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Volume 9, Number 3 Copyright 2000 Corporate Support Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Leadership
and the Computer
Top Executives Reveal
How They Personally Use Computers
To Communicate, Coach, Convince
and Compete
Mary E. Boone
1991 Prima Publishing
ISBN 1-55958-080-1
Number of Pages: 397

Summary
PART I: THE CONTEXT (15 pages)
The computer is not only a clerical and administrative tool, but an extension of the human brain. As a supplement to the
mind, the computer dramatically extends the memory of the species and humankinds ability to work with ideas.
Computers can also be used at the organization level as a medium for leadership. Utilizing information systems, the
nervous system of the organization can be fine-tuned to create new channels of information into the executive suite; can
help executives adjust the filters on incoming information; can expand the ability of the brain of the firm to manage
complexity; and can build new channels outward to improve amplification of the executives messages. In these ways,
the computer can be used to grow the executive mind.

PART II: THE LEADER AS COMMANDERACCESSIBILITY AND PERSONAL

INVOLVEMENT (52 pages)
Richard Pogue, Managing Partner, Jones Day Reavis & Pogue. When Pogue decided to expand internationally, he
used the business strategies of carefully assimilated acquisitions and an integrated, functional organizational structure to
Business Book Review Vol. 9, No. 3 Copyright 2000 Corporate Support Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Leadership and the Computer

further his goal of creating a global law firm. He directly

participated in decisions about how the firm would use
information systems to support these strategies. He then
designed and used these information tools to work in
accordance with his approach to leadership.
Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH). Humphreys
office is known for speed, order, and precision, and the
Senator believes that his use of the computer facilitates
this management approach. Because of his critical role
in communications and policymaking, Humphrey must
find time for clear thinking and yet remain accessible
to a variety of people in different places. Information
tools allow him uninterrupted working time while keeping
him in close touch with those who rely on his decisions
and input.
Mark Edmiston, Chairman and CEO, The Cable Guide.
On coming to The Cable Guide, Edmiston developed a
four-part strategy: expand production; improve editorial
content; attract advertising revenues; and expand to
other formats. Now, almost every aspect of production
is automated, including the artwork. Edmiston develops
personal spreadsheets of key performance indicators and
uses the computer himself to get a more objective, unfiltered
perspective on the business. He also uses his information
system as a decentralization tool, allowing him a higher
degree of delegation.
Ellen Gordon, COO and President, Tootsie Roll
Industries. As a means of maintaining high quality
standards, Gordon likes to stay in touch with company
operations and the Tootsie Roll family. She uses the
computer to make purchasing decisions, to keep an eye on
marketing and sales (and is developing additional operational
databases), and extends her ability to communicate with
employees via electronic mailwhich she considers a
boon to her participative philosophy.
About the Author
Mary E. Boone, a partner in NDMA, a Ridgefield,
Connecticut, management consulting firm, is a
leading authority on executive use of information
systems. Coauthor of The Information Edge
(reviewed in Telecommunications Book Review,
Volume 2, Number 1), Boone frequently speaks to
and consults with top executives on how computers
can help them lead their organizations.

Mary E. Boone

Sandy Sigoloff, CEO, LJ Hooker Corporation, and

Former Chairman, CEO, and President, Wickes Companies.
Sigoloff believes that the critical components of Wickes
corporate resurrection were the three Cs: cash, complexity,
and communicationbuttressed by fact-based thinking.
He used a computer-based financial model to make
planning assumptions. To track the many complexities
of the Wickes situation, Sigoloff participated in the
construction of a master computer calendar. And, he
personally used the computer to communicate with courts
and creditors, the board of directors, the management
team, and employees.

PART III: THE LEADER AS

COMMUNICATORCREDIBILITY,
CLARITy, AND COORDINATION (40 pages)
Burnell Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Mead
Corporation. Knowing people worldwide, encouraging
teamwork, and selecting the right people for the job are
important elements in Robertss leadership strategy. With
his top executives, he has developed a shared database of
international contacts, he uses electronic mail to facilitate
communication, and he personally uses the computer to
expedite his direct involvement in personnel decisions.
Ken McCready, CEO and President, TransAlta Utilities.
McCreadys determination has been to build a culture
of openness and responsiveness to customers. His use
of computers for problem solving and communications
has increased his ability to accomplish his goals in the
areas of quality-of-service, strategic alignment of goals
and objectives, people development, and key relationships
with ranking government officials.
Thomas Plaskett, Chairman, CEO, and President, Pan
Am. The airlines early successes eventually led to an
atmosphere of complacency, arrogance, and low employee
morale. Plaskett views the use of information tools as
critical to his productivity and to his effectiveness as a
communicator. Using the word processor, he is able to be
more involved in answering letters, constructing speeches,
and creating personalized messages as a means of raising
morale and building trust.
Thomas Stephens, Chairman, CEO, and President,
Manville Corporation. In dealing with the intricate
bankruptcy proceedings facing Manville, Stephens decided
to focus on creating value over time, rather than on
punishing, in order that claims could be paid. He personally

Business Book Review Vol. 9, No. 3 Copyright 2000 Corporate Support Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Leadership and the Computer

uses a broad range of information tools, believing that

the computer has helped him be more effective in
accomplishing his primary goal of building trust through
clear communication.

PART IV: THE LEADER AS COACHFOCUS

AND FEEDBACK (51 pages)
Wilbur Gantz, President, Baxter International. After
Baxters $3.7 billion acquisition of American Hospital
Supply Company, Gantz turned to information systems
to help him be a better coach, as well as to symbolize
change. Internal and external databases and financial
modeling systems helped to keep him well-informed,
while setting a good example and earning the respect
of his employees. In addition, his access to facts and
use of financial models in computer-augmented meetings
helped him integrate the newly merged culture by basing
discussion on common facts.
William Esrey, President and CEO, United Telecom, and
Chairman and CEO, US Sprint. Erseys coaching strategy
includes performance feedback loops, in which he uses the
computer to distribute performance information and let
people know that he is also focused on certain measures
of performance. He believes that better information helps
him view the business more definitively and guide people
in the right direction.
Richard Crandall, CEO and President, Comshare, Inc.
Crandall believes that in order for Comshare to maintain
and increase its market share, it must excel in eight
critical areas: blocking the competition; managing internal
product development priorities; focusing on customer
satisfaction and quality; creating strategic partnerships
in the sales process; retaining top people; developing
alliances with other vendors; and creating an environment
for effective collaboration. Information tools help him
to contribute to each of these areas by allowing him to
create feedback loops that help management monitor key
business indicators.
Debbi Fields, CEO and President, Mrs. Fields Cookies
Inc. The computer helps Fields spread her presence
throughout the companya strategy of coaching (versus
controlling) that takes numerous forms: advice on
marketing and operating decisions; the establishment
and distribution of tangible and immediate performance
goals; communications; personalized recognition of both

Mary E. Boone

good and poor performance; and tracking follow-through

on commitments.

PART V: THE LEADER AS CHANGE

AGENTSHIFTING POWER AND
RESPONSIBILITY (54 pages)
Ron Compton, President, Aetna Life & Casualty Co.
Compton relies on two types of information systems to
disseminate the Aetna Management Process message:
a database that provides feedback on critical success
factors, and an expert system that guides people through
the process. He also consciously designs information
systems for others to use to maximize his influence on
the organization. His creative use of computer systems
helps him set an example for the entire organization in the
development of innovative, strategic applications.
Michael Jordan, Chairman, Pepsico International Food
& Beverages Division, and Former Chairman, FritoLay.When the management of Frito-Lay decided to change
the organization structure, it used information systems to
disperse the necessary information to line, staff, and upper
management. Jordan uses operational databases to model
the right behavior in very specific terms, thus equipping
people to make better entrepreneurial decisions.
Robert Wallace, Former President, Phillips 66.
Wallaces vision developed around the primary goal of
streamlining operations and leveraging staff groups. He
chose to accomplish this by cutting staff, empowering
the line, giving top management direct feedback on lines
performance, and then shifting top managements attention
to corporate strategy. The foundation of this strategy was
an information system that gave all levels of management
access to the right data.

PART VI: UNDERSTANDING AND

ACHIEVING THE BENEFITS OF
EXECUTIVE COMPUTING (79 pages)
Executives who do not use computers are usually held
back by all sorts of myths, such as: someone else can do it
all for them; they will have to give up their secretaries; they
must know how to type; they will make mistakes; they are
too old to learn; or they will find themselves working all
the time. Because these misconceptions have been largely
responsible for the slow growth of executive computing,
it is important that they be dispelled. Computer-literate
executives are beginning to do just that.

Business Book Review Vol. 9, No. 3 Copyright 2000 Corporate Support Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Leadership and the Computer

Mary E. Boone

Information systems professionals add to the confusion

reporting that the computer is too hard to learn; executives
are afraid of looking foolish; and the perfect executive
system has not yet been found. But, many executives are
already discovering that it is more important that software
be easy to remember than easy to learn. They have learned
that any minor apprehensions fade quickly once they
become familiar with the ways in which computers can
help them. Finally, they have found that there is no such
thing as a perfect executive system. Personal computers
are personal, and executives as a group use a wide variety
of tools.
Executives will be more amenable to computing
when they understand exactly what computers can do for
themleverage time, inform, communicate, coach, shape
culture, and enhance personal thinking. Understanding
the diversity of the potential results will then encourage
executives to not only ask what they can do with a computer,
but also what they need as leaders. By understanding
the benefits before examining the information tools
that generate these benefits, they will become more
sensitive to the process of translating business needs into
information solutions.
Before going out and buying a computer, each executive
should first assess his or her unique needs. It rarely works
for an IS staff to design an executive information system
(EIS) on its own without executive input. In fact, executives
receive benefits from a system in direct proportion to their
personal investment of time and effort in selecting the
appropriate problem and tool. It is this business-driven
approach, in concert with the needs-assessment method,
that has a high probability of success. Once a tool has been
selected, the next step is training and ongoing support. The
executive-support consultant can serve as a single contact
for all of the executives information systems needs, both
before and after training.

input, maneuverability, nonprogrammer programming, the

information hologram, and the electronic consultant.

PART VII: WHERE FROM HERE? (85 pages)

Content

Technology appears to be about five to ten years

ahead of executive computing, and even some of the most
sophisticated users of information systems have only begun
to tap the potential of computing. The limitation is not the
hardware or software, however, but the imagination.
When executives were asked to imagine the future
based on the requirements inherent in the phrase, tools for
thinking, six basic categories emerged: portability, voice

Appendix 1: A Comprehensive Listing of

Information Tools
Appendix 2: Matching Tools to ISFs
Appendix 3: Examples of Organizational
Fine-Tuning
Appendix 4: Leadership Strategies
Appendix 5: For More Information . . .
Appendix 6: Executive Glossary
* * *
A subject index is provided, as well as bibliographic
notes (appearing at the end of each chapter).

Remarks
Presentation
Boone displays an extremely personable style and
tone, which are enhanced by the liberal use of direct quotes
from the executives she interviewed. She also manages to
provide us with some rather detailed information about
the use of information systems without the burden of
excessive technical jargon.
An excellent job is done of developing the concurrent
themes of executive computing and the roles of leadership.
Each section begins with an introduction that sets the
theoretical foundation for the profiles presented, and
ends with a Part Summary that effectively integrates the
interviews with the authors premise.
Boone highlights the various functions of leadership by
effectively demonstrating how computer-literate executives
use information systems to expand their influence. We are
made privy to some innovative uses for various and sundry
computer applications, while obtaining a crash course in
leadership, as well as insight into the personal leadership
styles of some of Americas most successful executives.

Business Book Review Vol. 9, No. 3 Copyright 2000 Corporate Support Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Leadership and the Computer

Mary E. Boone

The obvious lesson is that computers are indeed pertinent

to the very nuts and bolts issues that concern executives
and the bottom line.
An executives primary functions are thinking and
communicating. Boone describes the evolution of
information systems as thinking tools, and the basis
for their relevance to todays executives. She shows
the ways in which information tools have strengthened
hands-on executives by increasing their levels of personal
involvement and accessibility. Other profiles are presented
that demonstrate unique, tailored approaches to applying
computers to enhance communication capabilities. Next,
Boone shows us how information tools encourage effective
coaching by focusing people on priorities and by providing
new channels of feedback. Finally, insight is provided into
how executives have created systems and procedures to
facilitate major organizational changes.
Executives who already use computers to enhance
their intellectual capabilities can use this book to expand
their repertoire of leadership skills. For those who are
computer illiterate, the executive experiences presented
here should dramatically alter their perception of this
valuable tool.

Reading Suggestions
Reading Time: 6 to 8 hours
We suggest that executives who have not experienced
the leadership-expanding capabilities of the computer read
the entire book. If, on the other hand, you are already
using the computer in the prescribed manner and need
only to fill in some gaps in your knowledge base, you
can use the detailed table of contents to find the sections
you prefer to examine.
The introductions to each part and chapter, the
Executive Summaries, and the Part Summaries will provide
you with enough information to decide whether or not
that chapter/section suits your needs. We recommend that
everyone at least skim through each of the Appendices.

Editor Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth

Publisher John P. Fayad
Lead Book Reviewer Lydia Morris Brown
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