Becoming the Best
“Becoming the Best is both brilliant and powerful. Harry Kraemer recognizes the importance of values-based leadership and provides a focused and insightful how-to primer. He captures the relevance of five often overlooked intangibles that make leadership effective at any level. If you only have time to read one book on leadership, this book is for you.”
“With Becoming the Best, Harry Kraemer has produced another compelling and insightful addition to the leadership literature. He is not only an accomplished businessman and teacher, he is also a wonderful writer.”
“Harry Kraemer has done it again. While management is primarily a business skill, leadership is primarily a human skill – a profoundly human endeavor, in fact, because the most powerful manifestations of leadership occur when we link our day-to-day business activities and behaviors to our overall life values and goals. Once again Harry is shedding light on this challenging trail so that more of us can put on our hiking boots and backpacks and begin or continue this wonderful journey.”
“An award-winning teacher and inspirational leader, Harry Kraemer provides a unique and powerful approach to leadership grounded in the practice of self-reflection and self-knowledge. Becoming the Best is an essential guide for all who aspire to become more authentic and impactful leaders.”
“Becoming the Best builds on Harry Kraemer's principles of values-based leadership and offers a practical way to apply these values to one's self, to one's team, and beyond. Often this type of advice is most anxiously consumed by those starting out in their careers who look to an experienced CEO and leader like Harry to help show them the right path. But the real value of this book is for current CEOs and others already in leadership positions who also value advice on how to improve their performance. Often, those of us in leadership positions don't get that feedback from our colleagues. Becoming the Best helps fill that critical gap.”
“Harry Kraemer is my go-to expert on organizational leadership. There is no one speaking or writing today who has a firmer fix on what it takes and what it means to be a values-based leader. He is self-reflective, properly balanced in perspective, and always guided by true self-confidence and genuine humility. He has made a difference in how executives better understanding the nature of leadership, and I fully expect Becoming the Best will make a difference in how organizations are led into the challenging future that we all face.”
“Becoming the Best provides a compelling combination of aspirational goals and practical advice, valuable at any point in a career. The book reminds us that values-based leadership creates organizations that truly excel on all levels including shareholder return. In each chapter Kraemer's advice and real-world examples challenged me to improve my own leadership style and team skills.”
Becoming the Best
Build a World-Class Organization through Values-Based Leadership
Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr.
Cover design: Wiley
Copyright © 2015 by Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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ISBN 978-1-118-99942-4 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-118-99943-1 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-118-99944-8 (ebk)
Dedication
To my colleagues from Baxter International – American Hospital Supply, Caremark, Edwards Lifesciences, Allegiance – and Madison Dearborn Partners who taught me what it really means to be a values-based leader.
To my classmates from Abington Heights School in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Lawrence University, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, who have joined me on the leadership journey.
To my spiritual advisor, Father Edward Sthokal, S.J., leader of the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House, who for 30 years has taught me the benefit of silent self-reflection and prayer.
To my parents, the late Harry and Patricia Kraemer, who built the foundation of my values.
To my wife, Julie Jansen Kraemer, who by her love and example encourages me to be my best self.
To my children, Suzie, Andrew, Shannon, Diane, and Daniel, who will forever be my best team.
Introduction: From Four Principles to Five Bests
Over the past four years, since the publication of my previous book, From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership, I have spoken to more than 500 groups across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. With every audience – whether business, government, spiritual, or academic – I encountered a strong desire to learn more about values-based leadership, which is founded on four principles:
1. Self-Reflection: The ability to identify and reflect on