Warren Bennis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This biographical article or section reads like a résumé.
Please help improve this article by revising it to be neutral and encyclopedic. (help)
Warren G. Bennis
Image:Warren Bennis.jpg
The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2006-11-25.
  It should be possible to replace this fair use image with a freely licensed one. If you can, please do so as soon as is practical.
Born: March 8, 1925
New York City, New York
Occupation: President, University of Cincinnati
University Professor, Distinguished Professor, Business Administration, University of Southern California
Consultant, Werner Erhard and Associates
Chairman, BOD, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Center for Public Leadership
Spouse: Mary Jane O'Donnell, (m. March 8, 1988, div.1991)
Grace Gabe (m. November 29, 1992)
Children: 3
[1]

Warren Gameliel Bennis (March 8, 1925 - ), also known as "Warren J. Bennis", is one of the foremost authorities on organizational development, leadership and change as a lecturer, management and leadership theorist, and writer.

Born in New York City, he is currently University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California. He is also the chairman of the board of directors at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Center for Public Leadership.

Contents

[edit] Military Service

Bennis served in the United States Army, and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

[edit] Career

From 1971 to 1977, Bennis was President of the University of Cincinnati. He also served on the faculty of the MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston University, and University at Buffalo[citation needed].

He has been an adviser to four presidents of the United States, including both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He is the founder of the University of Southern California's Leadership Institute[citation needed].

He has written 27 books on the topic of leadership, consulted and lectured all over the world[citation needed].

[edit] Werner Erhard

[edit] Erhard Seminars Training

Warren Bennis took the EST Training in London, in 1979 :

Another scholar who knows Erhard well is Warren Bennis, professor of business administration at USC. Bennis took the est training in 1979 in London: "It gave me a good sense of who I was at a critical period in my life. I had just ended my time as university president, and I was looking around for new directions."[1]

[edit] Werner Erhard and Associates

Bennis later served as a consultant to Werner Erhard and Associates in the 1980's :

Bennis, who during the early 1980s served as a consultant to Erhard, giving advice on organizational design and leadership techniques, felt that what the training provided in those years was a "restoration of the self": "I'm sort of a loner among my colleagues. The people I know have profited from it. I don't think it deserved the bad press it has gotten. Personally, I haven't met a person who has gone through it and not profited."

But Bennis adds that there were problems: "The bad part is the proselytizing, the phone calls you get, the language; there's something missing in the aesthetic of it. And another problem has been the dependence upon Werner himself. Which is not his problem. If you're in that kind of position, sometimes you get disciples as opposed to students."

"I have to say," adds Bennis, "that it's an incredible puzzle for me that he has acquired such a negative image among so many people. I detect a lot of hostility, and I don't understand it. A lot of my friends are Jewish, and I'm Jewish, and often they see est as a quick fix for making money from losers.

"But many of my colleagues who criticize Erhard have grown up in a deterministic environment. The world they know was created by Freud, Darwin and Marx -- all men who believed in limits. I think Erhard is talking from a different perspective, and sometimes that's threatening to people who are resigned to the death-on-the-installment plan."[2]

[edit] John F. Kennedy School of government

Werner Erhard and his associate Gonneke Spits attended this event in honor of Bennis :

Werner Erhard, individual, organizational, and social transformation expert; and Gonneke Spits, who has worked with Werner Erhard for the past 40 years[3]

[edit] Appears in Documentary

In 2006, Warren Bennis appeared alongside Landmark Forum Leaders Laurel Scheaf and Randy McNamara, 60 Minutes and the Assassination of Werner Erhard author Jane Selfand Werner Erhard in the Robyn Symon documentary: Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard[4].

[edit] Associated Publications

[edit] Recognition

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/marmac.htm The Return of Werner Erhard: Guru II], Los Angeles Magazine, May, 1988, Vol 33; No 5; Sec 1; pg 106, Mark MacNamara, San Francisco, CA
  2. ^ http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/marmac.htm The Return of Werner Erhard: Guru II], Mark MacNamara
  3. ^ Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of government, Harvard University, May 11, 2004
  4. ^ Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard, Documentary, 2006, Directed by Robyn Symon

[edit] Quotes

  • Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing." - "On Becoming a Leader"
  • The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
  • The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born -- that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.
  • (In future problems will be solved by) task forces composed of relative strangers who represent a set of diverse professional skills.
  • No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to lead their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders.
  • Good leaders make people feel that they're at the heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens, people feel centered, and that gives their work meaning.

[edit] Bibliography

  • 'Beyond Bureaucracy: Essays on the Development and Evolution of Human Organization'
  • 'Beyond Counterfeit Leadership: How You Can Become a More Authentic Leader'
  • 'Beyond Leadership: Balancing Economics, Ethics and Ecology'
  • 'Co-Leaders: The Power of Great Partnerships'
  • 'Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge'
  • 'Managing People Is Like Herding Cats: Warren Bennis on Leadership'
  • 'Managing the Dream: Reflections on Leadership and Change'
  • 'On Becoming a Leader'
  • 'Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration'
  • 'The Unreality Industry: The Deliberate Manufacturing of Falsehood and What It Is Doing to Our Lives '
  • 'Visionary Leadership: Creating a Compelling Sense of Direction for Your Organization'
  • 'Why Leaders Can't Lead: The Unconscious Conspiracy Continues'

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../w/a/r/Warren_Bennis_13df.html"