ABSTRACT
In this chapter I explore the nature of wisdom and provide research insights into the way in which practical wisdom is understood and practised by senior managers. The research for this chapter is drawn from the Wisdom Project inaugurated in 2010 by the Euro China Centre for Leadership and Responsibility at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). The objective of the Wisdom Project was to assess the way in which wisdom was understood by 181 senior managers and applied in the managerial decision-making process. A subsidiary objective was to test the extent to which the descriptions collected through the research survey could be aligned with the five principles of social practice wisdom (SPW) (McKenna, Rooney and Boal, 2009, pp. 178-180). I first set out the academic and research context for phronetic research and then proceed to set out the survey method, an analysis of results and comparisons with the five SPW principles.
