The Leader’s Checklist: 15 Mission-Critical Principles, Expanded Edition

Based on the lessons from astonishing stories, solid research, and years of leadership development work with a wide array of companies and organizations in the United States and abroad, Useem presents today’s leaders with 15 guiding principles that form the core of the Leader’s Checklist, which will help you develop your ability to make good and timely decisions in unpredictable and stressful environments—for those moments when leadership really matters.

First published exclusively as a bestselling ebook—and now also available in print—this updated and expanded edition features a new preface by the author and three new Knowledge@Wharton interviews with:

• Laurence Golborne, Chile’s Minister of Mining, on leading the rescue operation of 33 miners trapped in the San José Mine
• Joseph Pfeifer,  New York City Fire Department’s Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, on being the first Battalion Chief to take command at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001
• The author on why he wrote The Leader’s Checklist and what he has learned about the most vital items on the checklist from his recent leadership development work with more than a dozen companies and organizations

Praise for the Bestselling First Edition

“One of the most brilliant, original, and exciting leadership books I’ve read in a long time.”
– Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California, and author of Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership

“With this compact handbook, Mike Useem provides leaders what they all say they want and need but rarely get: a kick-in-the-pants reminder of those parts of the job they have neglected.”
– Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post business columnist and moderator of the On Leadership web site

“The essential companion for anybody whose leadership is on the line, a concise primer for corporate liftoffs and controlled landings.”
–  Ram Charan, advisor to CEOs and boards, and co-author of the best sellers Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done and The Leadership Pipeline

Michael Useem

Michael Useem is Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Leadership Moment, Investor Capitalism, and The Go Point, among other books. The Leadership Moment was included in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, written by the publishers of 800 CEO Read, and listed as one of the 10 best leadership books on the Washington Post’s “Leadership Playlist.” Useem’s articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Fast Company, Financial Times, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.