With demands on leaders at an all-time high and executive tenure at a record low, executive search consulting is positioned to gain unprecedented influence over who makes it to the leadership table and who doesn't. But little has been known about this powerful, invisible force that operates at the epicenter of the war for senior talent and global competitiveness - until now. In this rich expose, Joseph McCool pulls back the curtain to reveal how senior management recruiters influence compensation, workplace diversity, high profile CEO succession, organizational performance, culture, profits and the very definition of leadership. He trains his investigative journalist's eye on the growing influence of this elite band of management consultants to expose the recruitment practices and exploit of some of the country's leading businesses_from Avery Denison and the Campbell Soup Company to Disney. Deciding Who Leads makes a hard-line business case for taking control of the executive recruitment and hiring process, laying out the new leadership mandate, best practices for recruiting senior talent, strategic priorities for hiring organizations and tactical advice for making the most of executive leadership recruiting and management succession.