George Kohlrieser: Hostage at the Table, Jossey-Bass 2006

One of the most inspiring and thought-provoking books on leadership I have read in quite some time. The book was brought to my attention by Matti Alahuhta, head of KONE, whose judgment I particularly value. And not in vain - this book is essential reading. The author is an IMD Professor who has served as a hostage negotiator in his past.  He uses brilliantly the metaphors and examples of that supercharged human context in order to highlight human possibilities of bonding at large. I think Kohlrieser has captured something absolutely essential about the ways people fail to connect, and thus generate disasters - when an astonishing positive outcome would have been there for us to capture. Hostage negotiation is systems intelligence at its best. I am deeply impressed by this human and warm, wise and practical book.