Articles

N. R. Narayana Murthy

N. R. Narayana Murthy

Until I read yesterday's Sunday Times article covering Rishi Sunak's bid to become leader of the Conservative Party, I was vaguely aware that his...

Lee Kuan Yew: Creating A Nation

Lee Kuan Yew: Creating A Nation

Below is a short biography of Lee Kuan Yew taken from my book History Lessons, which looks at the great leaders from history and explores what...

Napoleon’s Whiff of Grapeshot

Napoleon’s Whiff of Grapeshot

  In the later phase of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte – then a mere Brigadier General (who had, in fact, recently been struck off...

Abraham Lincoln: boldness of vision

Abraham Lincoln: boldness of vision

  Abraham Lincoln, at a truly critical moment in American history, presented to a troubled and divided nation a clear and commanding vision:...

Zhou Enlai, ‘beloved premier’

Zhou Enlai, ‘beloved premier’

  Zhou Enlai was Premier of the People’s Republic of China from the moment the Chinese Communist Party achieved power in 1949, following their...

100 Great Business Leaders

100 Great Business Leaders

Concise accounts of the careers of 100 great business leaders, exploring the business challenges they faced and the key ideas that made them...

History Lessons

History Lessons

An exploration of what set the great leaders of history apart from their contemporaries and enabled their dramatic successes.

Perform to Win

Perform to Win

Unlocking the secrets of the arts for personal and business success

Blindsided

Blindsided

Throughout history, business and society have been blindsided by people’s irrational and unpredictable behaviour. How could we have been so stupid? ...

Toyota crisis: leadership on the line

Toyota crisis: leadership on the line

Toyota’s leadership team are still struggling with one of the most intriguing – and dangerous – challenges to face a major global corporation in...

Carly Fiorina and the HP Compaq merger

Carly Fiorina and the HP Compaq merger

Carly Fiorina and the HP Compaq merger In September 2001, Hewlett Packard’s gutsy new CEO, Carly Fiorina – ‘the most powerful woman in business,’...

David Packard’s long shadow

David Packard’s long shadow

David Packard, who founded the American electronics giant Hewlett-Packard in the nineteen-thirties with his Stanford University pal Bill Hewlett,...