclaim in 1996, it was considered the definitive account of the revolution in management from the 1940s to the current time. In this second edition of his bestselling book, author Art Kleiner explores the nature of effective leadership in times of change and defines its importance to the corporation of the future. He describes a heretic as a visionary who creates change in large-scale companies, balancing the contrary truths they can't deny against their loyalty to their organizations. The Age of Heretics reveals how managers can get stuck in counterproductive ways of doing things and shows why it takes a heretical point of view to get past the deadlock and move forward. This engrossing history lesson for business change agents and reformers is filled with groundbreaking management thought and compelling stories of the heretics of our time. Some of the figures, such as W. Edwards Deming, Kurt Lewin, Amory Lovins, and Saul Alinsky, are familiar to many, while others may be less widely known but influential behind the scenes. While these heretics were underappreciated in their time-and often demoted for their radical ideas-the ideals they fought for live on in the everchanging American corporation. For today's leaders, The Age of Heretics reveals how to make transformative strategic changes while simultaneously running a company. This new edition explores the roots of today's most prevalent management ideas: lean production, organization development, the balanced scorecard, and reengineering, as well as other key areas of change such as group dynamics, scenario planning, shareholder activism, sociotechnical systems, and corporate environmentalism. This is the guidebook for progressive thinkers who want to transform their corporations and the entire business landscape.