By and About Leaders: 8/19/14

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I think that one of the best ways to learn leadership isn’t studying “leadership” at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. Articles by and about leaders and interviews with them are mini-case studies that show you an actual leader in a real situation. That’s why, every week, I bring you a selection of post about individual leaders. This week I’m pointing you to pieces by and about Barney Harford, Richard Hytner, Jamie McCourt, Amanda Lang, and Frederick Gale Ruffner Jr.

From the NY Times: Barney Harford of Orbitz, on Finding a Team That Fits

“The chief of Orbitz Worldwide appreciates workers with deep expertise in an area who also have curiosity about their overall organization.”

From Lillian Cunningham: Why I didn’t want to be CEO anymore

“It has become something of a taboo in our society to say you don’t want to be a leader — especially if you are one. Richard Hytner, a former CEO at the global advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi, experienced it firsthand and is trying to break that stigma. In this interview, edited lightly for length and clarity, Hytner shares more about his own decision to resign as CEO and instead take on a deputy chairman position.”

From Forbes: From Baseball to the Boardroom: How a Wise CEO Picks Talent

“This article is by Jamie McCourt, former chief executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who has invested in Zipcar, Yo, and other startups.”

From James Bradshaw: CBC’s Amanda Lang: the accidental business expert

“Amanda Lang’s road to becoming the face of business news at the CBC, where she is senior business correspondent and has hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange for nearly five years, was one of apprenticeships. She has made a career strategy of grabbing opportunities as they arise, driven by a what she describes as a craving to keep “learning for a living.””

From JC Reindl and Brent Snavely: Frederick Ruffner, founder of reference book powerhouse Gale Research, dies at 88

“Frederick Gale Ruffner Jr., who founded one of the largest reference book publishing companies in the world from a rented desk in Detroit’s now-vacant Book Tower, died Tuesday following a long illness. He was 88.”

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