What's the difference between a fan and a superfan?

Forgive me readers, it has been a whole bunch of weeks since my last newsletter. But, I swear I have a good excuse! 😅 I’ve been toiling away creating fabulous content that will thrill your eyes and ears…check out the list at the bottom of this newsletter.

The last month has been a complete blitz of activity in my life because my new book, “The Alchemy of Talent: Leading Teams to Peak Performance” is in soft launch! 🚀

Bling! Enter from stage left….my sexy new book landing page!

Over the last year, I’ve trained over a thousand team leaders in the behavioral science of navigating change, leading their teams to win consistently, and thriving at work. And, I frequently get asked for book recommendations from eager leaders who want to continue acquiring skills that help them crush it every day on the job. I love spreading some sunshine onto authors and books that add real value in this space, but I am ecstatic about the chance to finally say, “…umm, well, now that you ask…I happen to have this little book out on that very subject!” Hair flip! Humble brag! 🌟

With the click of a mouse button, you can now grab a fun-to-read, skills-based, practical guide on leading your team to the best work of their lives. And, you have two options to do this!

You can get the book right now. This is a direct-buy from the publisher. Awww, I’m blushing! You are now officially a fan! You’re also one step closer to successfully navigating disruptive change and ending up on the winner’s podium. 🥇

You can pre-order the book from Amazon…and get it when it ships December 3rd, 2024. Umm, what? I know! I know! In this instant gratification, Keurig-coffee culture, why in the heck would you wait to get something so damn tasty?! Have you ever had a pour-over? Yup, worth the wait. ☕️ Well, aspiring authors like yours truly are at the mercy of Amazon analytics to make these infernal bestseller lists. Your pre-orders, and subsequent reviews, are how we crack the code on list-heaven. So, if you can somehow get your itch scratched by binging Bad Monkey until December 3rd, then another way to be a fan is to pre-order the book.

But WAIT!!! I promised a secret level in this game and some of you may be wondering how to unlock SuperFandom. Oh yeah, it’s a place. It’s a magical place where they didn’t ruin the last season of Game of Thrones. It’s a place where you end up with The Alchemy of Talent on your desk NOW, and you end up with a copy to gift to a fellow team leader in the holiday season. Or, if you have an overbearing family member that thinks of themselves as the “leader” of your family, you can leave your second copy in their mailbox as a hint hint…

Yeah, you called it. The SuperFan does both…buy it now AND pre-order on Amazon. Squeeeee! Bliss! We’ve cast the One Ring into the fires of Mordor aaaaaannnnnddd saved Gollum’s life somehow?! Boom. 💥

Time to head back to The Shire for second breakfast and a nap.

Okay, I promise we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming with the next edition of this newsletter (i.e. behavioral science tips that help you crush leadership on the regular), but I’ll wrap this one up with some early holiday presents for ya. Every one of these resources has practical skills in it for you to apply at work…as well as some very novel data and science to think about!

Read me 📚: A Fast Company excerpt from the book! Waaah! Two leader behaviors that win trust from your team.

Watch me 📺: The podcast network WRKDefined featured me and the book on their video pod series “You Should Know.” This is a banger for the HR geeks - can a poor individual contributor be a successful team leader? We get into it.

Hear me 🎧: Want to skill-up while you’re driving or working out? Fill your eardrums with this episode of Modern Mentor, where I unpack why the best leaders can harness productive friction to produce team innovation.