Untapped Agility

CHAPTER 1

Transformation Frustration

Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.

—Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

This book is about leading change, and we need to start with a story. I once worked for a startup entrepreneur named Jeff who told me a business story so compelling, I will never forget it.

Jeff was a colorful character, whose first career was that of a restaurateur. Jeff was a force of nature and over the years worked his way up from busboy to server to sommelier to general manager to restaurant builder. One year, he was sent off to a hot new location to build the latest Planet Hollywood, the franchise eateries famous for their décor patterned after the movies. Their playbook ...