This book serves as a guided introduction to the richly diverse perspectives on leadership throughout the ages and throughout the world. Each of the selections, introduced by the editor, presents enlightening thoughts on a different aspect of leadership. Writings by Plato, Aristotle, Lao-tzu and others demonstrate that the challenges of leadership are as old as civilization. Machiavelli, Tolstoy, Ghandi, and W.E.B. Du Bois provide a wide range of insights into the eternal practice and problems of leadership. Modern masters of leadership such as James MacGregor Burns, John Kotter, and Warren Bennis join such leading practitioners as Max De Pree and Roger B. Smith in discussing contemporary issues in leadership theory and practice.

Now in its eighth edition, The Moral of the Story continues to bring understanding to difficult concepts in moral philosophy through storytelling and story analysis. From discussions on Aristotle’s virtues and vices to the moral complexities of the Game of Thrones series, Rosenstand’s work is lively and relatable, providing examples from contemporary film, fiction narratives, and even popular comic strips. The Connect course for this offering includes SmartBook, an adaptive reading and study experience which guides students to master, recall, and apply key concepts while providing automatically-graded assessments. McGraw-Hill Connect® is a subscription-based learning service accessible online through your personal computer or tablet. Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. Your subscription to Connect includes the following: • SmartBook® - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content. • Access to your instructor’s homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course. • Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement. • The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. This binder-ready, loose-leaf version includes free shipping. Complete system requirements to use Connect can be found here: http://www.mheducation.com/highered/platforms/connect/training-support-students.html

Today’s leading authority on the subject of this text is the author, MIT Standish Professor of Management and Director of the System Dynamics Group, John D. Sterman. Sterman’s objective is to explain, in a true textbook format, what system dynamics is, and how it can be successfully applied to solve business and organizational problems. System dynamics is both a currently utilized approach to organizational problem solving at the professional level, and a field of study in business, engineering, and social and physical sciences.

First edition published in 1980.