Blog Archives
The Gardener: A Lesson for Leaders
The Gardener follows PJ, a thoughtful and hard-working executive who suddenly finds herself facing two life-changing opportunities: inheriting her grandfather’s farm and being offered the role of CEO at her company. What starts as a simple visit with her grandfather turns into a five-week leadership apprenticeship in the garden. Each Monday lesson uses farming as a metaphor for vision, culture, timing, teamwork, and resilience. The book ends with a clever reveal. Her grandfather is not only a farmer but also the company’s board chairman. The lessons were his way of preparing her for the weight of leadership. It is a clean, warm story that frames leadership principles through family ties and simple moments in nature.
The writing is plain and smooth, which made it easy to sink into the rhythm of each Monday morning. I liked how author James McCarroll kept the tone gentle. The lessons were clear without being preachy. At times, I found myself smiling at G Pa’s calm wisdom. At other times, I felt a tug in my chest when he talked about storms or when he paused to remember his late wife. Those small human touches brought the teaching to life. I did wish PJ pushed back a little more in certain moments. She accepted a lot very quickly. Still, the simplicity of the writing worked. It felt like sitting on a porch and listening to someone who has lived enough life to stop showing off.
What surprised me most was how much the ideas stuck with me after I closed the book. The garden metaphors are not new, but the way they were tied to PJ’s personal doubts made them feel fresh. I found myself thinking about seasons, soil, bugs, and rain in totally different ways. Some lines were especially emotional, especially the parts about rebuilding after storms and choosing people with the right mix of grit and joy. The story kept pulling me along because it stayed grounded in experience instead of theory. I could feel PJ’s nerves and her relief as each lesson clicked. I could feel that mix of fear and anticipation right before the final meeting. The book made leadership feel less like a cold skill set and more like a fully lived thing shaped by patience and resilience.
I would recommend The Gardener to readers who enjoy personal growth wrapped inside a light narrative. It is a great fit for new leaders and for anyone stepping into a role that feels bigger than they expected. It is also a warm read for people who appreciate family-centered stories that offer gentle guidance. If you want a book that teaches without lecturing and comforts while it challenges and leaves you feeling steadier about the storms that come, you’ll enjoy this book.
Pages: 61 | ASIN : B0CTKL1T2Q
The MACH-10 PM: AI-Powered Product Management at Hypersonic Speed
The MACH-10 PM lays out a clear promise. Product managers can use AI to move at “hypersonic speed” without losing judgment or empathy. The book walks through the whole product life cycle, from discovery and roadmapping to launches, growth, and leadership. Each chapter mixes stories from Qualcomm and GoPro with simple models, tool suggestions, and concrete prompts that show how to pull AI into real work rather than treat it like a toy. The main idea is simple. You stop trying to outwork the chaos and instead use AI to gain leverage, clarity, and what Riggs calls “speed with soul.”
The tone of the book is punchy and direct, almost like a seasoned PM talking across a whiteboard after a long sprint. Sentences stay short, the examples feel real, and the metaphors around “MACH-10” and “radar” stick in my head. I liked the way each chapter closes with questions and small exercises, because that nudged me to picture my own workflow instead of just skimming along. The visuals and little tables, like the “AI-powered discovery loop” and the roadmap comparisons, break up the text and make the main arguments easy to recall later.
I found a lot to like. I really appreciated the focus on AI as a multiplier, not a replacement. The sections on discovery, feedback synthesis, and roadmap scenarios felt grounded and very practical. The prompt examples are useful, and the insistence on pairing AI with ethics and judgment kept the whole thing from sliding into tool worship. I also liked the recurring message that PMs should measure themselves by impact, not output, and that the real job is to orchestrate people and systems, not just ship tickets.
I would recommend The MACH-10 PM to working product managers who already know the basics and want a push to rethink how they use AI day to day. I think it will be especially useful for people in mid-level roles who feel stuck in meetings and backlogs and want language and tools to reclaim time for strategy. Leaders of product teams could also use it as a shared playbook for running experiments and setting expectations around AI use. If you want a sharp, fast, and pretty human guide on how to work with AI without losing your soul, this book fits that slot nicely.
Pages: 270 | ASIN : B0FSP1Z1C4
The Backbone of Any Successful Organization
The Right Fit shows leaders how to build thriving teams by treating culture, hiring, development, and retention as one intentional, human-centered journey. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Writing my book The Right Fit was super important because these core elements are the backbone of any successful organization. Here’s why it matters so much:
1. Culture Shapes Everything
- A strong, intentional culture drives engagement, innovation, and retention.
- Many companies struggle because their culture is reactive rather than designed. The Right Fit can help leaders create cultures that align with values and strategy.
2. Hiring Determines Success
- The right people amplify culture; the wrong hires erode it.
- In today’s competitive talent market, hiring isn’t just about skills—it’s about fit, adaptability, and growth potential. The Right Fit can provide frameworks for smarter, values-driven hiring.
3. Development Fuels Growth
- Employees/Teammates want more than a paycheck—they want growth. Development programs are key to retention and performance.
- Insights from the informal leaders can help organizations build continuous learning environments that prepare teams for future challenges.
You emphasize intention and care throughout the employee journey. How can leaders practice this consistently under pressure?
Practicing intention and care under pressure is one of the hardest leadership challenges, but it’s also what separates good leaders from exceptional ones.
This means embedding principles into every stage of the lifecycle—from recruitment to exit.
Here’s a structured approach:
1. Recruitment & Hiring
- Intentional Action: Define clear values and cultural fit criteria before interviews.
- Care in Practice: Communicate transparently about expectations, growth opportunities, and company culture.
2. Onboarding
- Intentional Action: Create a structured onboarding plan that connects new hires to purpose and people.
- Care in Practice: Assign mentors or buddies to make the transition smooth and personal.
3. Development & Growth
- Intentional Action: Regularly review career goals and align them with organizational needs.
- Care in Practice: Offer personalized learning paths and feedback that focuses on strengths and aspirations.
4. Performance & Recognition
- Intentional Action: Use fair, consistent evaluation systems tied to values—not just metrics.
- Care in Practice: Recognize contributions publicly and privately; celebrate progress, not just outcomes.
5. Wellness & Inclusion
- Intentional Action: Build policies that support mental health, flexibility, and belonging.
- Care in Practice: Check in on workload and well-being regularly, not just during crises.
6. Offboarding
- Intentional Action: Treat departures as part of the journey—conduct meaningful exit interviews.
- Care in Practice: Express gratitude and maintain alumni connections.
Inclusion and employee wellness feel deeply personal in your writing. What experiences shaped that perspective for you?
That’s a powerful and reflective question. I have personal experiences which enable me to articulate my points and share examples. I have seen inclusion done well and I have seen it executed poorly—and how it has impacted multiple people (me included). I have also witnessed burnout, stress, or lack of wellness in teams and myself.
If a leader could only take one small action after reading The Right Fit, what would you most hope they do differently tomorrow?
If a leader could only take one small action after reading my book, I would hope they pause before their next hiring or development decision; and ask one intentional question:
“Does this choice strengthen our culture and support the person behind the role?”
That single question shifts the mindset from filling a position or checking a box to building alignment and caring for people as humans, not just resources. It’s a small act, but it creates a ripple effect:
- Hiring becomes about values and potential, not just skills.
- Development plans become personalized, not generic.
- Culture becomes intentional, not accidental.
Author Links: Isaac Johnson Consulting | Amazon
Sustained Courage
The Price of Nice lays out a sharp argument that our cultural obsession with being “nice” keeps us stuck in cycles of false comfort and stalled progress that preserves the status quo at home, in workplaces, and across society. What is the Think–Feel–Do–Revisit framework, and how does it help people break the cycle of niceness?
The Think–Feel–Do–Revisit framework was born out of my work in behavioral communications, not theory for theory’s sake, but years of studying how people actually change.
In my professional work, we borrow heavily from sociology, psychology, and behavioral science to answer very practical questions: What do people believe? What do they feel? Who do they trust? And how does that shape what they will do, and keep doing? We know that behavior doesn’t change just because information is correct or presented. It changes when beliefs and emotions are addressed first.
What clicked for me is that those same tools apply individually, especially when it comes to niceness.
When people stay “nice” in moments that require courage, it’s rarely because they don’t know better. It’s because of what they’re thinking, often unconscious stories about risk or belonging, and what they’re feeling, fear, obligation, loyalty, or discomfort. Those two things quietly determine what they do, usually nothing, and then the cycle repeats.
This framework helps interrupt that pattern. It gives people a way to name what’s happening internally before defaulting to silence. By revisiting the outcome, they build awareness and agency over time. That’s how mindset shifts stick. Not through one brave moment, but through understanding and practicing behavior change on purpose.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
One of the most important ideas I wanted to name is that niceness is not neutral.
Growing up and throughout my career, I was praised for being “easy,” “gracious,” and “not difficult.” But I realized those compliments often came up just as I was quietly absorbing harm. Niceness became a way for the system to stay comfortable while I paid the price.
I also wanted to challenge the idea that courage has to look loud or reckless. In the book, I introduce the idea of nerve as sustained courage. Not the big speech once, but the daily practice of choosing yourself, again and again, even when there’s pushback.
And finally, I wanted to make it clear that this isn’t about becoming harsh or cruel. It’s about replacing performative niceness with intentional kindness, the kind that takes action, tells the truth, and is willing to disrupt.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from The Price of Nice?
I hope readers walk away knowing that the discomfort they feel isn’t a personal failing. It’s often a signal that they’re outgrowing the rules they were given.
So many people, especially women and people of color, think they’re broken because being “nice” isn’t working anymore. What I want them to see is that their instincts are intact. They’re just bumping up against systems that rely on their silence.
If readers take away one thing, I hope it’s this: You’re not required to be palatable to be powerful. And choosing nerve doesn’t make you dangerous. It makes you daring.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Bluesky | Amazon
“What’s wrong with nice?!” A simple and powerful question. It demands we interrogate the unspoken rules that shape our lives, often without our realizing it.
“It costs nothing to be nice!” What a travesty of logic. Niceness is not free—it comes at a steep price. It’s a velvet glove over an iron fist, stifling dissent, prioritizing comfort over progress, and conditioning us to accept the status quo. Niceness is one of the most insidious social constructs, keeping us compliant, silent, and complicit in inequity. If we don’t question it, we stay exactly where power wants us—agreeable, easy to manage, and stuck.
The Price of Nice is about breaking free. Amira Barger deconstructs our cultural obsession with niceness, exposes its hidden costs, and offers a practical framework for real change. With sharp analysis and personal insight, she helps readers disrupt the narratives that keep them stuck and reclaim their power.
Guided by four dimensions rooted in social psychology—think, feel, do, revisit—this book offers immediate, adaptable practices for creating change. Because breaking free isn’t only what you know—it’s what you do next.
If you’re tired of “good enough,” this book will challenge you, change you, and call you to more.
Literary Titan Book Award: Nonfiction
The Literary Titan Book Award recognizes outstanding nonfiction books that demonstrate exceptional quality in writing, research, and presentation. This award is dedicated to authors who excel in creating informative, enlightening, and engaging works that offer valuable insights. Recipients of this award are commended for their ability to transform complex topics into accessible and compelling narratives that captivate readers and enhance our understanding.
Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Weeds To Wishes: Blossoming into the Leader You Are Meant to Be
Weeds to Wishes follows Sheryl Brown’s journey as a teacher and principal who learns to lead through listening, healing, encouraging others, and growing through hardship. The book moves through eight “keys” to leadership that blend personal stories, school memories, emotional turning points, and practical activities that teams can use to connect and communicate. The mix of stories and reflections creates a guide that shows how leadership rises from real life and not from titles or rules.
While reading this book, I felt pulled in by the author’s warmth and honesty. The stories hit hard because they feel like moments pulled straight from a life lived fully in service to others. I kept thinking about the scene with the bomb threat evacuation and how she steadied herself in chaos. I could almost feel the cold air and the fear and the fierce need to protect people. Her writing style is simple and easy to fall into. There were times I stopped and thought, wow, she really went through that, yet she still chooses hope. I liked that. Her voice feels like someone sitting with you at a table, talking softly, telling you the truth. It got to me more than I expected.
The ideas in the book made me think about leadership in a more human way. She focuses on trust, grace, listening, and being present. Those are not flashy things. They are small habits that change everything over time. I caught myself reflecting on my own tendencies to jump to solutions instead of hearing what people are really saying. Her chapter on “Whispering” resonated with me because it showed how leadership grows in quiet rooms, on long car rides, and in moments when your heart is breaking but you still choose to show up. I loved the activities she built into each chapter. They felt practical and playful, which made the leadership lessons feel less heavy and more doable.
I would recommend Weeds to Wishes to new leaders, veteran educators, and anyone who wants to lead with more heart and less noise. The book is especially good for people who are burned out or doubting their path. It feels like a gentle hand on your shoulder, reminding you that you are allowed to grow, stumble, try again, and still make a difference.
Pages: 203 | ASIN : B0G1CSM2GG
Chasing Permanence: How Businesses on Our High Streets Can Adapt and Thrive
Chasing Permanence explores why some High Street businesses fade while others seem to hold on with surprising strength. Author Steven N. Adjei blends research, interviews, personal history, and real-world case studies to show how companies can adapt and thrive even as the world around them shifts. He lays out seven mindsets, five determinants, and a set of strategies that give owners and leaders a clearer way to build resilience and community in a time when storefronts close by the thousands. The book reads like a roadmap for anyone who wants to understand not just how businesses survive, but how they can shape their own future even when conditions look bleak.
Adjei writes with a kind of grounded warmth that makes the research feel personal. His stories about his mother working at Selfridges and his own early days on the High Street pulled me in right away. Those scenes made the later arguments hit harder, because they show the emotional cost behind the statistics. At times, the writing surprised me with its honesty. I found myself nodding along when he talked about the hollow excuses we make about market forces and how easy it is to blame the world instead of looking at what a business can actually change. I liked that he didn’t shy away from calling out lazy thinking. It made the whole message feel more alive and a bit braver.
I also found myself wrestling with some of the ideas. Adjei argues that businesses need to embrace collaboration, community, and what he calls Permanence, but he never paints it as a simple formula. The mix of mindset, strategy, and realism made me stop more than once and think about how often we expect business success to come from some magic trick. There were moments when I wished he had expanded on certain examples, especially when he talked about towns that felt like ghosts. Still, the rhythm of the book kept pulling me forward. His insistence that companies can shape their own destiny felt hopeful without drifting into fantasy.
The book made me look at High Streets with fresh eyes. It reminded me just how much these places mean to people and how much potential sits in the hands of owners, staff, and communities who care enough to adapt. I would recommend Chasing Permanence to entrepreneurs, local leaders, and anyone who wants to understand why some businesses hold their ground while others disappear. It’s practical, heartfelt, and surprisingly moving. And it’s a great fit for readers who want guidance, but also want a story that speaks to real human experience as much as business theory.
Pages: 391 | ASIN : B0F4R8G9BC
Opportunities to Lead
In Scaling Pyramids, you present an in-depth look at the three layers of successful leadership and share with readers your own reflections on what it means to lead with patience. Why was this an important book for you to write?
A lot of the leadership training that focuses on the entry and mid-level is really focused on managing, not leading. A lot of the core leadership literature is focused on the leader at the top. So there is a gap – how to shift from managing to leading, how to lead without authority, how to make meaningful change from the middle.
I had my own struggles with managers who believed they were leaders, but more people fled them than wanted to follow them but I also had some really great role models and influencers, so I wanted to share lessons I learned from both. I also recognized I made (and can continue to make) some mistakes and learned some lessons along my leadership journey. I know I am not the only one, and I know from my leadership journey that more people than just me can learn from those lessons, so I wanted to share them to benefit others. Not Pollyannaish, not “follow these steps and become an instant success,” but real lessons, hard won in the course of a real life.
What is a common misconception you feel people have about becoming a successful leader?
That you have to have a title, rank, or position. The truth is, if you have one follower, you are a leader. The question then becomes, what do you do with that? How can you nurture that flame and grow as a leader? Do you even want to? If the answer is yes, then look for opportunities to lead where you are, regardless of title, rank, or position. I think a second misconception is, “leadership is lonely, I have to do it on my own.” The truth is that to be successful you need to surround yourself with others: role-models, mentors, and coaches that can support you in your leader development and that you in turn can support as you grow.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that changed your life?
“You know, you seem to carry a lot of anger, and I think you don’t realize how it affects you and those around you.” He actually started the conversation with, “Can I speak into your life?” which was a shocking question for me. And it was a conversation that changed my life because it was a big blind spot that I had, and working with him to recognize it and overcome it changed a lot for me and made me a much better leader. For you, it may not be anger, but recognizing that you have blind spots and finding trusted confidants who will tell you the truth about them and help you work through them is incredibly important.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experiences?
For those in the middle, you can lead and make a difference from wherever you are. There is a graphic in the introduction to my book that illustrates my journey through my bureaucratic pyramid. I never made it to the top. I have not been Secretary of State. But I made a difference and an impact on the entire organization, in more ways than I realized. You can, too.
For those at the top, investing in the leadership development of those at the bottom and middle of the organization will make your organization stronger, lead to improved employee retention, and better outcomes. Letting toxic managers flourish will have the opposite effect.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Crisis Lead | Website | Scaling Pyramids | LinkedIn | Amazon
Scaling Pyramids: Leadership Lessons from a Mid-Level Bureaucrat is an honest, engaging, and research-informed exploration of what it means to lead from the bottom and middle of an organization—especially within complex systems that aren’t always built for innovation, agility, or humanity.
Drawing on more than 25 years of experience as a federal law enforcement officer, diplomat, educator, and public servant, author Christopher Stitt brings a rare combination of street- level credibility and scholarly insight to the leadership conversation. Throughout the book, he weaves together personal stories from his global assignments with contemporary leadership research from behavioral science, organizational psychology, and decision- making theory.
The result is a practical and thought- provoking field guide for those who are tired of waiting for permission to lead—and ready to make a difference right where they are. In these pages, you’ll find lessons on how to influence up, down, and across your organization. You’ll learn how to build trust, coach others, think strategically, and maintain your integrity even when politics or process get in the way. You’ll discover why the middle of the organizational pyramid isnot a waiting room for the next promotion—it’s the center of gravity where culture, performance, and credibility are either built or broken.
Whether you’re managing teams in a government agency, navigating the corporate hierarchy, or trying to make change from within a large institution, Scaling Pyramids offers you a road map grounded in both lived experienc and real evidence. With a voice that is both candid and deeply practical, Stitt reminds us that leadership isn’t about rank—it’s about showing up, stepping up, and speaking up in the moments that matter.
If you’ve ever felt overlooked, underutilized, or underestimated in your role, this book is for you.
It’s time to lead. Not someday—now.
LITERARY TITAN 