Flight of the Buffalo

In this summary you will learn

• How to empower your employees
• How effective leaders instill a sense of pride and responsibility in their workforce
• Which four rules will guide you to new leadership

getAbstract rating

Why you should read Flight of the Buffalo

James A. Belasco and Ralph C. Stayer have written an insightful book, the title of which derives from the authors’ vision of traditional companies as milling buffalo herds. The book’s central metaphor follows from this vision – modern leaders must transform their companies from buffalo herds to flocks of geese, in which each bird takes a turn at the head of the V. Their straightforward prose is peppered with real-world examples, and Belasco and Stayer display a refreshing willingness to reveal their own past leadership shortcomings in explaining the concepts that they propose. Many of these concepts boil down to a simple and hardly original axiom: Empower your employees. But by presenting these ideas in a down-to-earth style that’s illustrated by entertaining anecdotes, the book brings life to advice that otherwise might seem cliché. getAbstract recommends this book to professionals new to management, and to more experienced executives looking for an accessible introduction to the rationale, theory and practice of employee empowerment.

About the Authors

James A. Belasco  is a professor of management at San Diego State University, wrote Teaching the Elephant to Dance: Empowering Change in your Organization. He worked with such organizations as IBM, AT&T, Royal Dutch Shell, Ralston Purina and Merck. Ralph C. Stayer  is the former CEO of Johnsonville Foods, where his pioneering innovations were featured in Tom Peter’s management video, The Leadership Alliance. Stayer now consults with such organizations as AT&T, Frito-Lay, BMW and McDonnell Douglas.