A stroll through the business section of any large bookstore these days reveals an astounding array of titles related to leadership in business. There has been an explosion of books, articles, instructional tapes, and CD-ROMs aimed at defining, analyzing, and honing the qualities that have raised the likes of Jack Welch, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos to the status of revered icons.
HBS professor John P. Kotter -- a distinguished authority on leadership -- sees this phenomenon as a sign of the times. "The transition from the industrial age to the information age is a huge shift," he notes. "In…
