Dec 24, 2020
The Art of Leadership: Acknowledgements
Standing on the shoulders of giants
What is leadership? Why is this important? How do you lead successfully? The Art of Leadership provides timeless answers to these eternal questions. It is a modern reading of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching — a guide for leaders in ancient China. “Purpose is a surer path to productivity than pressure. Pressure keeps knocking you off the path. Purpose keeps bringing you back onto the path” Kent Beck (All Parts; Other reading and viewing formats).
This interpretation of Lao Tzu stands on the shoulders of the following brilliant scholars, researchers, writers and translators who have wrestled with transforming Tao Te Ching through time and space: Alf Henrikson, Arthur Waley, Bernhard Karlgren, David L. Hall, Derek Mi-Chang Yuen (袁彌昌), Din Cheuk Lau (劉殿爵), François Jullien, Göran Malmqvist, Hwang Tsu-Yü, Jan Julius Lodewijk Duyvendak, John Ching Hsiung Wu (吳經熊), John Minford, Jonathan Star, R. L. Wing (Rita Aero), Robert G. Henricks, Roger T. Ames, Ron Hogan, Stanley Lombardo, Stefan Stenudd, Stephen Addiss, Thomas Cleary and Ursula K. Le Guin.
And, I remember gratefully:
Bob Marshall for indirectly introducing me to Taoism via Non-Violent Communication (NVC) and his Antimatter Principle: Attend to folks’ needs; Chet Richards for his inspiring keynote “All By Ourselves” connecting Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu and John Boyd as well as highlighting the importance of dualities; Jason Yip for inspiring me to go to the original sources of wisdom in Tao Te Ching by pointing out several quotes on Twitter incorrectly attributed to Lao Tzu; Rod Leaverton and Jabe Bloom for helpful tips on valuable Lao Tzu translations; Benjamin Mosior for an insightful write-up bringing Yuen’s work on Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu to my attention; Helena Rundkrantz of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities for Karlgren’s elusive Notes on Lao-Tse; Kent Beck for capturing the essence of Lao Tzu in a tweet; Simon Wardley (swardley) for his reading of Sun Tzu with modern strategic glasses, and, subtle hints on the importance of Lao Tzu for understanding the world in general and China and strategy in particular.
For valuable feedback on content and structure, L Macpherson, Steve Sanderson and Yevhenii Kurtov.
For energising encouragements and for spreading the word, Abi Lambert, Adam S., Adolfo Neto, Akira Kawada, Anca Trusca, Anchal Sharma, Andrew Murphie, An Idea, Anna Hagelin, Anna Sandell, Ann-Louise Ulfsparre, anshuman, Anthony Jeannot, Arne Roock, Asier Vega Sanchez, Björn Sandberg, Błażej Walczak, Bosse Nyström, Bryan Hunt, Chris McDermott, Christian Appelt, Cliff Hazell, Colin Boxall, Dairon Medina, Deepak Sethi, Dipti Singhal, Dominic Perini, Duc Dang, Eb Ikonne, Eduardo da Silva, Erum Awan, Eva Martins, Ewa Kucharczyk, Faun deHenry, Florian Meyer, Francesco Cesarini, Fredrik Smedberg, Gboyega Soyoola, Göran Hedrén, Goran Skugor, Gösta von Stebut, Hans Carlsson, Henri Kivioja, Henrik Samils, Henrik Taubert, Holger Gelhausen, Håkan Forss, Ingela Broback, Isabella Rådevik, Jan Höglund, Jenny Björneberg, Jens Kristian Villadsen, Joanna Wrona, Johan Thorén, Jorge Juan Fernández, Joseph Lieungh, Joshua, Jean Pereira, Jeff Loeb, Jerzy Wójcik, Johan Persson, Johan Thorén, Jonas Svanhed, Joern Larsen, Julius Gamanyi, Kate Chidzik, Kati Ilvonen, Kenneth Wingårdh, Kelvin D Meeks, Ketil Jensen, Kim Nielsen, Larry Richards, Lasse Nyhus Stenholt, Popovics László, lauris.muzikants, Lena Gali, Lena Åckander, Lindsey Morley, Luis Manzano, Mahyar Arjmand, Manuel Rubio, Marc Burgauer, Marianne Rimbark, Maria Wennestam, Mario López de Ávila Muñoz, Mark Cowan, Mark McCann, Markus Andrezak, Martin Gausby, Martin Shelford, Martin Vidal, Michael Litton, Michelle Leaverton, Mikael Björn, Mikael Lidström, Mina Boström Nakicenovic, Miriam Maurer, Mittal Vora, Monika Steinvall, Mårten Holmberg, Nuno Rafael Gomes, Oliver Weiss, Pernille Højland-Rønde, Peter Haddäng, Petter Blomberg, Rajesh Kodandam, Roberta McDonnell, Rolli, Ritika Mittal, Robert Rees, Ruth Malan, Samet Yildiz, Sandesh Soni, Sarah Bovagnet, Sarah Williams, Sargent Stewart, Scott Millett, Simon Bergström, Sofia Rasmussen, Sophia Tran, Staecy Cruz, Staffan Nöteberg, Stefan Flink, Stefan Telhammar, Steffen Søgaard, Stephan Sutter, Steve Tendon, Steven Joseph, Stuart Grant, stuart.mendelsohn, Susana Jurado, Susan Almon, Susan Cohen, Ted van Gaalen, Thomas Bhatia, Thomas Ove Rasmussen, Vadym Kazulkin, Varakumar S, William Milisic, Woody Zuill, Yogesh Rajput, Zeljka Sotra, Zenja Hebib, Zoltan Danko, Zoltan Literati and Åsa Nordin.
This work is in progress since I’d like it to evolve according to Your needs — would you be willing to share Your observations and reflections?
The Art of Leadership: All Parts
Contents: A very short summary of all parts
Introduction: How to make a difference
- Sections 1–6: Purpose
- Sections 7–13: Attending to needs
- Sections 14–19: We did it ourselves
- Sections 20–24: Grasping the whole
- Sections 25–30: Self-organisation
- Sections 31–37: Knowing yourself
- Sections 38–43: Effectiveness
- Sections 44–49: What is enough?
- Sections 50–55: Integrity
- Sections 56–61: Living with change
- Sections 62–66: Serving without interference
- Sections 67–73: Effectiveness without contending
- Sections 74–81: Balancing
Glossary: Explanation of key terms
Acknowledgements: Standing on the shoulders of giants
Sources: Where to learn more
Other reading and viewing formats
This is provided as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International by the author, Erik Schön.
