Writing & Speaking

The Book

I’m working on a nonfiction book about leadership and mental preparation in youth development, drawing on 25 years of experience across music, competitive sport, and organizational life.

The central question is one I keep returning to: why do some people and teams perform consistently well under pressure, while others with similar resources and talent do not? The answer, from everything I’ve observed across band rehearsals, hockey rinks, boardrooms, and software implementations, has less to do with raw ability than with preparation, trust, and the conditions leaders create before the moment arrives.

The book is in progress. I’m honest about that. It is not a business book, and it is not a sports psychology book, though it draws on both. It is a book for people who lead in any domain and want to think more carefully about what that actually requires.

Speaking

I speak about technology leadership and organizational change, and about the less obvious connections between leading a wind band and leading a technology transformation.

Topics I’ve spoken on and am available to explore:

• Technology decision-making for organizations that aren’t technology companies
• What to expect from a major enterprise system implementation, and what the vendor won’t tell you
• Cross-domain leadership: what sport, music, and organizational life share, and what they can teach each other
• Building the conditions for performance in teams that don’t get to practice together

My speaking platform is being built, and I approach it the same way I approach everything else: carefully, and only when I have something worth saying.

If any of this sounds like a conversation worth having, get in touch.