The American Spectator

In other instances, the authors hurt their argument by not discussing the negative ramifications of certain traits.

“Today’s society tends to value what Zen Buddhists call the ‘beginner’s mind.’ It implies fresh insight unfettered by experience. In this more contemporary view, the compelling idea is the novel one at an angle to conventional wisdom, itself a phrase that implies a regressive reliance on the status quo,” according to the authors.

Ignoring or being unaware of the past almost guarantees that we will repeat the mistakes of earlier eras. The authors would have done well to point out some of the errors business and political leaders have made when they don’t understand the historical context in which they are making decisions.

In many cases, there is no substitute for the experience of having “been there, done that.”

The baseball playoffs began this week. One of the reasons the New York Yankees are given such a good chance of winning the World Series is that they have been in post-season play so often that they know what to do to rise to the occasion. They often beat other teams that, on paper, are better than they are because the Yankees can draw on the experience of playing in high-pressure games.

Geeks & Geezers is most effective when the authors compile the traits for success that their subjects share and the book becomes a tip sheet for being an effective leader.

Among the attributes are a reverence for learning new things and staying physically and mentally active, the desire to give something back to society and a willingness to push oneself outside a “comfort zone.”

While there are few new recommendations on the list, it is sometimes helpful to reiterate the tried and true. It is helpful to have a compilation of the views of such a disparate group of people together in one place.

That is why Geeks & Geezers is worthwhile as a “how to” book for managers but less effective when Bennis and Thomas try to use their research to make generalizations about leaders of a particular generation.