About the Book
A THOUGHT-PROVOKING EXPLORATION OF OUR WORLD'S ECONOMIC PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
In a journey over centuries only recently marked by prosperity, Lead, Follow, or Fail captures the socio-economic forces that have shaped our world.
Dividing economic history into three eras—Pre-Industrial, Industrial, and Post-Industrial—Peter Brews chronicles the evolution of productivity and how nations, organizations, and individuals fall into the roles of Failures, Followers, or Leaders. Failures in the Pre-Industrial Era are plagued by scarcity, Followers are on their way to abundance through industrialization, and Leaders maintain Post-Industrial competitiveness through unrelenting innovation at the leading edge of global commerce.
Understanding the transition across these eras and how Leading, Following, and Failing differ also offers insights into what our economic future will hold. After considering the implications of a world more economically diverse than ever before, three future scenarios—Balanced Global Growth, Unbalanced Global Growth, and Global Meltdown—conclude the book.
Armed with the knowledge of what it takes to build and sustain competitiveness whether Leader, Follower, or Failure, readers also learn what we all must do so Balanced Global Growth prevails, and the 21st century is a triumph for us all.
Winner of 9 Book Awards!
2025 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS BRONZE MEDAL WINNER
2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS WINNER
2024 AMERICAN BOOKFEST BEST BOOK AWARD WINNER
About the Author :
PROFESSOR PETER J. BREWS stepped down as Dean of the Darla Moore School of Business (DMSB) in December 2022 after 9 years in office, and left academic life as dean emeritus in December 2023. Brews’ professional career started in investment banking and then moved into higher education, where after earning graduate degrees in both law and business and two PhDs in business he taught business law, economics, finance, corporate strategy/strategic management and international business while conducting research at three leading universities, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill in the United States.
His accomplishments range from world class researcher/teacher as individual contributor—he holds multiple awards for both activities—to academic entrepreneur in the proposal and leadership of innovative high value academic programs, to transformational leader of DMSB, the 6,400-student strong premier academic brand of the University of South Carolina.
Brews has published in Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive, Business Strategy Review, Long Range Planning, The South African Journal of Business Management, The South African Company Law Journal, The Investment Analysts’ Journal, The Financial Times, and other journals and publications.
Companies have often invited Brews to share his views on topics that range from nation building and the structure and evolution of the global economy, to the human struggle for productivity worldwide—focusing on how nations, firms, and individuals maintain global competitiveness in the fast changing, complex global economy—to how the internet/IT and the networking of business operations are altering business and global competitiveness.
He has also taught widely and consulted internationally in these fields. Firms he has worked with include Barclays Bank, Boeing, Caterpillar, Eastman Chemical, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Grant Thornton, Lucent Technologies Asia/Pacific (H.K.) Ltd., Merrill Lynch, Progress Energy, Siemens AG, The Mandarin Hotel Group of Hong Kong, LG of South Korea, and Standard Bank and Telkom in South Africa.
Review :
“Dr. Brews’s coverage of humankind’s economic progress is as comprehensive as it is original, and he explains how our past and present often impair our futures in a profound way. His analysis of the United States and its imbalances is pertinent to Americans and those in leading countries. Lead, Follow, or Fail provides actionable suggestions that will be useful to organizations, governments, and individuals as they seek to understand the pathways to leadership and the challenges that must be managed. It is a beautiful walk through time culminating with valuable insights that are critical in assessing current positions and future actions.” —LLOYD JOHNSON, Retired Senior Executive at Accenture and Board Chair at AARP
“I’ve seen firsthand how Dr. Brews’s insistence that all students graduate data proficient and analytical capable has changed the lives of the many thousands studying at the Darla Moore School of Business, and his well-founded understanding of nation-building and what is needed to remain globally competitive reaches even more in these pages. Powerful and weighty, his ideas are worthy of close study.” —DARLA MOORE, American Financier and Philanthropist
“Meticulously researched and data rich, Lead, Follow, or Fail’s coverage of industrial versus post-industrial business provides invaluable insights for business professionals wherever they compete. Most impressive is how Peter Brews explains the creative work Leaders must do to remain ahead as others Follow. He connects the big ideas of today’s innovators with emerging trends in technology as well as with new structures of government and policy. The result is a new road map for developing strategy and understanding competitive markets.” —DR. ALBERT SEGARS, Author of The Idea Chase and PNC Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Lead, Follow or Fail’s coverage of business worldwide is comprehensive, and its articulation of the challenges Leaders, Followers, and Failures face and how to remedy them is important for all to consider in business and beyond. Dr. Brews’s statement that an isolationist conflicted America is bad for the country and the world is timely, and his notion that a more equitable, cleaner, better-balanced nation is within reach should be heeded by all Americans especially. The message of hope embedded in these pages is required reading for all concerned about the future.” —DR. KENDALL ROTH, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Executive Director, Center for International Business Education and Research, University of South Carolina
“Among the most outstanding executive educators I have worked with, I watched Peter Brews be challenged by senior executives in many countries. With astonishing levels of insight and humanity, his unequalled ability to engage in debate was both memorable and thought-provoking. Lead, Follow, or Fail follows in this tradition and is not just a meticulous analysis of business leadership for our age, but also an engaging and compelling read that makes a clarion call for change.” —ALPH KEOGH, Managing Director, OnBoard UG
“Lead, Follow or Fail provokes, challenges, and educates even more than the author’s award-winning classes did. Its background research and depth enrich the conversation considerably. For those wanting insight into who we are, how we got here, and the choices we face going forward, this is a must-read!” —ALAN GOLDING, Senior Strategy and Operations Officer, The World Bank, and former UNC Executive MBA student
