A First Rate Madness Uncovering The Links Between...

A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Health By Nassir Ghaemi Inverse Law of Sanity: â€Å"This book argues that in at least one vitally important circumstance insanity produces good results and sanity is a problem. In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than mentally normal ones.† (Pg. 3, intro) Dr. Ghaemi attempts to draw a connection between leadership and mental illness in his book, A First-Rate Madness. He uses historical figures as case studies to support his conclusions on the benefits of mental illness, in specific, depression and mania. He observes four qualities supposedly derived from mental illness: realism, resilience, empathy, and creativity; these elements apparently â€Å"promote crisis leadership.† The historical figures discussed include General William Sherman, Ted Turner, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, among other less significant cases. Dr. Ghaemi asserts that his approach is not psychohistory – a discredited field of psychology (he also actively refutes any association with Freud’s psychoanalytic approach). Instead, he claims that he uses historical case studies, evaluates their sickness, and then derives his support from the cases. In diagnosing historical figures, he uses symptoms, genetics, course of illness, and treatment as guidelines. For many of these cases, Dr. Ghaemi pieces informationShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesValues 131 Perception and Individual Decision Making 165 Motivation Concepts 201 Motivation: From Concepts to Applications 239 3 The Group 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Foundations of Group Behavior 271 Understanding Work Teams 307 Communication 335 Leadership 367 Power and Politics 411 Conflict and Negotiation 445 Foundations of Organization Structure 479 v vi BRIEF CONTENTS 4 The Organization System 16 Organizational Culture 511 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 18 OrganizationalRead MoreStrategy Safari by Mintzberg71628 Words   |  287 PagesFormal Process 4 The Positioning School Strategy Formation as an Analytical Process ix 1 23 47 81 5 The Entrepreneurial School Strategy Formation as a Visionary Process 123 6 The Cognitive School Strategy Formation as a Mental Process 149 7 The Learning School Strategy Formation as an Emergent Process 175 8 The Power School Strategy Formation as a Process of Negotiation 233 9 The Cultural School Strategy Formation as a Collective Process 263 Read MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesapplication and consideration of how managment practice is formed and shaped by ideas and concepts. The authors have brought their wealth of experience and understanding and provided the field with an imaginative resource to address the dynamics between theory and practice. Dr Susanne Tietze, Bradford University, UK The key to success for managers is not only to be result oriented but also to be wise in their decision making. This requires that they have a deeper than superficial understanding of