New Leadership Book, What Are Your Blind Spots?, Counters Common Business Beliefs

SYLVANIA, Ohio, October 9, 2018 – Would you give your kids cocaine cough drops for a toothache or restrict your travel for fear of falling off a flat Earth?  Those were once commonly-held beliefs, but now we know better.

Today, too many business leaders live in the past, using outdated practices to engage and motivate their people―and they’re failing miserably. A new book, available today, seeks to change that: What Are Your Blind Spots?: Conquering the 5 Misconceptions that Hold Leaders Back, written by the author team who pioneered organizational change and workplace engagement.

Jim Haudan, co-founder and chairman of Root Inc., wrote the rules on organizational change and employee engagement in his 2008 best-selling book, The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities.

For more than 20 years, Rich Berens, CEO and Chief Client Fanatic of Root Inc., has helped align leaders at Global 2000 organizations to drive strategic and cultural change at scale.

“Most of today’s leadership philosophies are grounded in the Industrial Age,” said Haudan. “While the workplace, our culture, our expectations and our technology have changed, approaches to leadership have stagnated.”

Berens added, “We know that 60 to 90 percent of all organizational strategies are not executed, and studies show 70 percent of people in organizations are not actively engaged. It’s clear that what today’s leaders are doing is not working.”

Haudan and Berens’ What Are Your Blind Spots? is written to help executives and managers scrutinize their approach to leadership and figure out personal blind spots―the areas where style and methods are hampering success.

The five key blind spots Haudan and Berens say to watch out for are:

1. Purpose: Many leaders are embracing workplace purpose, but most fail to run their business in a purpose-driven way that achieves exceptional financial results.
2. Story: The way we construct our stories and share our strategies is driven by numbers and bullet points. They’re void of emotion, narrative, and meaning and don’t inspire or motivate people to change.
3. Engagement: Rational, logical presentations do not engage and stir the hearts and minds of your people. Businesses must move from presentations to conversations to create genuine engagement.
4. Trust: The common misconception is organizations need to create tight processes, scripts and routines to minimize variability in employee performance. This focus does nothing to scale the unique human judgment that creates marketplace differentiation.
5. Truth: Contrary to leadership beliefs, employees do not feel it’s a smart career move to tell their boss the truth or what they really think and feel. This atmosphere creates a lack of trust, collaboration and common ownership.

Already, What Are Your Blind Spots? has received high praise from top business leaders:

• “Haudan and Berens hit on one of the most powerful obstacles to creating great organizations with highly engaged people—leadership blind spots! It is time to awaken the sleeping giant of human potential in our organizations, and this book provides a blueprint to do just that.”  —Cheryl Bachelder, former CEO, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. and author ofDare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others
• “Berens and Haudan provide great insight into what truly drives culture change. This book is a must-read for any leader who wants to engage the hearts and minds of their people.”  —Phil Cordell, Senior Vice President of New Brand Development, Hilton Worldwide
• “Jim Haudan and Rich Berens have been trusted partners in shaping leadership behaviors and driving improvements in organizational engagement. What Are Your Blind Spots? provides invaluable insight that will help leaders in any organization—and I love how Jim and Rich bring things to life with stories and real-life experiences.”  —Ryan Marshall, President and CEO, PulteGroup 
• “Berens and Haudan explore essential building blocks for leaders, which will enable them to engage their teams and drive change.”   —Klaus Entenmann, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler Financial Services AG 

Click to download What Are Your Blind Spots? sample chapter and to learn more about the book, and Jim Haudan and Rich Berens.

What Are Your Blind Spots?: Conquering the 5 Misconceptions that Hold Leaders Back

By Jim Haudan and Rich Berens

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education; (October 5, 2018)

Hardcover: 192 pages

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1260129233

ISBN-13: 978-1260129236

Jim Haudan is Co-Founder and Chairman of Root Inc., the organizational change expert on helping companies create leadership alignment, execute strategies and change successfully, build employee engagement, and transform businesses. He is a sought-after business presenter who has spoken at TEDx BGSU, Tampa TEDx, and The Conference Board.

Rich Berens is CEO and Chief Client Fanatic of Root Inc. and has helped align leaders at Global 2000 organizations to drive strategic and cultural change at scale. He is a noted speaker on the issues of transformation and how to create lasting change, and has written articles for numerous publications and blogs. Under Rich’s leadership, Root has been listed among the Great Place to Work® Institute’s top 25 places to work, been named to the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies list, and experienced 10 years of consecutive growth.

About Root Inc.: The world’s most respected organizations partner with Root Inc. to realize positive change. Root activates, motivates, and inspires people to accelerate the speed of change through a combination of disruptive methods, storytelling, and interactive experiences. Root’s process of defining the future, building an organizational movement, and creating lasting change is backed by proven research and has evolved over 25 years. A bold culture and international reputation for results has attracted two out of every three of the Fortune 50 to work with Root.

Change begins at http://www.RootInc.com.