FT Business Book of the Year

Best business books

All the books longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award

Clever by Rob Goffee, Gareth Jones

Clever

The authors provide an insightful anatomy of clever employees. Clever people know their worth, they say. They ask difficult questions. Cleverness is central to their identity. And they are not impressed by corporate hierarchy. — Read the complete FT review

Synopsis

If your company is like most, it has a handful of people who generate disproportionate quantities of value: A researcher creates products that bankroll the entire organization for decades. A manager spots consumer-spending patterns no one else sees and defines new market categories your enterprise can serve. A strategist anticipates global changes and correctly interprets their business implications.

Companies’ competitiveness, even survival, increasingly hinge on such “clever people.” But the truth is, clever people are as fiercely independent as they are clever-they don’t want to be led. So how do you corral these players in your organization and inspire them to achieve their highest potential?

In Clever, Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones offer potent insights drawn from their extensive research.

Leading clever people can be enormously challenging, yet doing so effectively is the key to your organization’s sustained success. Lively and engaging, this book provides the ideas, practices, and examples you need to create an environment where your most brilliant people can flourish.