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Publications
  • 2011
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

The Three Foundations of a Great Life, Great Leadership, and a Great Organization

By: Michael C. Jensen
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:9
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Abstract

I argue here that the three factors my co-authors and I identify as constituting the foundation for being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership can also be seen as the foundations not only for great leadership, but also for a high quality personal life and an extraordinary organization. One can see this as a "value free" approach to values because 1) integrity as we define it (being whole and complete) is a purely positive proposition, 2) authenticity is also a purely positive proposition (being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others and who you hold yourself to be for yourself), and 3) being committed to something bigger than oneself is also a purely positive proposition (that says nothing about what that commitment should be other than it be bigger than oneself).

Keywords

Leadership; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Work-Life Balance; Strategy; Value

Citation

Jensen, Michael C. "The Three Foundations of a Great Life, Great Leadership, and a Great Organization." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-122, May 2011.
  • SSRN

About The Author

Michael C. Jensen

→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2012
    • Faculty Research

    Putting Integrity into Finance: A Purely Positive Approach

    By: Werner Erhard and Michael C. Jensen
    • 2012
    • Faculty Research

    Author-Level Eigenfactor Metrics: Evaluating the Influence of Authors, Institutions and Countries within the SSRN community

    By: Jevin D. West, Michael C. Jensen, Ralph J. Dandrea, Gregg Gordon and Carl T. Bergstrom
    • 2011
    • Faculty Research

    Pioneers in Finance: An Interview with Michael C. Jensen - Part 1

    By: Michael C. Jensen and Ralph A. Walkling
More from the Author
  • Putting Integrity into Finance: A Purely Positive Approach By: Werner Erhard and Michael C. Jensen
  • Author-Level Eigenfactor Metrics: Evaluating the Influence of Authors, Institutions and Countries within the SSRN community By: Jevin D. West, Michael C. Jensen, Ralph J. Dandrea, Gregg Gordon and Carl T. Bergstrom
  • Pioneers in Finance: An Interview with Michael C. Jensen - Part 1 By: Michael C. Jensen and Ralph A. Walkling
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