NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking blueprint for mastering “cross-pressures” in a rapidly
changing world teaching leaders to execute and innovate think locally and globally and
project ambition and statesmanship alike—from a Stanford Business School lecturer and
consultant to some of the biggest and most innovative CEOs Since the start of this century
businesses have confronted a series of extreme and constant disruptions including
technological upheavals a pandemic and a global financial crisis. As a result today’s
leaders from startup founders to the managers of global giants face unprecedented pressures
from their bosses investors customers peers suppliers and employees. For many it’s a
recipe for disaster. Part of the problem is that these challenges while acutely felt are
rarely articulated in a way that makes them graspable and actionable. Robert E. Siegel has
witnessed the impact of these cross-pressures from different perspectives. As a lecturer in
management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business an operator a venture capitalist and a
consultant he sees countless teams of managers at all sorts of companies struggling to lead
their companies into the future. Featuring exclusive lessons drawn from inside the business
world including from the CEOs of Accenture Mubadala Kering Wells Fargo and Box this
essential guidebook teaches readers “systems leadership ” Siegel’s holistic framework that
helps leaders understand and master five key dimensions where they are likely to feel
contradictory pressures: • Priorities: The need to succeed at both execution and innovation •
People: The need to project both strength and empathy • Sphere of influence: The need to focus
both internally and externally • Geography: The need to think both locally and globally •
Purpose: The need to pursue both ambition and statesmanship “A compelling exploration of the
challenges facing today's business leaders.” —François-Henri Pinault chairman and CEO Kering
“ The Systems Leader is Robert Siegel at his best. . . . Wise perceptive and always
practical.” —Julie Sweet chair and CEO Accenture
