Become the Best

What does it mean in practice to be a values-based leader? When faced with real situations, how can you be your best self and create best teams—while also being a best partner with customers and vendors, a best investment for your stakeholders, and a best citizen making a difference in the world? It's a tall order, but these are the expectations for world-class organizations today.

In his bestselling book From Values to Action, Harry Kraemer showed how self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility are the traits of today's most effective leaders. In Becoming the Best, his highly anticipated follow-up, Kraemer reveals how, in practical terms, anyone can apply these principles to become a values-based leader and to help create values-based organizations.

Drawing on his own experiences as the former CEO and chairman of Baxter International, as well as those of other notable leaders and organizations, Kraemer lays out a pathway for understanding the principles and putting them into practice, showing specifically, how to:

• Use self-reflection to become your "best self" as you lead yourself and others more effectively
• Create a "best team" that understands and appreciates what they're doing, and why
• Forge "best partnerships" through win/win collaboration with vendors and customers that enhance the end user's experience Support the mission, vision, and values of the organization to generate returns that distinguish a "best investment"
• Make a difference in the world beyond the organization by becoming a "best citizen"

Powerful case studies from Campbell's Soup, Ernst & Young, Target, Northern Trust, and many others demonstrate the four principles of values-based leadership in action and show how thinking beyond the corporation can trigger positive outcomes for both the company and the world.

Regardless of level or job title, individuals can make a difference in their organization and beyond by embodying the essential traits of a great leader. Becoming the Best offers a definitive, actionable guide to show anyone how to apply in practice the principles of values-based leadership personally and professionally, making it an indispensable manual for the new wave of better leaders.

All of Harry’s proceeds from the book sales are donated to the One Acre Fund in Africa.

HARRY M. JANSEN KRAEMER Jr. is a professor of management and strategy at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches in the MBA and the Executive MBA programs. He is an executive partner with Madison Dearborn Partners, one of the largest private equity firms in the United States, where he consults with CEOs and other senior executives of companies in MDP's extensive portfolio. Kraemer is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Baxter International Inc., a multibillion-dollar global health care company, and the author of From Values to Action.

For more information, please visit

www.harrykraemer.org.

Introduction: From Four Principles to Five Bests 1

Section One Best Self 11

1 The Self-Reflective, Balanced Leader 15

2 The Humble, Self-Confident Leader 33

Section Two Best Team 49

3 Turning Around a Team 55

4 Creating a Best Team from Scratch 73

Section Three Best Partner 91

5 Suppliers as Best Partners: A Holistic Relationship 97

6 Building Best-Partner Customer Relationships 113

Section Four Best Investment 131

7 Making a Best Investment in Talent 135

8 The Proof Point: Shareholder Value 151

Section Five Best Citizen 167

9 Values in Action 171

10 Living the Legacy and Leaving A Global Footprint 185

Acknowledgments 201

About the Author 205

Index 207