Arc of Ambition

JAMES CHAMPY is chairman of Cambridge-based Perot Systems Consulting Practice, and a pioneer of the reengineering movement. Co-author of the bestselling Reengineering the Corporation and author of Reengineering Management, he lives in Boston, Massachusetts.NITIN NOHRIA is Richard P. Chapman professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. The author of over seventy-five articles and several books, including the award-winning The Differentiated Network, he lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

"Champy takes us on a marvellous wander through history and contemporary life...This is fascinating stuff. This is entertainment that different people will take different lessons from." (Computing, 23rd February 2001) "A practical study of achievement." (People Management, March 2001) "I can recommend The Arc of Ambition..... There is something for everything in the work and this helps to make the book a highly entertaining read." (Pipeline, May 2001) "Few will fail to find something of value in this very readable book." (Supply Management, 10th May 2001) "In a market saturated with leadership books Mr Champy and Mr Nohria have taken a new tack, choosing to examine the motivation of people who have a desire to lead. Mr Champy says the arc is an ideal model because it recognises that careers will peak at some point, then fall back." (Financial Times, 13th June 2001)

• Without ambition, no conquests are made, no lands discovered, no businesses created. Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see. It takes a strong character and a lot of willpower to hold onto a dream under adverse circumstances. Opportunity knocks with all the temerity of a brown trout hiding in an overfished stream. History is a long list of warnings about the folly of overreaching. Greatness must be driven by a purpose beyond money. Compromise is bad for ambition. Power comes from other people. Reinvention is the key to longevity. The dead can't lead the living.