About the Book

Successful leaders say that problems are solved by making decisions; problems are avoided by making good decisions. The one good decision too few of us are making is the one to take ownership of our own potential. The problems that result are formidable—but totally preventable.

My career as an executive coach and leadership researcher has allowed me to work with the business world’s best and brightest. My clients have included GE, Microsoft, Pepsi, Novartis, Time-Warner, NASA, American Express, Dell, Kraft Foods, Citicorp, Deloitte, Kellogg’s, McDonalds and UAL—to name a few. That has meant diving deeply into powerhouse organizations to discover the humanity that drives them.

I can say that many leaders and team members within these juggernauts epitomize human potential firing on all cylinders. I can also say that some of the people behind the world’s most iconic brands are sacrificing some of their greatness in a misguided attempt to be successful or productive.

Daniel Purdy has come up with the key to unlocking this “greatness”, this “potential” that some are squandering. He writes, “It’s about an individual’s cognizance of their own core values, and a systematic approach to letting those values drive every part of their life balance. It’s about actively, thoroughly reclaiming the humanity behind the worker, the leader, the community member, and the world citizen.” And he’s right.

Now, we hear a lot about core values these days. We hear a lot about meaning and purpose.  But do we hear about addressing these concerns with strategic planning best practices, with the rigorous methodologies my corporate clients excel in? Do we often pair strategy with soul, planning with purpose? Knowing something and doing something about it are two different things; Daniel helps you to do both.

As it turns out, the people I have worked with who have the tendency to sacrifice their need for a values-driven, balanced existence possess just the tools required to turn their situation around. They know how to plan; they just don’t harness those planning skills to address neglected parts of their lives.

As a veteran of corporations just as sizeable as my top clients, Daniel Purdy is well versed in the strategic planning methodologies that boost bottom lines. In fact, if you know Daniel like I do, you’d be likely to describe him as the ultimate, left-brained planning maniac. Nobody enjoys a flowchart quite like he does.

But there’s so much more to Daniel than his expertise in supply chain management and corporate vision casting. He’s also somebody who chose to walk away from the big salaries and impressive titles to conduct his own personal re-set. He knows what it’s like to desperately need a re-think—and to take it.

F.I.R.E.S. is the fruit of that re-think, which took Daniel on a journey from corporate employment to entrepreneurship to coaching. It distills his insights on walking a path that diverges from the cookie-cutter or soul-sacrificing existence too many are choosing. It leverages his deep knowledge—and passion for—strategy to enable you to be more intentional about living your best life, which must thrive in places beyond the boardroom.

I like the way Daniel describes the typical, burnt-out, modern individual as an overworked fire fighter, exhaustedly moving from one destructive inferno to the next. In five distinct but interrelated arenas of our lives—the spiritual, the external (i.e., our broader communities), the relational, the internal (i.e., the personal), and the financial—we feel consumed, ravaged, burned to a crisp. We keep thinking that life—the life we dream of—is on the other side of these continually re-igniting fires.

But the answer isn’t on the other side of these fires. It’s within them. It comes with learning how to harness the creative power of life’s five fires so that they stop behaving destructively. That all starts with the decision to conduct a re-think. Re-think your perception of stress, success, balance, and goals. Then make some hard but worthwhile choices.

When I ask CEOs and C-level executives, “What’s the most difficult part of your job?”, they almost always respond with: “Responsibility for decisions.” However, when I ask them, “What’s the best part of your job?” the nearly unanimous response is: “Freedom to make decisions.”

Harnessing your potential necessitates living within that paradox. Making decisions means bearing the load of responsibility as well as feeling a singular sense of freedom. Is it easier to live on autopilot, neglecting your soul to just go with the flow, accepting what others are willing to dole out to you? Of course. But is the choice to avoid making choices ever satisfying? Of course not.

Whether you are a seasoned pro or an emerging leader, choose to harness your own potential. It’s a decision I promise you won’t regret. And most importantly, it’s a lesson you’ll teach the next generation by example.

— Debra Benton, President, Benton Management Resources, Inc., Author, The Leadership Mind Switch (McGraw-Hill)