PROFITS, PROPHETS, COACHES, AND KINGS

A wide-ranging examination of the impact of leaders on some key institutions.

Retired professor Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1997) takes a jaunty, entertaining look at the roles that individual leaders play—and the limits of those roles in politics, business, sports, and religion. He moves between beguiling biographical sketches of some key figures and more technical statistical analysis of data regarding the impact of leaders on the success or failure of their businesses, teams, governments, or religions. His assessment is often based on what happened when those leaders were removed from their positions, whether by death or some other means. He concludes, unsurprisingly, that depending on the circumstances, some leaders have more impact than others and few pass what he calls the “Hamlet test,” the assumption that, for example, no other contemporary could have produced the works of art that Shakespeare did. It’s not in its conclusions but on a more granular level that the book fascinates. Diamond will convince even the most sports-averse that studying the effects of replacing one basketball coach for another provides insight into similar replacement of business executives and national leaders. He focuses in on relatively unfamiliar figures—like Seretse Khama, the first leader of Botswana after the country achieved independence, and Lynda and Stewart Resnick, founders of the American pomegranate juice industry—and makes a case that they were uniquely situated to achieve outstanding results. He makes a convincing argument that the success or failure of a religion depends not just on a “charismatic founder” but an “outstanding organizer” and maybe a military leader and backs up his point with studies of the Mormon Church, the Shakers, and Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple. His nimble, irreverent approach and insatiable curiosity lead to enlightening connections that stodgier academics wouldn’t notice.

Intriguing insights into just how much a leader matters (or doesn’t).