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Some people have used the phrase ‘electronic paper’ to suggest that electronic information displays may replace the printed page. Progress towards the ideal of electronic paper is reviewed along several dimensions: the technologies, such as the display surface, the appearance, such as the page layout, and the function, such as the styles of interaction, that are currently available and may become possible in the future.

This chapter forms the introduction to the book and offers an overview on the main aspects of leadership development that require explanation and further consideration. The current poor state of much development is considered and evidence provided of the deficiency in our understanding of organisations and how they function in actuality.

The misunderstandings about how people behave and how they really manage or lead are explored. One of the most important of these is the assumption of transferability, not just between national and regional cultures but within societal cultures, sectors, industries and organisations. This assumption applies equally to learning interventions which can have contradictory forms by being based on criteria external to the company and the individual leaders within it. The dominance of university business schools is also questioned.

The introduction concludes with an overview of the two-part format of the book and provides a pen picture of each chapter.