ENDORSEMENTS

SOUTH KOREA /

SINGAPORE

This is a wonderful book on leadership. Many people might have been overexposed in their childhood years to the stories of heroic leaders who have saved their countries against all odds. This book touches upon the essence of leadership to create a work environment where team members can show their bests without noticing they are led from the back.

Sea-Jin Chang

Techno-SK Chair Professor,
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST),
Lim Kim San Chair Professor,,
National University of Singapore Business School,
author, Sony vs Samsung

CHINA

Ravi, a seasoned veteran, has been a source of inspiration for MBA and Executive students at CEIBS for nearly a decade. In his latest work, he has distilled his valuable insights and extensive experience into the concept of ‘Leading from the Back’ which in collaboration with Harry Paul and Dr Ross Reck, is presented in an engaging and accessible fable format. Innovative, empowering and captivating, a must read for current and aspiring executives alike.

Dr Yuan Ding

Cathy Capital Chair Professor of Accounting and
Former Vice President and Dean, China Europe International
Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai

INDIA

Much has been written about different forms of leadership. Hands-on management, micro-management, leading from the front, manpower management and the like, but very little has been written about managing from the back. This calls for a different type of management—a management that is often more difficult to execute and which calls for patience and a softer touch. Ravi Kant has endeavoured to share his experience in this less defined area, providing his insights and softer management style. It makes very interesting reading and will enrich the reader in his or her sensitivity and result orientation.

Ratan N. Tata

Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons

INDIA

Leading from the Back is an insightful book for budding managers for developing and growing as corporate leaders. Ravi’s four decades of management experience in successfully leading companies, creating cohesive teams and grooming managers, captured in the book, clearly bring out the behavioural transformations necessary in leadership development. I highly recommend this for all professional managers.

N. Chandrasekaran

Chairman, Tata Sons

INDIA

loved the core idea of “leading from the back”, the insightful conclusions as also the profound yet practical messages. The book is extremely readable due to its innovative conversational style. In fact, I read through it during my two-hour flight to Delhi in one go!

Dr Raghunath Mashelkar

FRS
Former Director General,
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

INDIA

Leading from the Back is a thought-provoking book, and is a reminder for leaders that they are enablers who need to achieve results through others, and not doers who need to make everything happen by themselves. It is a style of leadership that seeks to get the best out of the team members and other stakeholders and to sustain high performance over the long term. The message comes from a highly credible professional.’

S. Ramakrishna Velamuri

Professor and Dean, School of Management,
Mahindra University

INDIA

Leading from the back is so unique as a concept in leadership that I hope a lot of young and middle managers read it in the early days of their career before they get irrevocably brainwashed to lead from the front at any cost. Even senior practicing managers like us can, I hope, learn new tricks. It is like a necker cube—a different way to look at things that, once you get it, the world will never be the same. This logical but unusual way of getting things done has immense value to the world of small businesses, family businesses, mega-corporations—actually not only business—but all walks of human endeavour where groups of humans are involved—politics, social organizations, sports and even the family. And it will make all of them more effective, more productive and more happy.

Subhadip Dutta Choudhury

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Hawkins Cookers Ltd.

SWITZERLAND /

CHINA

Ravi Kant is one of these discrete leaders who prefer to lead from behind. The power and effectiveness of his leadership style has been illustrated by his brilliant career as an exceptional international business executive. Leading from the Back authored by Ravi, Harry and Ross is the book I wish I always had but never found. It is full of pragmatic advice and great wisdom on how to make a difference in any organization. Leading from the Back is an insightful and most provocative book that I am glad to recommend to anyone interested in being a better leader.

Dr Dominique Turpin

Co-President and Professor of Marketing,
China Europe International Business School, Shanghai
and former President, Dean and Nestle Professor,
IMD, Lausanne

FINLAND

Much of what passes for management wisdom is really just common sense: Respect your employees! Don’t micromanage! Build trust! Allow people to work at what they do best! Leading from the Back, a new book by my good friend Ravi Kant with Harry Paul and Ross Reck is full of this kind of common sense advice, but it distinguishes itself from other books of the genre by the genial, perceptive and useful way it moulds them into a systematic approach to management that is easy to understand, remember and apply.

Leading from the Back is a clear and entertaining parable about an ambitious but misguided manager, Shiv Kundra, who turns his career around by learning how to lead from the back. This seemingly counter-intuitive tale offers the reader a compact programme for implementing best leadership practices in a very human way. In just one week, Shiv, with the help of a few experienced colleagues, is able to revise completely his approach to management and begin leading a team and project on the brink of disaster toward unpredicted success. The message is clear: If he can become a successful leader by leading from the back as described in the book, so can you.

My father, Pekka Herlin, achieved considerable success during the last third of the twentieth century by leading KONE Corporation from the back, and I have tried to follow in his footsteps. Nevertheless, I think we both could have benefitted from the systematic way Leading from the Back organizes and simplifies the lessons every manager must learn and apply to become successful over time. The book should be of great value not only to young managers at the start of their careers but to experienced managers who may need to be reminded of how important the skills, teamwork and commitment of everyone in the organization are to a leader’s success.

Leading from the Back is easy and enjoyable to read, but this does not mean its message isn’t profound. Making complex issues simple enough to understand is the sign of good teaching. I recommend Leading from the Back enthusiastically to anyone interested in how to acquire and implement the characteristics needed to become a successful manager.

Antti Herlin

Chairman of the Board,
Kone Corporation, Helsinki

UK

I remember from my early days in industry that getting to know your team was almost discouraged, you were advised to keep a little distant—in case people noticed that the “magical qualities” of a manager didn’t really exist perhaps! Reminding aspiring leaders that people work better for people they like is very timely. And you don’t have to be cleverer than everyone who works for you—it also gives hope to those who weren’t top of the class at college—you don’t have to be the cleverest person in the room to be the best leader—and reminds us that we shouldn’t just look at academic achievement, but a balanced scorecard of ability and behaviour when promoting people.

An easy read and a great book for the young aspiring leader about to take on their first leadership role, or stepping up form a small team to a larger one.

Julia King

DBE, FREng, FRS, FMed Sci
The Baroness Brown of Cambridge
Former Vice Chancellor, Aston University

UK

There are more leaders failing today, than ever before. That begs the question—“Are there fewer leaders in the world today?” It’s not that there are fewer leaders today, but what is required for them to succeed has changed dramatically. The traditional image of the all-knowing, hard driving and decisive CEO is under examination.

Leading from the Back is a must read for those in leadership roles or aspiring to be future leaders. The book explores leadership challenges in a very innovative manner, examining everyday business issues and the impact of our behaviours and actions. We all have the potential to improve as leaders and this book will provide a few takeaways for even the most experienced leaders. It’s probably the most productive one hour you will spend in your leadership transformation journey.

Rajeev Vasudeva

Former CEO
Egon Zehnder International

UK

In Leading from the Back, Mr Ravi Kant draws on his distinguished career in Tata Motors and elsewhere to flesh out an original theory of leadership. Written in an engaging style of a parable with many disparate characters, the authors break new ground and this is a must read for all regardless of the type of organization they lead.

Jaideep Prabhu

Professor of Marketing, Cambridge Judge Business School
and co-author of Jugaad Innovation

UK

Leading from the Back is not a conventional leadership book loaded with pompous examples and jargon. From beginning to end, the book presents pearls of wisdom in the form of reflective conversations amongst various characters in a story each representing a real-life manager including a coach who sometimes plays a mentoring role. The larger plot and the stories within are woven around real situations that managers face on a day-to-day basis. Thus, as a reader it is easy to connect with the script and feel part of the story.

Lalit Johri

Former Senior Fellow in International Business
and Director of Oxford Advanced Management
and Leadership Programme, Said Business School, University of Oxford
and author of the book Mastering the Power of You

USA

Leading from the Back is set to revolutionize our thinking and approach to leadership in the current context. Put in a simple story form, it is a must read for all.

Ram Charan

Advisor to CEOs and boards of Fortune 100 companies
and author of 35 books and coauthor of best seller Execution

USA

While we all may agree with Lao Tzu’s observation, “The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, “We did it ourselves,” few know how to actually becomethatgreatleader. Inthisbook,LeadingfromtheBack, the authors brilliantly lay out a step by step methodology for becoming that leader Lao Tzu mentioned and provide an easy to follow road map to leadership success.

Hap Klopp

Founder and twenty-year CEO,
The North Face®

USA

Are you tired of constantly micromanaging every project and feeling like you’re not making progress in your career? Leading from the Back: To Achieve the Impossible is the must- read book that will change the way you approach challenges. The authors, Ravi Kant, Harry Paul, and Ross Reck, tell the story of Shiv Kundra, a successful manager who learns the hard way that failure is a natural part of the journey to success. Through practical advice and real-life examples, including Bill Clinton’s story, the authors show readers how to turn their failures into opportunities for growth. This book is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to be a successful leader or team member, and it will inspire you to take on new challenges with confidence and a new perspective. Don’t miss out on this game-changing book!

Thomas Frey

Futurist

USA

Ravi Kant, himself a legendary CEO, who steered the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover while he led Tata Motors, knows a thing or two about leading a complex multinational organization. In his fifty years of experience, Kant has pioneered and honed the art of “leading from the back”. Far too many aspiring leaders fall into the trap of seeking followers in a literal sense, by running ahead of their organizations and their teams, casting themselves in some combination of messiah, commander, and hero. Kant, along with his co-authors, Harry Paul and Dr Ross Reck, turn that cliched model of leadership on its head. They make leading from the back a learnable art through this very readable and captivating book.

The tradecraft of this novel form of leadership is delivered in three parts through the medium of a novel; the three parts offer specific directions for how the leader ought to be, how the leader deals with the team and how the leader deals with the task. Everyone who someday aims to inspire others to do their best work must read this essential book and practise the concepts of authentic and truly effective leadership that Kant and his co-authors so brilliantly articulate. Best of all, the ideas here are not just a work of fiction; Kant has actually practised it and the thousands he has inspired are proof that Leading from the Back works, especially with today’s empowered employees. It may be the only form of leadership that stands the test of time.

Bhaskar Chakravorti

Dean of Global Business,
The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University,
founder of the Institute for Business in the Global Context and Digital Planet,
and author of The Slow Pace of Fast Change

USA

I am delighted that Ravi has shared his learnings and wisdom culled from his decades long rich, varied and distinguished career. Ravi, Harry and Ross present clearly a new concept of leadership and easy to understand steps for implementing it. Leading from the back is an idea whose time has come for universal adoption. All of us can learn from it.

Dr John A. Quelch

Leonard M. Miller University Professor
and Former Dean of University of Miami
Herbert Business School

USA

I’ve known Ravi for more than a decade and I’ve personally benefited from his wisdom. In Leading from the Back, Ravi and his co-authors Harry Paul and Ross Reck tell the story of a talented executive who hasn’t learned that it is the servant leaders that are most impactful. If you want to be a leader who has impact with employees, customers and stakeholders, this book is for you!

Theodore Dysart

Managing Director,
Russell Reynolds Associates

USA

A story that all leaders should read and lessons all leaders must apply. Today’s leaders face unprecedently complexity and challenges. What they need is a simple and actionable playbook for how to manage themselves, engage their teams, and deliver business results. Leading from the Back delivers this and more in a way that will capture the imagination of leaders at all levels.

Julie Winkle Giulioni

Co-author of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go
and author of Promotions Are SO Yesterday

USA

It has been an honour and privilege to have been mentored by Ravi Kant. It is exciting that thousands more people can learn from him through Leading from the Back. This book contains a lot of wisdom packed in an enjoyable and easy to read format.

Alvin Rohrs

President & CEO Worldwide (1982–2016),
Enactus Inc., Springfield, Missouri

Endorsements from Thought & Corporate Leaders

Sea-Jin Chang

Dr Yuan Ding

Ratan N. Tata

N. Chandrasekaran

Dr Raghunath Mashelkar

S. Ramakrishna Velamuri

Subhadip Dutta Choudhury

Dr Dominique Turpin

Antti Herlin

Julia King

Rajeev Vasudeva

Jaideep Prabhu

Lalit Johri

Ram Charan

Hap Klopp

Thomas Frey

Bhaskar Chakravorti

Dr John A. Quelch

Theodore Dysart

Julie Winkle Giulioni

Alvin Rohrs

Get your Copy today!

Endorsements from Thought
& Corporate Leaders