Blog

  • Reflections on Leadership Training

    My plan for the next few weeks, or perhaps months, on this blog is to discuss some of my ideas about leadership training.  This is one of my ‘pet’ subjects, talking about leadership teaching in our professional schools, and leadership training in our organizations.  And, since this whole ‘leadership training’ thing is a concept that seems universally in vogue these

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • Favorable reactions to our latest book in the French press

    Co-author Loïck Roche and I have been quite pleased recently about early reactions to our book about leadership and storytelling.  There were two particularly well-written, and very positive, articles in La Tribune, an influential daily newspaper focused on business and economic news. For those of you who do read French, one of these reviews you’ll find here. Last week, I

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • Lévi-Strauss and storytelling

    Last week, Claude Lévi-Strauss, one of my favorite anthropologists, died in Paris at age 100.  Lévi-Strauss was a true giant of French and worldwide intellectual life, and his impact was felt far beyond anthropology. Among his deepest interests were language and the role of storytelling, particularly in primitive societies.  Building on the work of pioneering linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, Lévi-Strauss

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • The French storytelling book and the World Business Forum

    In recent weeks, I have been quite busy around with two events: the publication of our recent book in French (with Loïck Roche), and a trip to Buenos Aires to speak at the World Business Forum. Both of these experiences have been interesting and fruitful for me, as they gave me the opportunity to review and reflect on many of

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • You can, and should, refuse to accept the context (continued)

    Example 3:  A Scandinavian woman studying in France was somewhat dismayed by the attitude some of the people in her building toward garbage and recycling.  In her country, she said, people simply paid far more attention to the separation of waste.  She thought that with a little more effort, they could do something more responsible for society and the environment.

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling
  • You can, and should, refuse to accept the context

    When we begin to see leadership in terms of influencing the context and the people around you, we quickly realize that leadership opportunities present themselves often in our everyday lives. As I stated previously, I often ask students or executives in seminars to find and talk about leadership events in their own lives.  If they get ‘stuck’ trying to find things

    Read more
    John Sadowsky Leadership & Storytelling