Simple Art of Greatness

In this study of leadership, Mullen, a Massachusetts advertising exec, ponders how to build an effective organization while keeping employees focused on ``achieving greatness.'' Relying on personal business experiences and ``a handful of great teachers,'' he maintains an ``absolute belief'' in such ``principles'' as employee capability, delegation of authority and entrepreneurship. Claiming that the most reliable way to achieve long-term profitability is to foster long-term employer-employee relationships based on fairness, loyalty and trust, he espouses a ``hard-nosed'' formula for making money and being happy while doing so. In Mullen's view, everyone should be an entrepreneur; he has little to say to the legion who just want to do their jobs. Replete with nostrums--``Hire people who are smart''; ``build greatness into your organization at least five years before the calamity happens''--the text invites us to treat it as a candy sampler and to take a nougat or walnut cream as our taste dictates. Some may prefer a more nourishing nosh. (Mar.)