Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek, the Next Generation

This vision of encounters hundreds of years into the future, based on the current Star Trek: The Next Generation television series, is aimed not only at fans but-believe it or not-at students of management and idealists seeking a model for principled leadership. Roberts (Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun) presents Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, commander of the starship USS Enterprise, the TV protagonist, as a role model par excellence. The author stays within the fictitious framework of the series in getting his message across. Capt. Picard keeps a journal of his adventures (familiar to Star Trek viewers) in which he analyzes the leadership qualities required for a successful outcome. They include the ability to focus on a mission, purposeful action, effective communication, teamwork and honor. By using the captain as a role model, Roberts makes no allowances for human frailty. Alleged readers of the journal are candidates for the Starfleet Academy, where potential space age leaders are groomed and trained. (Sept.)