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• Indra Nooyi( PepsiCo) These cases reinforce the principle that the best leaders repeatedly make correct calls across people, strategy, and crisis— not by luck, but by discipline.
PART V— Why Leaders Fail at Judgment Common pitfalls include:
• Indecision
• Analysis paralysis
• Poor self-awareness
• Poor talent evaluation
• Listening only to insiders
• Ego and overconfidence
• Misreading crises
• Allowing politics to substitute for values A major insight: Most leadership derailments are failures of people judgment— not strategy.
5. A Diverse Advice Network Good judgment rarely comes from isolated thinking. Leaders need:
• Truth-tellers
• Dissenters
• Advisors with different worldviews
• Subject-matter experts
•“ Rubber-meets-the-road” operators
6. A Teachable Point of View Leaders must be able to:
• Articulate their reasoning
• Explain how decisions were made
• Teach others how to improve their own judgment
This builds organizational capacity, not just individual capability.
PART IV— Applications of the Judgment Framework Throughout the book, Tichy & Bennis illustrate their model using case studies of leaders such as:
• A. G. Lafley( Procter & Gamble)
• Jeff Immelt( GE)
• Alan Mulally( Ford)
• Narayana Murthy( Infosys)
• Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger
PART VI— Building an Organization of Judgment-Capable Leaders Tichy and Bennis argue that the best leaders create“ leadership engines”:
• Systems for developing judgment in others
• Succession pipelines
• Mentoring cultures
• Institutionalized learning
• Post-decision reviews(“ learning after action”)
Judgment becomes not just an individual act but an organizational capability.
Key Takeaways 1. Judgment is the essence of leadership. Everything else supports or undermines the ability to make great calls.
2. People, Strategy, Crisis. All major leadership decisions fall into these categories.
3. Preparation → Call → Execution. Good judgment is a repeatable process.
4. Values + Courage + Critical Thinking. These form the backbone of sound leadership decisions.
5. Great leaders create judgment in their organizations, not just in themselves. Teaching judgment is part of leading.