Description

‘An entertaining tale with a serious message . . . we can rebuild our institutions with people at the centre and progress as the result!’ Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive

Are you struggling to create profound, lasting change in your organisation? Everyday Superhero is a simple story with a powerful solution.

Meet a stressed young manager, Mae B, whose teams are being led by an authoritarian CEO. We join her on her mission to overhaul the outdated leadership systems obsessed by power, profit and process and fight for central leadership that prioritises people, purpose and principles.

It’s the start of a journey into a new vision of leadership, one that has been designed to take on the challenges that organisations face today. And if we follow Mae B’s lead, we can all create change, when we need it most.

Developed from the author’s academic research at Duke University, this memorable adventure will help you create lasting change in complex and chaotic times.

‘This powerful book tells the story of how leaders can unlock every employee’s superpower to create lasting change’ Dorie Clark, bestselling author of The Long Game

Publisher Review

An entertaining tale with a serious message. Too often, organizations resort to conformity and control instead of creativity and autonomy - and we all pay the price. But if we enlist Mae's epic journey as our guide, we can rebuild our institutions with people at the center and progress as the result * Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive, To Sell is Human and When * Every company is full of Everyday Superheroes that can take your organization to the next level. This powerful book tells the story of how leaders can unlock every employee's superpower to create lasting change * Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game and executive education faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business * We ask our people and teams to achieve the impossible without giving them the environment, autonomy and tools to succeed. Everyday Superhero shows how leaders can change this in an extremely engaging format * Alex Osterwalder, bestselling author of Business Model Generation, The Value Proposition Canvas, and the Invincible Company * A page-turner that illustrates how Mae leads without authority and applies a people-centered approach to motivate her organization to save the world. Read this story and learn how to become an Everyday Superhero in your own organization * Keith Ferrazzi, Bestselling author of Never Eat Alone, Leading Without Authority and Competing in the New World of Work * Peter Drucker said that "No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it." Everyday Superhero integrates artful storytelling and thoughtful research to show how Mae, an average middle-manager, applies a People-Centered approach to orchestrate the energy of those around her to achieve the impossible * Richard Straub, President Global Peter Drucker Forum * Through charming characters, poignant humor, and his arsenal of knowledge, O'Driscoll gives us the tools necessary to make those long-needed changes within our organizations. It is a must-read, a thoughtful primer full of important information for those of us who want to make meaningful changes both within the communities that surround us, as well as within ourselves! * Sanyin Siang, Professor, Duke University, Superpowers Expert and Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach * As the project economy advances and our work becomes a set of projects, we will need more "Middle-Out" leaders like Mae who apply a "People-Centered" approach to changing the business. Everyday Superhero is an engaging story that reveals the core principles leaders at every level must learn and apply to successfully transform their business * Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook * The human capacity to imagine is what makes the difference between incremental change and the paradigm shifts and pivots required to truly transform an organization. Everyday Superhero chronicles how Mae B injects new life into her company by making the leadership shifts required to unlock the collective imagination within her organization to save the world. The book itself is very imaginative, leveraging the power of graphic storytelling to bring a significant body of recent management research to life in an immersive and engaging manner. Definitely NOT a typical worthy-but-slightly-dull business book! * Martin Reeves, Chairman, BCG Henderson Institute and Author The Imagination Machine * Everyday Superhero is a whole new category of business book. Its ground breaking portrayal through story holds lessons for us all as Mae works her network from the middle-out to forge connections and encourage boundary-spanning innovation that enables her organization to save the world. Anyone seeking to understand how to avoid collaborative overload and tap into the discretionary effort that lies dormant in organizations today should read this book! * Rob Cross, Edward A. Madden Professor of Leadership at Babson College and author of Collaborative Overload * Can each of us make a difference? Without a brand? Without a title? Without, well, super status? Yes, we can. Simply by standing in that spot in the world only one stands. Onlyness. This book reminds us that we're each more than capable but we need to know how to navigate the contexts around us. Mae teaches us how. Kapow, Shazam, and BOOM: Innovation happens * Nilofer Merchant, Innovator and Author, Power of Onlyness * Using graphic storytelling, Everyday Superhero conveys the kind of horror-movie work atmosphere characteristic of old-mindset organizations and opens the appetite to a set of powerful tools that puts people first and thus activates the leadership shifts that make change happen. Follow them carefully! A highly recommended read! * Eduardo P Braun, Author of People First Leadership * Tony O'Driscoll is an intellectual can of whoop ass! He does more than transform corporate culture. He transforms everyone he meets. Everyday Superhero shows you how to unlock this superpower in yourself * Jonathan Brill, Author of Rogue Waves *