Are you a leader struggling to do better . . . to be better?We all have in common the universal struggle to improve. Which is not just knowing your worst tendencies; it’s also learning how to manage them. And that means grappling with yourself.The engaging narratives in Grappling make the challenging work of self-improvement easier. Leadership consultant and author Robert E. Kaplan has written parables based on real peopl...

Once you’ve discovered your strengths, you need to discover something else: your strengths can work against you. Many leaders know this on some intuitive level, and they see it in others. But they don’t see it as clearly in themselves. Mainly, they think of leadership development as working on their weaknesses. No wonder. The tools used to assess managers are not equipped to pick up on overplayed strengths—when more is not better. Nationally recognized leadership experts Bob Kaplan and Rob...

Senior executives, however, sometimes require a richer feedback experience — one which might also include one or more of the following: detailed verbatim descriptions of performance, observations from family members and friends, psychometric measures of personality and motivation, and data on early history, plus an extended coaching relationship with a professional in leadership development. With this added scope and power, however, comes increased risk, which makes it essential that addit...

Arm Wrestling With Myself is a trying life story told in the first person by an unnamed executive. His growing-up family was struck by tragedy, and responsibility was thrust on his shoulders at a young age. As an executive he can’t stop taking on too much responsibility and his wife eventually rebels.The Mountain Is Me audio series lets you in on other people’s struggle to be better. Different from most audiobooks on self-improvement, this series was chosen as one of the “...

Veri Archer, an operating executive in her mid-forties, is recruited to be CEO of a high-tech start-up, replacing the founder-CEO, Sanjay Cherry. He stays on as CTO. For Veri, it becomes a rite of passage twice over.Behind the scenes, the transition of power is anything but smooth. Sanjay, a brilliant but beleaguered visionary, is forced to face the harsh truth that innovation alone isn’t enough to lead. Neal Armbruster—venture capitalist, mentor, and the man behind the curtain—mus...

Coming In From The Rain features EmmaJean, who must bear childhood emotional scars throughout her life. She comes to a crossroad when these scars rear their heads, and start affecting her life as a leader, a mother, and a spouse.The Mountain is Me audio series lets you in on other people’s struggle to be better. Different from most audiobooks on self-improvement, this series was chosen as one of the “Best New Self-Help Business Books,”—YoungUpstarts.

Sam is a business turnaround artist. And, he has the mentality to match, a deeply ingrained pattern that plays out in all aspects of his life.Nothing about Sam Calastri is easy. Gruff, intimidating, and deeply private, he’s built a career on dominance and grit, not self-reflection. New hire Sally Cain, armed with curiosity, experience, and just enough personal baggage of her own, must find a way to meet him in the middle in their corporate world.Wronged is a compel...

A senior manager who specializes in putting out business fires is combustible when he shouldn’t be. Can he change enough to save his relationship with the love of his life? Can he stop fighting the need to reform?

GRAPPLING: THE FIGHT IS WITH YOURSELFIf you’ve tried to change and failed, this book is for you.In GRAPPLING, leadership consultant Robert Kaplan brings real people’s inner battles to life through eight powerful, fictionalized case stories. Each one reveals how hard—and how human—the work of personal change truly is.- Amazon Best Seller- Winner of the Goody Business Book Award (Leadership –...

Maxine, off the charts smart and a favorite of the CEO, has a rude awakening. Her issue runs deep. Can she fathom it?Maxine Cooper is tasked with leading her company headfirst into the introduction of cutting-age technology. At work, she’s all business and no play, but despite her success, struggles to keep her life in balance. Maxine cannot quite shake the feeling of being stuck in her profession, and the quiet voice in the back of her mind asking her for more.The Expe...

Philip Konig had been recruited personally by the megabank’s CEO, Martin Middleton. His mandate: to fix investment banking. But much more that, Philip was brought in to be the heir apparent to replace Middleton. There were rumblings about Philip, to which Middleton turned a deaf ear, but the corporate head of HR, Frank Brescia, did not.

Gideon is in line to be CEO and wants the job in the worst way. Any day now, the decision will be handed down. On the day of reckoning, will he be judged worthy?Gideon has spent his life doing things the right way—the disciplined way. He’s built a career on relentless standards, moral rigor, and unyielding ambition. But as judgment day arrives, the cracks begin to show.An explosive confrontation with a fed-up colleague, a shocking admission from his wife, and memories of a ...