A Road Taken

by David McLean, Patricia Finn

Overview

Nineteen years ago, David McLean was appointed by the prime minister of Canada to the board of directors of CN, after which he was elected chairman. McLean has been reelected each year and will retire in April 2014. In A Road Taken, the longest-serving chairman of the board in CN history explains complex business issues in very human terms. McLean's stories include his leadership role in the privatization of the company and the intrigue and egos in the behind-the-scenes race to launch the biggest IPO in Canadian history at that time. They also include the adventure and challenge of a prairie childhood, a university education fuelled by team sports and ambition, and a successful career in law and business. McLean plumbs the depths and delivers a treatise on leadership in business and life that is as moving as it is honest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771640688
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	04/21/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	296
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

David McLean left a successful law practice in 1972 to establish the McLean Group, which specializes in real estate, film production, communications, and aviation. MacLean is the longest-serving chairman of the board of CN Rail, and he played an important leadership role in the privatization of the company in the largest IPO in Canadian history.

Patricia Finn is an established film and television script writer and editor and the director of communications for the MacLean Group.

Table of Contents

Foreword Jean Chrétien 1

Preface 5

Introduction 9

Part 1 The Early Years

1 Leadership 21

2 Home 27

3 Childhood 35

4 Youth 41

5 Scorecards 49

6 Law School 61

Part 2 A Family Business

7 Partnership 77

8 Growth 93

9 Vancouver Film Studios 109

10 Blackcomb Aviation 125

11 Succession Planning 133

Part 3 CN

12 Back on the Board 143

13 Strikes, Banks, and Other Showdowns 163

14 Talking Sticks and Referendums 177

15 New Tracks 187

16 Crisis Management 201

17 Three CEOS 209

18 The Future 221

Part 4 Love and Other Wonders

19 Miracles 239

20 Peace 253

Afterword Jason McLean 259

Acknowledgements 263

Index 269