The Source of Success Five Enduring Principles at the Heart of Real Leadership

In The Source of Success, Peter Georgescu, former CEO of the world-renowned advertising agency Young & Rubicam, reveals the nature of the new economic world, and shows what it takes to win in this intensely competitive arena. Georgescu presents a new standard of leadership that focuses on the key source of value in today's corporation: the relationship between the informed customer and the creative employee-a relationship, he shows, that must be built with honesty and integrity. Georgescu's vision rests on five crucial principles, which together can unleash a tremendous untapped reservoir of energy within our organizations, and within ourselves: Creative capacity and the brand integrity that grows from it are an organization's most important assets. Enlightened leaders inspire creativity through understanding, cooperation, and respect. Competence and execution are as important as ever, but they must be aimed at building intimacy with the customer. Alignment is the critical concept for the twenty-first-century organization. Great companies don't happen without leaders who have transformed themselves.

Peter Georgescu is chairman emeritus of EYoung & Rubicam Inc. Under his leadership, EYoung & Rubicam transformed from a private to a publicly held company. The company built the most extensive database on global branding and from its findings developed a proprietary model for diagnosing and managing brands. Georgescu was elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2001.

David Dorsey is the author of The Force, which was selected as one of the ten best business books of the year by BusinessWeek. He is a freelance writer who has contributed to magazines such as Fast Company, Esquire, and Inc., among others.