When Peter Drucker was in his prime, CEOs often traveled across the country to California to seek his counsel on how to lead and manage their companies. He was an iconic figure in the business world, the father of management studies, whose 30 books were highly influential in shaping modern global companies. As I found in conversation late in his life, he had a wisdom about him that was spellbinding.

Upon his death 10 years ago, people naturally asked, “Who will carry on Peter's work?” Soon it became apparent that the most obvious candidate was Warren Bennis, and once again, CEOs made the trek to California to meet quietly with one of the sweetest, wisest men I have been blessed to know. Warren was the father of leadership studies in American universities, the man who gave them academic legitimacy through his two dozen books, and the best mentor and friend one could possibly have.

Upon his death a year ago, the question naturally arose again: “Well, who will now carry on Warren's work?” With the publication of his most important book, the Emerging Leader Edition of True North, we may well have our candidate: Bill George. There are obvious differences: Bill himself would modestly point out that both Drucker and Bennis were lifelong scholars deeply schooled in theory; by contrast, Bill first made his mark as a highly successful CEO of a large company before becoming a major thought leader. Yet all three have been at the forefront in shaping leadership and management practices of successive generations.

By chance, Warren introduced me to Bill at the World Economic Forum in 2001. Bill was coming off his years as CEO of Medtronic and was beginning to pull together his thoughts and experiences about leadership so that he could share them with younger business leaders.

Soon Bill published his first book, essentially a memoir, titled Authentic Leadership, and it was quickly a best seller. Without realizing it, he had launched an entirely new career, one with even greater impact than his first. In reading the Emerging Leader Edition of True North, you will find not only a distillation of his ideas about leadership but also revealing portraits of a galaxy of more diverse leaders and what they have learned on their own journeys toward True North. This Emerging Leader Edition of True North bids to be a classic, standing alongside The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker and On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. I am proud to call Bill a friend and trusted adviser—and to salute him on the completion of his best book.

Here's what is essential for a reader to understand: Most books that come from the academy are intended for a small audience of specialized scholars. That is the way advances in knowledge are often made. But non‐scholars wonder how they apply to them. Bill's ideas work well in practice and apply across the board, helping not only business leaders but those in the civic and public sectors as well.

Bill George's work—like Warren's and Peter's—intentionally crosses the bridge between the academy and practice. Through writing, teaching, and mentoring, he is helping leaders become better at leading themselves and, in turn, their organizations. At present more than two dozen CEOs of major global companies are calling on him regularly for counsel and advice.

The evidence shows that leaders from across the world are hungry to discover their True North and lead toward their North Star. At the Harvard Business School, Bill introduced his course, Authentic Leadership Development, as a second‐year elective in 2005. Students embraced it with growing enthusiasm, such that it has become one of the most popular courses at the school and attracts a growing number in executive education.

Bill's course has migrated to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), where I am a professor of practice and co‐director of our Center for Public Leadership. Dana Born, a retired air force general and the first woman in any military branch to gain flag rank while at a military academy, has just started teaching it, and once again students are responding with gusto. Moreover, Bill has introduced True North to an annual training program at the HKS for Young Global Leaders chosen by the World Economic Forum. They love it, especially the deep‐dive, small‐group conversations every morning over breakfast.

Altogether, some 10,000 men and women have now been trained at Harvard alone in Bill's ideas about authentic leadership. Longitudinal studies are not yet possible on how much it may have shaped lives and leadership, but anecdotal evidence points to encouraging results.

One group that has had lots of exposure to Bill and his work is students who have pursued joint degrees at HBS and HKS and in their third year have received scholarships from Bill and Penny George. These George Fellows, typically in their late 20s, have a home at our Center for Public Leadership and meet frequently, often with Bill and Penny. Bill generously mentors a number of them and remains close long after they have graduated. Altogether, the George Fellowship now has 100 alumni.

To be sure, many had transformative experiences that strengthened their leadership before they became George Fellows. Even so, their recent achievements have been impressive. Here are a few whom Bill continues to mentor:

• Seth Moulton is the U.S. representative for Massachusetts 6th congressional district where he has served since 2015.
• Maura Sullivan is vice president of operations for Ginkgo Bioworks, making COVID‐19 tests accessible to kids across America.
• Jonathan Lee Kelly is founder at Asymmetric Holdings, a firm focused on delivering meaningful customer experiences in the restaurant industry.
• Rye Barcott is cofounder and CEO of With Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting veteran leadership to public service, and is author of It Happened on the Way to War.
• John Coleman is managing partner at Sovereign's Capital and coauthor of Passion & Purpose.
• Peter Brooks is cofounder and CEO of Sylmar Group, a water and wastewater company that protects public health and the environment.
• Nate Fick is general manager of security for Elastic, an enterprise security company, and author of One Bullet Away, a New York Times best‐seller.
• Brian Elliott is founder of FriendFactor, advocacy platform for LGBTQ+ rights, and InReach Capital, a real estate investment firm.
• Stephen Chan is chief of staff for Northeastern University and former vice president of strategy and operations at The Boston Foundation.
• Claude Burton is cofounder and partner at SkyKnight Capital, a private equity company investing in market‐leading businesses.

Can there be any doubt that the ideas here apply to emerging leaders from every sector of life and across national boundaries?

As this Emerging Leader Edition is being published, the world faces a leadership crisis. Authoritarians have consolidated greater global power. Polarization defines our U.S. politics. Inequality threatens our economy and capitalism itself. Racial progress has stalled. The pandemic made apparent deep cleavages in society. For people everywhere, life becomes ever more volatile and unpredictable. Instead of putting a firm hand on the wheel, many leaders seem unable to steer toward safe ports in the storm. A 2021 Global Leadership Forecast survey from DDI found that only 11 percent of surveyed organizations reported having a “strong” or “very strong” leadership bench, the lowest rating in the past 10 years.

This book can help us find our way. If individual leaders can recognize when they have drifted away from True North and make successful course corrections, as Bill George argues, nations can as well. Surely, authentic leadership beats what we have now.

David Gergen, Cambridge, Massachusetts