Books

Discover a more agile, democratic, and effective model of leadership, from legendary business scholar Edgar Schein and Silicon Valley executive Peter Schein.

Legendary organizational scholar Edgar Schein and former Silicon Valley executive Peter Schein say leadership today requires that people transcend their hierarchical roles and relate to each other as human beings-what they call humble leadership. In such relationships new ideas can flow freely, mistakes can come to light immediately, and course corrections can be made in real time rather than “by committee” or by order of the lone heroic CEO.

This second edition includes three new chapters. Chapter 1 zeros-in on the Schein's actionable definition of leadership-relative to management and administration-focused on leading people toward “new and better.” Chapter 2 introduces the concept of “situational humility”-leaders now need to shift between several types of relationships to deal with the accelerating complexity of a supply-constrained, “quiet-quitting,” and “two-days-in-the-office” world. And Chapter 5 explains how to create a culture of humble leadership.

Illustrated with examples from healthcare, government, the military, tech, and more, this is a compact, accessible guide to a leadership paradigm far better suited to a world that demands fast, nimble response to change, and a workplace hungry for mutual respect and trust.

Utilizing Dr. Martin Luther King's Beloved Community framework, activists will be empowered to create change and equity through fierce yet compassionate dialogue against racism and systematic white supremacy.

Can a person be both fierce and compassionate at once? Directly challenge racist speech or actions without seeking to humiliate the other person? Interrupt hateful or habitual forms of discrimination in new ways that foster deeper change? Dr. Roxy Manning believes it's possible-and you can learn how.

In this book, Dr. Manning provides a new way to conceive of antiracist conversations, along with the practical tools and frameworks that make them possible. Her work is grounded in the idea of Beloved Community, as articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as a goal to aspire to and even experience now, in the present, when we refuse to give up on the possibility of human connection within ourselves, with potential allies, and with those whose words and actions create harm. This book fuels courage and provides tools to confront everyday forms of racism. It walks the reader through an effective, efficient model of dialogue that utilizes concepts of nonviolent communication and helps normalize talking about racism instead of treating it like a "third rail," strictly avoided or touched at one's peril.

Readers will
• Be empowered to identify what kind of antiracist conversation they want to have-for example, do they only want to be heard, or do they want to negotiate a change in policy?
• Learn how to engage in antiracist conversations whether they are the Actor (person who says or does something racist), the Receiver (the target of racism), or the Bystander.
• Learn how to notice the underlying needs and values that motivate all human actions and how those values can open up pathways to transformation.

Examples of antiracist conversations highlight different ways to initiate dialogue, raise awareness, speak one's truth, and make clear, doable requests or demands for change.

Drawing on her experience as a clinical psychologist, a nonviolent communication practitioner, and an Afro-Caribbean immigrant, Dr. Manning provides a model of antiracist dialogue with practical applications for individuals and organizations.

Find out how bold actions by visionary leaders can inspire powerful stories that drive culture change.

Data indicates that most strategic efforts to change a company's culture fail. So how do companies succeed in this endeavor?

A top strategy professor and two highly successful CEOs found that, in companies that had successfully changed their culture, leaders had taken dramatic actions that embodied the new cultural values. These actions inspired stories that became company legends, repeated in every department and handed on to new employees.

Through compiling and analyzing 150 stories from business leaders who have achieved change, they identified 6 attributes that every successful culture change story has in common:

1. The actions are authentic
2. They revolve around the CEO
3. They signal a clean break with the past, and a clear path to the future
4. They appeal to employee heads and hearts
5. They're often theatrical or dramatic
6. They're told, and re-told, throughout the organization

With extensive and inspiring examples of stories containing these attributes, the authors illustrate how readers can harness the power of stories within their company in order to change or create a winning culture to align with any strategy.

This powerful analysis explains how the bias toward wealth that is woven into the very fabric of American capitalism is damaging people, the economy, and the planet and explores what the foundations of a new economy could be.

This bold manifesto exposes seven myths underlying wealth supremacy-the bias that institutionalizes infinite extraction of wealth by and for the wealthy and is the hidden force behind economic injustice, the climate crisis, and so many other problems of our day:

• The Myth of Maximizing-No amount of wealth is ever enough.
• The Myth of Fiduciary Duty-Corporate managers' most sacred duty is to expand capital.
• The Myth of Corporate Governance-Corporate membership must be reserved for capital alone.
• The Myth of the Income Statement-Income to capital must always be increased, while income to labor must always be decreased.
• The Myth of Materiality-Profit-that is, material gain-alone is real, while social and environmental damages are not.
• The Myth of Takings-The first duty of government must be the protection of private property.
• The Myth of the Free Market-There should be no limits on the sphere of influence of corporations and capital.

Kelly argues instead for the democratization of ownership: public ownership of vital services, worker-owned businesses, and more. And she sketches the outlines of a nonextractive capitalism that would be subordinate to the public interest. This is an ambitious reimagining of the very foundations of our economy and society.

Drawing on the accumulated expertise of one of the world's top leadership development organizations, this is a comprehensive and accessible guide to effective leadership practice, written in fifty-two short, to-the-point chapters.

A disciplined leader is someone who identifies and focuses in on what author John Manning calls “the vital few”-that 20 percent of activities that will deliver 80 percent of the results. Manning should know. He is the President of Management Action Programs, Inc., a general management consulting firm that's helped tens of thousands of leaders accelerate their leadership and management performance. In this book he draws on MAP's fifty years of expertise to present a comprehensive guide to effective leadership practice in short, quick-read chapters-the format best suited to busy executives.

The Disciplined Leader offers fifty-two succinct lessons to help you hone in on your own vital few in three critical areas: mastering yourself, sharpening your leadership capabilities, and strengthening critical relationships with employees and customers. Each lesson comes with recommended tactics and practical “Now Get Going!” tips for implementing it, so there are literally hundreds of pieces of must-know, time-tested advice here. In each of the three critical areas, Manning emphasizes the vital role of professional and personal discipline, the essential ingredient in making each lesson work. This is a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts guide to leadership practice that's built to inspire action, drive change, and achieve results.

Author of the bestselling DEI Deconstructed returns with a companion workbook filled with practical and actionable techniques for changemakers at all stages of their DEI journey.

The next step in your DEI journey starts here. Building on the knowledge base of DEI Deconstructed, Lily Zheng offers a workbook with 40 original exercises, worksheets, and other tools to help guide you and your organization toward more substantive and lasting DEI outcomes. Whether you're a new or veteran DEI practitioner looking to improve your practice, a leader looking to grow your leadership skills, or an advocate looking to play more powerful roles in movements, this book will give you the practical tools to do just that.

From self-work to organizational change, this workbook will upskill you with the core competencies required for impactful DEI work, such as – diagnosing inequity, working with constituents, building movements, creating psychological safety, stewarding inclusive cultures, resolving conflict and harm, and achieving systems change. Most importantly, it will give you valuable experience putting these skills into action. Each activity can stand on its own and is designed to stimulate valuable reflection and practice. Included are recommendations for targeted exercise roadmaps to supplement your learning journey. Taken all together, these exercises are a complete masterclass in any practitioner's DEI education.

This go-to guidebook helps agile practitioners overcome upskilling challenges in their organizations through effective Dojo coaching.

Agile has changed the way we work in our organizations. But by demanding constant innovation and product delivery, individuals and teams struggle to find time to improve their skills. That's where the Dojo comes in. Dojo-style coaching encourages this kind of learn-by-doing form of skill development, one where guided breakthroughs and upskilling happen while delivering on current work.

In this useful pocket guide, experienced Dojo coach Jess Brock delivers practical advice based on her extensive experience in real-world Dojos. Combining proven tactics and a comprehensive tool kit, along with actionable tips needed to drive engagement in both physical and virtual Dojo spaces, this pocket guide will equip you to maximize the impact of your Dojo.

Whether you are a seasoned pro or you are just starting to develop your Dojo coaching skills, this no-nonsense book will help Dojo coaches at any stage of their journey.

Leadership legend and bestselling author Ken Blanchard returns with trust expert and thought leader Randy Conley to present a structured playbook based on the bestselling Simple Truths of Leadership.

The companion playbook to Simple Truths of Leadership expands on the book's 52 essential principles of servant leadership and trust building. This structured playbook provides weekly prompts and exercises to help you track your progress toward your leadership goals. It focuses on one Simple Truth per week and includes:

• A summary of each Simple Truth
• A game plan for using each truth in your workplace, including thought-provoking questions and exercises to challenge your thinking and cause you to consider new ideas about leadership
• A Call to Action to “Try It This Week”

With so much of today's workforce feeling disengaged from the work they do, it's critical for leaders to move away from self-serving methods and embrace servant leadership to put their followers' needs before their own. And by journaling alongside servant leadership principles, you will be able to turn the common sense behind these simple truths into common practice for you and your organization.

A powerful, inspiring, and achievable vision of a society based on cooperation and community instead of competition and commodification.

This book counters the dominant and destructive story that we are polarized, violent, selfish, and destined to consume everything in sight. That is not who we are.

The challenge, Peter Block says, is that we are suffering under an economic theology that is based on scarcity, self-interest, competition, and infinite growth. We're told we can purchase and outsource all that matters. Block calls this the “business perspective narrative.” It dominates not only the economy but also architecture, faith communities, journalism, arts, neighborhoods, and much more.

Block offers an antidote: the “common good narrative.” It embodies the belief that we are basically communal and cooperative. And that we have the capacity to communally produce what we care most about: raising a child, safety, livelihood, health, and a clean and sustainable environment.

This book describes how shifts to the common good perspective could transform many areas, fostering journalism that reports on what works, architecture that designs habitable spaces creating connection, faith collectives that build community, a market that is restrained and local, and leadership and activism that build social capital by creating trust among citizens. With these shifts, we would fundamentally change the world we live in for the better.

Avoid the speed trap! Discover how changemakers can find lasting solutions to urgent social problems through a proven 5-step process for listening thoughtfully, building broad support, and exploring unconventional options.


Society celebrates leaders who promise fast, easy solutions to the world's problems-but quick fixes are just mirages that fade, leaving us with the same broken systems. The truth is, effective social change happens through slow, intentional actions. The author, a globally acclaimed social entrepreneur, offers a 5-step process for taking the slow lane to change-the lane that gets you to the right place faster:

• Listening-Listen to build trust, which can change hearts and minds and allow for something new to emerge.
• Holding the urgency-Accept that even in moments of crisis you can move only at the speed of trust instead of rushing into action.
• Sharing the agency-Create an inclusive environment where everyone can lead.
• Healing democracy-Build bridges that allow marginalized people to participate.
• Maintaining curiosity-Be inspired by nontraditional sources.

Using dozens of examples-prison reform in England, urban development in Venezuela, healthcare in the Navajo Nation, early childhood education in New York, and many more-The Slow Lane shows how, by following the principles taught in this book, readers can create lasting change.

Improve communication, engagement, and culture with active listening.

When employees, colleagues, and customers are not being heard, organizational culture, employee happiness, and overall organizational success will suffer. How well do you listen?

Active listening is the doorway to increased belonging, loyalty, profitability, innovation, and so much more. It is the difference between thinking we understand what people want and knowing what they want. Want to build stronger relationships, avoid misunderstandings, and anticipate problems before they surface at work?

All you have to do is listen.

The Art of Active Listening introduces a 5-step framework that shows you how to listen successfully and act upon what you are hearing. Readers will discover how to:

1. Recognize the unsaid
2. Seek to understand
3. Decode
4. Act
5. Close the loop

Backed by her personal review of over 30,000 employee and customer surveys and facilitation of 100's of focus groups, Younger discovered one universal truth: We all want to be heard. We want our voices to matter. We want the work we do to matter.

When we get this right - when we listen to our employees and customers and care about them not just for what they can do but for who they ARE - they can and will move mountains.

Using the tools provided in this book, you can implement active listening, regardless of whether you're in-person or virtual, that benefits all team members and customers, strengthens overall engagement, improves organizational culture and creates a space for everyone to have a voice.

When those at work feel heard, they will do whatever it takes to achieve outcomes that serve your relationship and your organization.

The Antiracist Heart delivers a unique path to antiracist activism and introspection by applying neuroscience exercises, questionnaires, and journaling prompts based on the book How to Have Antiracist Conversations.

Have you wanted to stand up for the values you believe in, yet found yourself inexplicably held back? Do you long for a way to hold people accountable that doesn't simultaneously demean them? The Antiracist Heart combines cutting-edge neuroscience with ways to build Martin Luther King Jr's vision of Beloved Community, delivering practical tools for the internal and interpersonal work of antiracism. This book prepares the reader to have a new kind of conversation when racist harms occur – one that doesn't shy away from hard truths yet doesn't demonize anyone.

Based on the framework of How to Have Antiracist Conversations, the activities in this handbook empower readers to disrupt the ways racism plays out in daily life. In each chapter, Manning, a clinical psychologist and antiracist activist, and Peyton, a neuroscience expert and educator, both trainers in Nonviolent Communication, unpack key concepts like bias and trauma using brain science alongside practices for self-connection and dialogue.

The exercises are:
• Flexible
• Designed to work for individuals or groups
• For people of the Global Majority (BIPOC) or white people
• For those with or without experience in addressing the effects of racism

By better understanding the neuroscience of how brains develop in response to culture, readers gain skills to interrupt implicit biases and racist constructs deep within the brain. The activities invite introspection and a radical form of self-compassion that make antiracist dialogues and actions possible, thus creating real change.

Experience the power of inclusion, community, and taking action! An updated, expanded edition.

By 2045 Latinos will make up 1 in 4 Americans. They are projected to be 78% of the new entries into the labor force in the next ten years. By sheer numbers alone, Latinos will shape the 21st Century. What does it take to lead such a varied and vibrant people who hail from twenty-six countries and are a blend of different races? And what can leaders of all cultures and ethnicities learn from how Latinos lead?

Juana Bordas takes us on a journey to the very heart and soul of Latino leadership. She offers 10 principles that richly illustrate the inclusive, people-centered, socially responsible, and life-affirming ways Latinos have led their community. This model is uniquely suited to this century's multicultural, global age.

This new and expanded edition includes a chapter on intergenerational leadership that recognizes vast generational shifts are occurring: ten thousand Baby Boomers retire every day and Millennials and Zs are the largest generations in history. Six out of 10 Latinos are millennials. This new chapter can guide us in preparing the next generations to take the helm of leadership.

This unprecedented and wide-ranging book shows that Latino leadership is indeed powerful and distinctive and has lessons that can inform leaders of every background.

This radical and rigorous rethinking of the traditional MBA program combines solid business principles with a commitment to environmental and social justice.

Many current and aspiring entrepreneurs are looking for a solid business education that also deeply aligns with their progressive values. Based on a course field-tested with over 500 students, this book fills that gap. It covers traditional topics such as business strategy and structure, finance, marketing, recruiting, and branding from a socially just and environmentally regenerative perspective. And it also touches on topics such as strategies to reverse climate change, nonviolent communication, self-managing organizations, locally self-reliant economies, racial justice, and more.

Traditional MBA programs are based on outdated principles that were developed during the Industrial Revolution-and they can be hugely expensive. Sustainable MBA programs, while laudable, are too incremental to make a sufficient impact. The Next Economy MBA is for entrepreneurs seeking to make business an active force for good. It draws on the authors' experience of working with over 300 social enterprises, from small organizations like Winona's Hemp and Heritage Farm to household names like Ben & Jerry's and Patagonia.

Our current economy, what the authors call the “Business as Usual Economy,” has created a massive wealth gap, a climate crisis, racial division, and needless housing, food, and healthcare shortages. This book shows how businesses can pave the way to a Next Economy that meets the basic needs of all people and restores and protects the planetary ecosystem.

“Those looking to move beyond performative allyship will find this an excellent resource.” -Publishers Weekly

"Well-informed, hard-hitting advice for antiracists.” -Kirkus Reviews

What if there were a set of rules to educate people against race-based social faux pas that damage relationships, perpetuate racist stereotypes, and harm people of color? This book provides just that in an effort to slow the malignant domino effect of race-based ignorance in American communities and workplaces to help address the vestiges of our nation's racist past.

Race Rules is an innovative, practical manual for white people of the unwritten “rules” relating to race, explaining the unvarnished truth about racist and offensive white behaviors. It offers a unique lens from Fatimah Gilliam, a light-skinned Black woman, and is informed by the revealing things white people say when they don't realize she's Black.

Presented as a series of race rules, this book has each chapter tackling a specific topic many people of color wish white people understood. Combining history and explanations with practical advice, it goes beyond the theoretical by focusing on what's implementable.

Gilliam addresses issues such as
• Racial blinders and misperceptions
• White privilege
• Racial stereotypes
• Everyday choices and behaviors that cause racial harm

Introducing a straightforward universal three-step framework to unlearn racism and challenge misconceptions, this book offers readers a chance to change behaviors and shift mindsets to better navigate cross-racial interactions and relationships. Through its race etiquette guidelines, it teaches white people to become action-oriented racism disruptors instead of silent, complicit supporters of white supremacy.

Your DEIJ efforts are stagnating because you continue to center whiteness. Creating a truly anti-racist organization requires learning how to identify and rectify the systemic, and often unconscious, centering of white culture and values in the workplace.

Corporate America continues to struggle with racial equity in a post-George Floyd world. As the United States becomes more diverse and the public consciousness continues to shift, successful racial equity efforts in the workplace are needed now more than ever.

Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace exposes the ways that white culture and expectations are centered in the modern American workplace and the fears within corporate spaces about talking candidly, openly, and honestly about whiteness, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness.

Readers will discover:
• A direct and straightforward analysis about what white-centering is
• An evaluation of the different ways that whiteness is centered in the workplace, such as bereavement and holiday policies and dress codes
• A guide on how to recognize and decenter whiteness within oneself and at work
• Solutions for people to contribute individually and systemically to anti-oppression

Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace provides a crucial guidebook with practical solutions for leaders, DEIJ practitioners, and anyone hoping to truly create an anti-racist workplace.

Winner of the Thinkers50 2023 Leadership Award

One of Thinkers50's Ten Best Management Books of 2023

“A timely, actionable book on the virtues that every great leader needs to learn.”
—ADAM GRANT, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Leadership is simply a series of moments, and this book gives you the tools to turn each moment into an opportunity to leave a positive legacy for those you lead.

In this ground-breaking book, award-winning leadership expert and business leader Kirstin Ferguson has written a much-needed practical guide for every modern leader. Whether you are the head of one of the largest companies in the world, supervising a small team, or guiding your family, it will be your ability to integrate your head and heart that will influence your success in leading others and navigating our complex world.

Combining studies from leading thinkers in the field with her own research, and more than three decades of personal experience, Kirstin explains the 8 key attributes of a head and heart leader and provides the tools to measure your own approach. Along the way, she shares her conversations with modern leaders from a broad range of backgrounds whose stories will surprise you, challenge your thinking and inspire you to be the type of leader the world needs.

More Honors for Head & Heart:
Royal Society of Arts Career Book Award
Next Big Idea Club “Must Read”
Shortlisted in the 2023 Porchlight Business Book Awards
Shortlisted in the 2023 Australian Business Book Awards
Named in HR Magazine Winter Reading list

A top mental health writer, trauma researcher, and survivor illuminates the dual nature of loss-the science behind it and art of transforming it with a breakthrough book and truly holistic approach.

After experiencing two rare heart attacks at the age of 33-and a third a decade later, DeMarco knows trauma intimately. Trauma breaks your relationship with time by upending your expectations, fracturing your memories and identity, and destroying your innocence.

With poignant wisdom and refreshing insight DeMarco explodes traditional myths of resilience and shows what it takes to thrive through any of life's challenges. DeMarco situates meaningful challenge and loss specifically in the context of “lost innocence,” and challenges common notions that we can think our way out of despair and back to a “normal” happy life when the unimaginable shatters it.

Leveraging advances in emotion science, somatic psychology, neuroscience, and trauma, Holding Onto Air brings the body and spirit into the solution, as much as the mind, and so presents a truly integrated, “whole person” approach to recovering from lost innocence and building resilience. It also makes spirit accessible for anyone of any background or belief-or no aligned belief.

More than a rudimentary map for navigating grief and loss' rocky terrain (with tired tropes and shop-worn strategies), DeMarco offers a unique and trusted guide for an arduous journey every human being will have to face-the realization of evil, pain, or mortality that occurs after a person experiences trauma.