“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 disruption, 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 10 leaders confronted hard realities. He looked close-in at the life 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.