“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” —Jim Whittaker, first American to climb Mt. Everest
 
A leader’s job—in a radically changing world—is standing on the cliff edge, getting a grip on unfamiliar landscapes, and acquiring the skills for leading the enterprise into new territory. In a world facing the unprecedented challenges of global pandemic and economic distruption, every leader needs to find the edge for leaping across the breach and breaking new ground on the other side.
 
Michael Useem provides rare insight into how ten leaders confronted hard realities. He looked close-in at the lide and work of people such as Bill McNabb of Vanguard, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson, and Tricia Griffith of Progressive Insurance. His “you are there” profiles chronicle fateful decisions such as:

• Meeting the concerns of a next-generation workforce that considers inclusiveness an integral part of business
• Developing a strategy for growth in a market that is cratering
• Escaping the confines of an insane, always-on, 24/7 world to learn about the real, granular changes happening in the marketplace

 
Useem’s profiles of leaders on the edge provide the inspiration and the guidance we all need for adapting and thriving in an era of massive disruption and continuous transformation.

"The tumultuous changes in the marketplace, the impatience of a new generation, the specter of inequality, and, most recently, the simultaneous challenges of a pandemic, economic collapse, and racial crisis all cry out for new thinking to confront a radically changed world. Michael Useem has integrated himself into the life and work of CEOs of major companies-- including Bill McNabb of Vanguard, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Tricia Griffith of Progressive--and chronicles their "moments of truth," those turning points when chief executives confronted the hard realities of a new, harsher world and faced the fact that what they were doing was no longer working. He explores how they approached fateful decisions on management, retention, hiring, and the bottom line, and provides unprecedented insight into how company leaders reached their most critical decisions. Useem provides a new roadmap for how to reach decisions in any organization as we face the decade ahead--one in which massive disruptions are likely to emerge yet again-- and how to lead when an executive needs to be a 24/7 communicator, crisis leader, and an emphatic voice inside and outside the organization, dealing with employees, customers, officials, non-profits, governing boards, Wall Street, the media, and investors"--