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Chris Lowney has a unique background among business authors. A former Jesuit seminarian, Lowney went on to become a managing director of J.P. Morgan & Co in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London.

He brings these two worlds together in "Heroic Leadership" in which he looks to the early history of the Jesuits for leadership lessons.

Lowney focuses on the Jesuits’ sense of nuestro modo de proceder — loosely translated as “our way of doing things” — arguing that the early Jesuits were successful not because they executed a preexisting plan, but because they shared a common set of values and beliefs that helped them adapt in new cultures and situations.

Lowney mines these values — self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism — to illumine that work of leading organizations.

I love Lowney’s use of stories to illustrate the principles of leadership and his love of the Jesuits is palpable throughout the book. "Heroic Leadership" is an easy read that will be immediately applicable to leaders of any stripe. ( )

Este libro contiene las mejores prácticas de una compañía de 450 años que cambió el mundo ( )

I just finished reading the book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450 Year-Old Company that Changed the World by Chris Lowney. Lowney reminded me why I've always admired the Jesuits and also made me think more clearly about exactly what it is that I admire in them.

In an amazing book, Lowney outlines four basic principles for leadership: self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism. On the surface, the book looks like one of those inane books like The Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun or Robert E. Lee on Leadership or something like that. But this book is decidedly not of that sort.

First of all, Attila and Robert E. Lee were, when all is said and done, pretty pathetic failures. The Jesuits, by contrast, have been remarkably successful as a group. But more importantly, Lowney give one a remarkably humane approach to leadership that is designed for the whole person. As such, it is very different than most leadership books.

He does a nice job outlining Jesuit history and showing how the four principles have been applied over the years. As I see it, their ideals are remarkably suitable for our world today. Lowney stresses that Jesuits are rooted in their principles and ideals, but reflective enough to understand that one must be flexible to compromise on non-essential points. For examples, he cites de Nobili and Ricci, Jesuits sent to live among the people of India and China. Both men remained devout Jesuits but were able to appreciate local customs and cultures. It is a principled ability to navigate in the world and remember what is truly important.

As we move ahead in education, these are principles I think all educators would be well to remember. Let's remember what's essential about education, but also be willing to forgo customs, habits, and traditions that don't compromise our principles.

I recognize that the Jesuits don't have a spotless record in all things and in fact the very term "Jesuitical" is not used in praise. Nonetheless, I think Lowney shows that whatever their shortcomings have been, they have also been resilient enough and principled enough to make a real difference in the world. He also does a good job of "secularizing" the Jesuits' leadership principles so that it applies to people beyond the Catholic world. ( )

Hoy vamos a dar una vuelta por El liderazgo al estilo de los Jesuitas, de Chris Lowney. Podemos decir que el libro está dividido en dos partes. La primera más teórica y más centrada en explicar el liderazgo desde la visión jesuita, y una segunda parte más histórica en la que relata con ejemplos la aplicación de la teoría mediante algunos jesuitas destacados en la historia.

Los Jesuitas entienden el liderazgo primero como autoliderazgo, y luego, como una constante a lo largo de toda la vida. Todo el mundo es un lider y está liderando todo el tiempo a través de cuatro pilares:

* Autoconocimiento
* Amor
* Ingenio
* Heroísmo

Las características o las empresas que llevan a cabo los líderes son las siguientes:

* Están siempre enseñando y aprendiendo
* Forman hombres y mujeres brillantes y eminentes
* Se vigorizan con la misma ambición de sus metas heroicas
* Son innovadores y atacan los problemas de maneras que sus antecesores no imaginaron jamás.
* Se dedican a la excelencia.
* Permanecen abiertos a las nuevas ideas aun en la vejez
* Honran la verdad sin egoísmo
* Influyen en los demás con el ejemplo, sus ideas y su enseñanza.

Además los jesuitas desarrollan una herramienta muy valiosa: el examen. "Todos los días los jesuitas al levantarse hacen memoria de sus metas clave, y dos veces al día hacen una parada, un breve examen mental [...] pidiéndose cuentas con respecto al asunto en particular que han escogido para corrección y mejora. Deben repasar el tiempo hora por hora o período por período, desde el momento de levantarse hasta el presente examen"

Concluyendo, un libro muy interesante. Recomendado. ( )