Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption

by Steve Dennis

Overview

Leaders Leap goes beyond the standard business playbook and teaches you the secrets to creating the bolder, faster, and essential transformation needed to avoid becoming irrelevant in an era of profound and accelerating change. 

​Renowned thought leader on business strategy and innovation Steve Dennis argues that most business transformations are doomed to fail due to two fundamental reasons: their leaders don’t aim high enough, delivering mostly incremental changes rather than something truly remarkable, and they move far too slowly to keep up with the pace of disruption. This gap between what is required in a world of seismic shifts in technology and customer requirements and what is typically delivered risks putting many organizations on the road to extinction. 

Solid strategy, team building, and process planning are essential—and there are plenty of books out there to show you how to improve them all—but these elements are not enough on their own to ensure success. During a 40-year career where he ascended to the senior leadership roles at two Fortune 500 companies, followed by becoming an in-demand strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Dennis observed C-suite executives underestimate the scope, magnitude, and speed of change needed to survive, much less thrive. In Leaders Leap, he makes the case for why a complete metamorphosis of leadership mindset is essential to prevent organizations from becoming irrelevant and explores seven profound “mind leaps” leaders need to make now to transform at the speed of disruption. 

This book takes leaders on a courageous journey of self-reflection, personal accountability, and growth, exposing the ways in which our ego defects, blind spots, confirmation bias, and defense mechanisms get in the way of the progress we need to make:

How the accelerating pace of disruption is making old strategic frameworks useless and why we need to think bigger, act more boldly, and move much faster.
How the executive ego prevents us from seeing this new reality and can limit our acceptance of new strategies for change.
How fear and pride constrain vision and lead to timid transformation programs that are virtually guaranteed to fail.
Why decades of leadership experience can undermine the ability to let go of outdated ideas to think and act more boldly.
With illuminating case studies and hard-earned personal wisdom, Dennis helps you create important strategic and mental shifts to find humility, sharpen your customer focus, amplify your brand’s wow factor, and truly innovate at the speed of disruption. If you want your organization to make the leap from imperiled to thriving, Leaders Leap provides an inspiring call to action and the catalyzing ideas to guide you to a more remarkable and sustainable future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637560297
Publisher:	Wonderwell Press
Publication date:	04/23/2024
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Steve Dennis is a strategy and innovation consultant, keynote speaker, podcast host, and bestselling author of Remarkable Retail. He has been named a top global retail influencer by multiple organizations, and his thoughts on the future of shopping are regularly shared in his role as a Forbes Senior Contributor, as well as through other media, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. As a sought-out keynote speaker, Steve has delivered talks on six continents, sharing his unique perspective on what it takes to reignite customer growth in a world of constant change and shifting consumer preferences. Steve is the President of Sage Berry Consulting and a former SVP at the Neiman Marcus Group. He serves on multiple for profit and non-profit boards. Steve holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Mind the Gap

PART 1: Remarkable or Irrelevant?

Chapter 1: Shift Happens
Chapter 2: The Curse of the Timid Transformation

PART 2: The Seven Leadership Mind Leaps

Chapter 3: Mind Leap 1: Crush Your Ego
Chapter 4: Mind Leap 2: Wake Up
Chapter 5: Mind Leap 3: Special, Not Big
Chapter 6: Mind Leap 4: Start with Wow
Chapter 7: Mind Leap 5: Think Radically
Chapter 8: Mind Leap 6: Safe Is Risky
Chapter 9: Mind Leap 7: Faster, Faster, Go, Go, Go!

PART 3: Leaders Leap

Chapter 10: The Big Leap

Acknowledgements
Notes
Selected Bibliography and Additional Reading
About the Author
Also by Steve Dennis

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“What did you do during the revolution? This is essential reading for anyone who cares enough to lead, right here, right now, when we need it most.”
—SETH GODIN, author of The Song of Significance

“Welcome to the future—here is your leadership manual.”
—BRIDGET BRENNAN, CEO of Female Factor and author of Why She Buys and Winning Her Business

“This book brilliantly navigates the crossroads where tradition meets innovation, urging leaders to make bold choices. Leaders Leap is an essential road map for those ready to embrace transformation and lead with courage and vision.”
—HAL LAWTON, president & CEO of Tractor Supply Company

“Steve Dennis shows how important it is to identify and work on the things that hold us back from taking the bold, decisive, meaningful actions that will save our businesses from drifting toward irrelevance. Any leader seeking a remarkable future will benefit from adopting all seven mind leaps described in this entertaining book.”
—SALLY ELLIOTT, partner and co-leader of the Global Retail Practice, Spencer Stuart

“Updating classic business concepts for the digital age, this book offers a concise road map for success amidst our current age of disruption. It’s a must-read for leaders looking to transform their companies and leap into the future.”
—HUBERT JOLY, former CEO of Best Buy, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and author of The Heart of Business

“At a time when virtually every part of our economy is being reshaped by the forces of disruption, Steve Dennis makes the case that 'safe is risky.' To rise above the rest, transformational leadership requires a greater focus on boldness. We need to aim higher in the value we deliver and move much faster. Leaders Leap is your indispensable guide to a more remarkable future for you and your organization.”
—MINDY GROSSMAN, Partner at Consello Group, former CEO WW International

“This book reminds us that transformation is not driven by technology but by courageous leaders who see reality and then adapt themselves and their companies to leap ahead of others. In an AI age, it will be HI, or Human Inspiration, that will set companies and leaders apart. The ability to see what others cannot, create solutions that are both simple and impactful, and to do so in ways that both move fast and move others. Read this book to turbocharge yourself and your business.”
—RISHAD TOBACCOWALLA, Senior Adviser, Publicis Groupe, and author of Restoring the Soul of Business

“We all bring critical thinking and strong business practices to the work that we do. We identify clear opportunities and challenges and work towards solving them efficiently, reliably, and with rigor. Steve Dennis' latest book, Leaders Leap, is an acute reminder that in a time of technological shifts and dances, leaders need to add emergent thinking into the mix. Leaders Leap gives you permission to generate better ideas, push innovation, explore new opportunities, and even improvise to get there. How radical can you be? Read on, and find out.”
—MITCH JOEL, ThinkersOne, author of Six Pixels of Separation

“Future-proofing our organizations demands we go beyond the latest conceptual frameworks and adoption of new processes. We must adopt fundamentally new mindsets. In this ground-breaking book, Steve Dennis presents a paradigm shift that calls on leaders to seek higher ground, act more boldly, and move much faster if they hope to survive, much less thrive.“ 
—TIFFANI BOVA, Executive Advisor, 3x Thinkers50, and bestselling author of The Experience Mindset

Editorial Reviews

What did you do during the revolution? This is essential reading for anyone who cares enough to lead, right here, right now, when we need it most.”
—SETH GODIN, author of The Song of Significance

“Welcome to the future—here is your leadership manual.”
—BRIDGET BRENNAN, CEO of Female Factor and author of Why She Buys and Winning Her Business

“This book brilliantly navigates the crossroads where tradition meets innovation, urging leaders to make bold choices. Leaders Leap is an essential road map for those ready to embrace transformation and lead with courage and vision.”
—HAL LAWTON, president & CEO of Tractor Supply Company

“Steve Dennis shows how important it is to identify and work on the things that hold us back from taking the bold, decisive, meaningful actions that will save our businesses from drifting toward irrelevance. Any leader seeking a remarkable future will benefit from adopting all seven mind leaps described in this entertaining book.”
—SALLY ELLIOTT, partner and co-leader of the Global Retail Practice, Spencer Stuart

“Updating classic business concepts for the digital age, this book offers a concise road map for success amidst our current age of disruption. It’s a must-read for leaders looking to transform their companies and leap into the future.”
—HUBERT JOLY, former CEO of Best Buy, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and author of The Heart of Business

“At a time when virtually every part of our economy is being reshaped by the forces of disruption, Steve Dennis makes the case that 'safe is risky.' To rise above the rest, transformational leadership requires a greater focus on boldness. We need to aim higher in the value we deliver and move much faster. Leaders Leap is your indispensable guide to a more remarkable future for you and your organization.”
—MINDY GROSSMAN, Partner at Consello Group, former CEO WW International

“This book reminds us that transformation is not driven by technology but by courageous leaders who see reality and then adapt themselves and their companies to leap ahead of others. In an AI age, it will be HI, or Human Inspiration, that will set companies and leaders apart. The ability to see what others cannot, create solutions that are both simple and impactful, and to do so in ways that both move fast and move others. Read this book to turbocharge yourself and your business.”
—RISHAD TOBACCOWALLA, Senior Adviser, Publicis Groupe, and author of Restoring the Soul of Business

“We all bring critical thinking and strong business practices to the work that we do. We identify clear opportunities and challenges and work towards solving them efficiently, reliably, and with rigor. Steve Dennis' latest book, Leaders Leap, is an acute reminder that in a time of technological shifts and dances, leaders need to add emergent thinking into the mix. Leaders Leap gives you permission to generate better ideas, push innovation, explore new opportunities, and even improvise to get there. How radical can you be? Read on, and find out.”
—MITCH JOEL, ThinkersOne, author of Six Pixels of Separation

“Future-proofing our organizations demands we go beyond the latest conceptual frameworks and adoption of new processes. We must adopt fundamentally new mindsets. In this ground-breaking book, Steve Dennis presents a paradigm shift that calls on leaders to seek higher ground, act more boldly, and move much faster if they hope to survive, much less thrive.“ 
—TIFFANI BOVA, Executive Advisor, 3x Thinkers50, and bestselling author of The Experience Mindset

From the Publisher

★ 02/05/2024

Innovation consultant Dennis (senior contributor, Forbes; Remarkable Retail) provides insights into what leaders should boldly do to dramatically transform a business in today's testy market environment. He forthrightly explains why a complete metamorphosis of typical leadership mindsets is crucial to prevent a business from becoming forgotten. His steps include crushing one's own ego, waking up with intention, being distinctive and not just big, thinking radically, taking a mind leap, and moving from slow and cautious to the speed of innovation. Throughout this title, he uses examples of well-known companies that exemplify his more aggressive approach to long-term survival. His strong ideas and principles may challenge more traditional leaders; his strategy presents significant risks, but many business-minded readers will agree that sometimes that is exactly what's needed to accelerate change. VERDICT An offering of nonpareil implications for any business or organization. This title expands Chip and Dan Heath's Switch. It also serves as a contemporary update to Clayton Christensen's classic The Innovator's Dilemma. Highly recommended for all university libraries supporting business curricula.—Dale Farris

Library Journal