In The Courage to Act, Merom Klein, PhD & Professor Rodney Napier, PhD ask why some teams succumb to adversity and settle for what’s easy – and why others bounce back with resilience.
The answer, they suggest, is Courage. With historical examples as diverse as King Sejong and Queen Soheon and Temple University Basketball Coach John Cheney and with business examples from high-tech and life sciences innovators to janitorial and foodservice corporations, Merom and Rod show how real business leaders power up courage with 5 Activators – Purpose, Risk, Will, Candor and Rigor.
The Courage to Act is divided into 3 parts:
Part 1 is a thoughtful analysis of Courage. Merom and Rod describe the “conflict-prone realities” that face “conflict-averse systems” – and the ways most enterprises are ill prepared to cope with the emotional demands of flat structures, broad connectivity, limitless diversity, relentless pressure and a fast pace that makes it easy to have a few harrowing moments and mid-air collisions. They present research about the ways that it is courage to engage and rise above fear, rather than reduce or run from fear, that creates success and the joy to appreciate it.
Part 2 starts with an assessment of your leaders – that asks which of the 5 Courage Activators are strengths and which need further development. It gives a detailed description of each Courage Activator – Purpose, Risk, Will, Candor and Risk – and tells enterprise leaders how they can strengthen an Activator that needs remediation.
Part 3 describes leaders who put the 5 Courage Activators together – in one fluid motion – and make them look like magic. And challenges the rest of us to find our own style, presence, panache to fire on these 5 cylinders when we’re pulling a heavy load up a steep hill.
