Deng Xiaoping: A Leadership Case Study

TEACHING THE COMPLEXITY OF LEADERSHIP “Hence a prince who wants to keep his post must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.”(1) This timeless, albeit amoral, advice that Niccolo Machiavelli offered 500 years ago is very difficult for undergraduate students of leadership to appreciate. Attempting to bridge this gap, the authors have written a case about and from the perspective of Deng Xiaoping (considered by many to have been the most successful leader of modern China). The three part case also includes appendices to aid the student in understanding the context in which Deng led China, as well as teaching notes to guide the instructor. (1) The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli (Translated by Robert M. Adams, UCLA), W.W. Norton, 1977