Ego Check: Why Executive Hubris is Wrecking Companies and Careers and How to Avoid the Trap

A former investment banker and venture capitalist, Hayward (Leeds School of Business, U. of Colorado, Boulder) explores the sources of false confidence among executives and specific approaches for their management. Following an examination of the roots of hubris, the text features case studies of failures and successes, including Apple Computer’s Steve Jobs and John Sculley, Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a comparison of Scaled Composites and NASA, Vivendi CEO Jean Marie Messier, and Michael Dell of Dell Inc. Hayward identifies links between solid executive decision making and successful business outcomes, and offers frameworks and concepts allowing executives the benefits of a healthy ego without the dangerous excesses of executive hubris. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)