Books

Ascending to 1st Chair: A Lesson in Leadership and Organization Development

Walk with Jaime as she transitions from working ten years at an established corporation with a traditional structure, culture, and expectations to a startup where the organization is flat, fast, eager to change and grow, the employees are mostly remote, and she is the oldest and most experienced - at the age of 38. After years of hard work, patience, and earning the position of Senior Vice President at Tandem Corporation, Jaime is ready for a new challenge. She watched her boss transform from a stressed, anxious, and often impatient leader to someone experiencing a profound shift in how he leads by implementing L.I.S.T.E.N. - a theory and method of communication that ensures a leader takes the time to understand the needs of employees, family members, friends, and even strangers by listening to the stories they need to tell. Jaime has moved from second chair of this corporate orchestra to first chair where she now leads a small but exceptional group of professionals at the startup.

She finds herself identifying with challenges she didn’t understand when observing her former boss and serving as interlocutor and peacemaker. Now she understands not only the need to implement L.I.S.T.E.N. from the beginning but also to help an organization define its vision and mission through the implementation of L.I.S.T.E.N.- Values and by including all stakeholders. She is at a stage in her development as the leader when mentorship, guidance, and a roadmap to help the startup thrive and grow is necessary. Enter her introduction to two Listeners who were recommended by Jeffrey, her former boss. One is a youth orchestra conductor and the other a mid-twenty-something entrepreneur savant who, before the age of 25, had developed software and sold two companies netting him a seat at the expert and mentor table.

Over the course of one year, Jaime meets with her Listeners and learns the importance of ensuring the company’s stakeholders know they are valued, seen, heard, and appreciated. From the Authors Values are the heartbeat of an organization. L.I.S.T.E.N., a method for effective communication, was introduced in our first book, Listening 2 A Paradigm Shift for Leaders (That’s When the Magic Happens!) . Our journey with Jaime expands upon the application of that theory and introduces L.I.S.T.E.N. Values. This theory serves as a guide for the development of corporate cultures to become an authentic, evolving, and compassionate listening organization.

As it is with the concept of a benefit corporation (B Corp), guide your community of stakeholders to become an L Corp - Listening Corporation - in the spirit of the word corporate - of or belonging to a united group.*
*Collins English Dictionary, 2018

Listening 2by2: A Paradigm Shift for Leaders

(That's When the Magic Happens!)

"Read this book and I promise you will be a better listener, a better leader, and accomplish far more than you could ever ask or imagine.” — Jon Gordon, best-selling author

This is the story of Jeffrey, a CEO who has been given an ultimatum by one of his top employees: a change in the organization, or she will have to leave.

In his quest to keep his best employee—and, he came to realize, most trusted confidante— Jeffrey has called upon the Listeners: Vivian and Cecile. Together they walk on the path to listening and teach Jeffrey how to improve communication not only at work, but also at home (where Jeffrey is also trying to fend off an impending ultimatum).

Jeffrey soon realizes that change does not happen because it is on a list of things to do. Listening takes intention, it takes patience. And, when no longer considered a soft skill but an integral part of communication and culture, that’s when the magic happens!

Someone To Tell It To

Moved with Compassion

"This book will change you; gently, kindly, and surely...” — Wm. Paul Young, best-selling author

Someone To Tell It To: Moved With Compassion is meant to be read slowly, in small portions. Each of the stories is intimate; they invite readers to reflect deeply on the examples they offer. Compassion requires an intentional consideration of another s circumstances, a grace that recognizes our common humanity in all its beauty and brokenness. While not every story may resonate personally and strongly with every reader, we pray that intentional consideration will move you toward a more empathetic response to the ever-present realities of the human experience.

Someone To Tell It To

Sharing Life's Journey

Our first book, Someone To Tell It To: Sharing Life’s Journey, shares our own stories and the stories of others who are seeking meaning and purpose in their lives, especially when faced with challenges and questions. We are not alone in our fears, or in our feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty. We hope that this book motivates you to create more vital connections in your lives, connections that can be life-giving and soul-enriching, and that can bring peace in the dark seasons we all face.