Many business executives are increasingly becoming workaholic human-doings, longing to be full and integrated human-beings. They aspire to live with integrity, where their thoughts, values, words and deeds are in harmony. The problem is that they don’t know how to do so in a business world that is increasingly characterised by complexity, turbulence and greed.

Leading with Wisdom provides food for thought for people dealing with these challenges. It contains stories and reflections of 31 inspiring and compassionate business leaders who care about what is truly important in life and who integrate this awareness and sensitivity into their leadership. Leaders who search for meaning, purpose and fulfilment both in the external world of business and in the internal world of consciousness and conscience. Leaders whose leadership is a natural expression of their hearts, minds and souls. In other words, leaders who lead from a spiritual basis.

Such perspectives on leadership are not yet mainstream. Greed, prestige and power appear to still be prime motivating forces for leaders of the world’s larger corporations. In spite of 25 years of globalisation, poverty is still devastatingly ubiquitous in many parts of the world. In striking contrast, the compensation packages of top leaders in business, particularly in the West, have skyrocketed, reaching levels that would have been considered impossible only a decade ago. What is clearly needed is a change in the mind-set, values and principles of our leaders, as well as of those who finance our enterprises, and of those who teach and mentor our future leaders. At the very minimum, what is needed is an expansion of the concept of ‘success’ so that it transcends the prevailing myopic focus on short-term financial gains.

It can be argued that this rampant greed is gradually being tamed, not just by laws, but also by social and ethical norms. In the last two decades there has been an amazing and uplifting focus on such perspectives as business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability. But when leaders are questioned as to why they and their organisations should promote this new and expanded sensitivity to corporate responsibility, their ‘default’ answer typically is that it is profitable - an efficacious means to promote classical business ends of increasing earnings and share prices.

But how and why should such an expanded concept of leadership develop? What should provide the motivation for our leaders to find their way in an increasingly complex business world by using a compass that points not only to a pot of gold, but also to a path to deeper meaning and purpose in business? This book does not provide answers in the form of proposals as to new rules or laws or moral injunctions. Rather it provides a collage of perspectives in the form of stories of highly respected and successful executives who have integrated their spiritual search into their leadership so as to be ‘whole’ people — leaders whose thoughts, words and deeds are in harmony with their most fundamental truths and longings, both at work and in their private lives. These stories tell of an emerging culture where business becomes a primary domain for both individual and organisational spiritual growth

Leading with Wisdom: Spiritual-Based Leadership in Business portrays an emerging global culture. This ground-breaking book offers the experiences and perspectives of 31 top executives from 15 countries in 6 continents. It is based on extensive personal interviews. These are business people who express from first-hand experience what it is like to lead a business from a spiritual basis. They tell amazing, down-to-earth, real-life stories about how spirituality and rationality can go hand in hand in leadership and life.

Their words of wisdom demonstrate that executives who lead from a spiritual basis can achieve success, recognition, peace of mind and happiness, while at the same time serving the needs of all those affected by their leadership.

Written in an engaging style, where the special ‘voice’ of each leader is heard, this book will be profoundly valuable to business leaders at every level and for all people who want to lead with integrity from a spiritual basis.

This book cuts right to the chase in speaking about spiritual-based leadership in a business setting. With high ranking corporate officials from the likes of such multi-national companies as Motorola, Franklin Covey, Infosys and Ernst & Young - the book takes a chainsaw to the myth that a stringent corporate culture devoid of human values is the best path to success. It tears at the fabric of the stereotypical consciousness that business is just business - by allowing these corporate executives to share their experiences which exalt characteristics such as compassion, humility, service, and intuition in daily business.
The WorkLife Monitor
Read the full review and listen to a podcast of an interview with author Peter Pruzan

Leading with Wisdom is an absolutely sensational book. I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t wait to share it with the leaders I meet.
Patricia Aburdene (USA): author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism and, together with John Naisbitt, of Megatrends 2000: Re-inventing the Corporation

I was truly surprised and in disbelief, when Peter Pruzan, a life-long source of inspiration, started lecturing about spirituality and leadership. We shared the conviction that the business of business was much more than business. But ‘spirituality’? What had happened to this stringent and analytical academic? Leading with Wisdom provides the answers. Kirsten and Peter call it ‘spirituality’; I have thought of it as decency, dignity and love of your fellow man. This discussion is not important. This book reminds us that true leadership does not exist unless you are a friend of all mankind and have that as a guiding higher principle. Leading with Wisdom inspires and gives you the courage to preach what you practise.
Mads Øvlisen (Denmark): Chairman of LEGO; Board member, UN Global Compact; former CEO and Chairman, Novo Nordisk

Leading with Wisdom is a milestone in moving conventional thinking forward to a time when we will look back at the present and wonder how people could have led from anyplace other than a spiritual centre. This artificial vacuum — this ‘hole in the leader’s soul’ — has been a root cause of much pain, stress and damage done in the name of free-market capitalism. This book can help leaders become whole—to be fully alive, vital and engaged in what they do.
John Renesch (USA): Businessman-turned-Futurist; former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of New Leaders Press; author of Getting to the Better Future

Leading with Wisdom is a fascinating attempt to capture the essence of the timeless in the tapestry of our times. The authors bring together very credible voices in corporate story-telling. The book will take the reader on a voyage of self-discovery. It may just as well provide a fundamental shift in the way we look at the very purpose of business. It is a trend-setter and a refreshing contrast to conventional success literature.
Dr Debashis Chatterjee (India): Professor and Head, Leadership Centre, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

Compassion, humility, love, and at times even responsibility, are rare attributes in today’s corporate world. Leading with Wisdom shows how these attributes can lead individuals and organizations to excel. Reading it is a deeply enjoyable and enlightening journey into the potential of spiritual-based leadership. I warmly recommend it!
Elena Bonfiglioli (Belgium): Director, Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa); Chair of the Business Group, European Academy of Business in Society

Leading with Wisdom is a rare gem: a truthful, reflective, inspirational text from the front lines of business management. It is a radical interpretation of business as a mission, as a purposeful pursuit that goes to the heart of our existential quest, fulfilling humankind’s ultimate reasons for being. If only this book will pave the way for such interpretation, it will have achieved a tremendously important objective.
Marcello Palazzi (Netherlands): Founder-President, Progressio Foundation; Co-founder, Spirit in Business (EU and USA)

This book is full of eloquent stories. It profiles people who are breaking new ground and leading the way towards a more humane role for business in the world. This is a book that will appeal to your mind, your heart and your soul. It will give you the courage to live and lead and love from a more integrated place.
Dr Judi Neal (USA): President and CEO, Association for Spirit at Work; President, Judi Neal & Associates; author of Edgewalkers

A marvellous challenge to conventional thinking about leadership and the purpose of business in society as well as support for leaders at all levels seeking authenticity in expressing their spirituality in day-to-day decisions and actions. My one wish is that the inspiration of this journey in spiritual-based leadership will reach tomorrow’s leaders, many of whom are sincerely seeking this reassurance that spirituality and leadership are mutually reinforcing.
George Starcher (France): President, European Baha’i Business Forum; former Director, McKinsey & Co. (Paris and Milan)

I found the profiles in Leading with Wisdom to be absolutely fascinating. I could feel the identities of the leaders and their business challenges, even as I appreciated the variety of their spiritual orientations and religious traditions. What I particularly like is the book’s realistic premise that ‘it is enough to realize that these executives have achieved their leadership position while being spiritual’. This is a book for those of us who are naturally sceptical to read, ponder and possibly allow ourselves to be changed by.
Sandra J. Sucher (USA): Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; author of The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools and Insights and Teaching ‘The Moral Leader’

This inspiring book is an authentic account of spirituality in business. The Pruzans engagingly demonstrate that spirituality need not be separated from business practice. The documented examples of extraordinary business leaders show that spirituality can survive and flourish, even in large-scale business organizations.
Dr László Zsolnai (Hungary): Professor and Director, Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest; Co-founder, European SPES Forum (Spirituality in Economics and Social Life)

Leading with Wisdom provides a wealth of intimate insights into the critical importance of our inner compasses in guiding our very purpose for providing leadership to others. Without this well-developed sensibility, no number of policies, rules or systems will provide the much-needed accountability of our leaders for their actions and impacts.
Dr Simon Zadek (UK): CEO, AccountAbility; Senior Fellow, Center for Government and Business, J.F. Kennedy School, Harvard University; author of the award-winning book, The Civil Corporation

This is an odd and dangerous book — and utterly delightful. Odd, because the authors, who obviously know their game, try to obfuscate things with their attempt to fit subjective ruminations of 31 astonishingly likeable business leaders into an objective scheme. Dangerous, because this book will change your mind; you’ll find yourself re-weighing many pieces of your life. Delightful, in every sense of the word: brilliant, light and nimble, and shining with love. It’s a great leadership book!
Dr Jack Hawley (USA): bestselling author of Reawakening the Spirit in Work: The Power of Dharmic Management and The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners

Leading with Wisdom shows us that it is possible to be a human being in the business world, and not be reduced to being simply a ‘human doing’. It invites us to ask ourselves what kind of wisdom is needed to lead today’s organizations, and how we can access this wisdom.
Dr Josep M. Lozano (Spain): Professor, ESADE Business School, Barcelona; Director, Institute for the Individual, Corporations and Society

Leading with Wisdom touched my heart as a leader. But not only did it deeply appeal to my feelings; it also heightened my conscious awareness of the roles of wisdom and love in the art of leadership.
Maria Helena Gomes (Brazil ): Vice President for Latin America, AyurVida S.A.; former President, Olsten do Brazil Ltda

This book highlights the role of businesses in service to society. I truly enjoyed reading this in-depth analysis, brought to life with real-life examples.
Dr Ajay S. Mookerjee (India/USA): President, Harvard Business School, India Research Centre; Country Head, KPMG Business Advisory Services; former Managing Director for Asia, Capital One

So far no one has been able to break into the intellectual fortress: how leaders understand and relate concepts like spirituality, leadership and wisdom, and how they integrate and apply them in their daily life. But Leading with Wisdom pierces a big hole in its walls. A hole through which the reflective reader will be able to glimpse what one day will be the standard way to conceive of the purpose of business in society, and of what business leaders need to do to integrate the inner truths they pursue with the external responsibilities they face.
Dr Maurizio Zollo (France/Italy): Professor, INSEAD, France; from September 2007 Professor, Bocconi University, Italy and Director, Bocconi International Center for Advanced Management Studies

Leading with Wisdom shows that one can achieve leadership positions while being spiritual but is not tempted to claim that people will be more successful in business if they are spiritual. At no point are the authors trying to ‘sell’ spirituality or to ‘translate it into a set of tools’. Spirituality, as experienced by the leaders in this book, is their personal journey which is a source of inner strength and humility.
Dr Marjo Lips-Wiersma (New Zealand): Senior Lecturer, University of Canterbury; past Chair of Management, Spirituality and Religion Interest Group, American Academy of Management

Foreword by Debra and William Miller
Preface
Acknowledgements

Section 1: Love

Janiece Webb, Senior Vice President, Motorola, USA
Lars Kolind, former CEO, Oticon, Denmark
N.S. Raghavan, Joint-founder and former Joint Managing Director, Infosys, India
Francisco Cañada, Director/Partner, Errepar SA, Argentina

Section 2: Looking and Listening Within

Stephen R. Covey, Co-founder and Vice Chairman, FranklinCovey Co., USA
Ramon Ollé, President, Epson Europe BV, The Netherlands
Ricardo Levy, Co-founder and Chairman, Catalytica, Inc., USA
Anand Pillai, Head of Centre for Leadership and Management Excellence, HCL, India
Alvaro Cruz, CEO, ICM Ingenieros Ltd and Governor of Cundinamarca, Colombia
A.K. Chattopadhyay, Senior Vice President, ACC Ltd Refactories Division, India

Section 3: Live It and Serve!

James Sinclair, Chairman, Tanzanian American Development Inc., USA/Tanzania
Flordelis F. Aguenza, COO, Plantersbank, The Philippines
John Behner, former Country Manager, Nabisco, El Salvador
G. Narayana, Executive Chairman, Excel Industries, India
Niran Jiang, CEO, Institute of Human Excellence, Australia

Section 4: Compassion

Niels Due Jensen, Group Chairman, Grundfos Management A/S, Denmark
Rajan Govindan, former Senior Managing Director, Bankers Trust, USA
Carol Franklin, former HR Director, Swiss Re and CEO, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Switzerland

Nilofer Merchant, President, Rubicon Consultants, USA
S.K. Welling, Executive Director, HMT International, Ltd, India

Section 5: Divinity

André L. Delbecq, Director, Institute for Spirituality and Organisational Leadership, Santa Clara University, USA
Ashoke Maitra, HR Director, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times of India Group), India
V.V. Ranganathan, Senior Partner, Ernst & Young, India
Thomas Daugherty, Vice President of Spiritual Care and Values Integration, Methodist Health Care System, USA

Section 6: Purpose
 
Hélène Ploix, Chairman and Managing Director of Pechel Industries and Pechel Industries Partenaires, France
Federico Cuneo, Chairman, American Glass Products, Peru
Parantha Narendran, Strategy Director, Eurotel Telecom, Czech Republic
Deependra Moitra, former General Manager Electronics, Lucent Technologies, India
Ananth Raman, Chairman, Graphtex, Inc., USA
Magnus Vrethammar, President, Finesse, Switzerland & Pergo, UK

Section 7: Balance and Grace

Amber Chand, Co-founder, Eziba, USA
Amber Chand, Founder, The Amber Chand Collection, USA

Section 8: Harvesting the Wisdom

Epilogue: Spiritual-Based Leadership beyond Business
Giving Wings to the Divine Fire 
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India

Appendix A: Research Methodology
Appendix B: Business Topics Addressed in the Profiles

Dr Peter Pruzan is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He is internationally known for his work on business ethics, values-based leadership, corporate responsibility and spirituality in business. He has degrees from Princeton (BSc), Harvard (MBA), Case- Western Reserve (PhD) and the University of Copenhagen (Dr Polit.). He has been the president of a successful, international business and has authored 11 books and over 100 articles in international scientific journals. Together with his wife, Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen, he spends several months each year in India, where he is guest professor at leading business schools. Leading.with.wisdom@gmail.com Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen is an eminent journalist and former newspaper editor at Berlingske Tidende, a major daily national newspaper in Denmark. As a journalist she has worked on assignments in more than 50 countries reporting on the human aspects of development politics as well as interviewing politicians, presidents, kings, spiritual masters, authors and business executives.

... together with:
Debra and William Miller, residents of India and the co-founders of the USA-based Global Dharma Center, a non-sectarian, non-profit spiritual institution. Together they have dedicated their more than 50 years of combined corporate and consulting experience to inspire and empower people of all professions to live and work from a spiritual basis.