Crash

Reaching the top job in a company gets most of the attention in business writing. Staying there, and leaving it well, gets far less. In Crash, R. Gopalakrishnan turns to that quieter and harder problem, looking at why some chief executives lose their footing while others keep performing year after year.

His focus is on what he calls the 'software' of leadership: the human and emotional challenges that land on a leader's desk every day, as opposed to the technical or strategic ones. Drawing on his experience developing, managing, investing in and supervising a range of companies, he examines how CEOs arrive in the role, how they handle the situations it throws at them, and how they depart.

His argument is that lasting leaders are not sustained by skill and intelligence alone. They also rely on emotional competencies such as empathy and self-awareness, which let them connect with the people around them. The book builds this case through anecdotes, close readings of the circumstances CEOs commonly find themselves in, and some unconventional advice for dealing with them.

It is written for seasoned executives who want to reflect on their own tenure, and equally for those who hope to start or lead a venture of their own and want to know what the road ahead really involves.