About the Book
Are you clear on the purpose of your business - and your life?
When we're connected to purpose, we're more motivated, creative, energetic, resilient, and collaborative. Having a clear purpose is a key driver of success and profitability and unlocks our full potential. It also increases the likelihood that we'll have the social and environmental impact we want to have, toward our desired legacy. When we lead and live with purpose, we move beyond our doubts and fears and take action that transforms our lives, our companies, and even the world!
In Going First, Nell Derick Debevoise explores how we can identify our values and the benefits of putting in the effort required to lead and live a purposeful life. She shares her own journey zeroing in on her life's work and her experiences running leadership development programs for international organizations. Along with insights gleaned from over 150 CEOs, founders, human resources officers, and other wise and courageous leaders, Debevoise presents the Impact Dashboard, a framework we can use to connect day-to-day actions to our desired outcomes. She describes the six spheres, an action-oriented blueprint for living purposefully that enables us to envision how best to spend our limited time, energy, and attention.
Debevoise shines a light on the people who are leading and living purposefully in a wide variety of industries and differently-sized companies, roles, and geographies. Isn't it time to join them, Going First in your own unique way?
About the Author :
Nell Derick Debevoise lovingly wrangles people, ideas, and horses to make work healthier and fairer for all of us. To activate that purpose, Nell facilitates courageous conversations that lead to growth and innovation and improve well-being and performance, advises on talent and social impact strategies, and coaches leaders and founders to expand their impact and build powerful legacies. Since 2011, Nell has worked with hundreds of leaders from Fortune 500, startup, B Corp, and not-for-profit organizations to do the challenging but rewarding work of becoming the people their dogs and grandchildren think they are. Nell has an interdisciplinary approach, gathering international, academic and applied perspectives that bridge sectors, industries, and generations. She has lived and worked on four continents and collaborated across sectors with Japanese executives, Palestinian community leaders, French high school students, and Mozambique education ministry officials, among others.Nell studied leadership, innovation, and intercultural dialog at Harvard, Cambridge, Universita di Roma, and Columbia and London Business Schools. She is the Chief Wrangler of Inspiring Cowgirl PBC, a partner of PurposeFused, and cofounder and CEO of the Purposeful Growth Institute. Nell advises and invests in values-aligned startups across industries. She speaks and writes about this entire portfolio of work as a senior contributor for Forbes Leadership, and her first book is Going First: Your Invitation to Find the Courage to Lead Purposefullyand Inspire Action (Spring 2023).
Review :
"Nell's call to 'Go First' has arrived at the perfect time. We have seen the power of our I-WE-IT approach to drive SheEO's world-changing work, so I'm thrilled that Nell is sharing her Me-We-World framework in such an action-oriented way for leaders to transform the way we do business."
Vicki Saunders, founder and CEO of Coralus (formerly SheEO)
"Nell shows you step by step how to make purpose an actionable part of your work and life-and how doing so will make you happier, healthier, and more successful."
Klay S. Williams, Transformation and Change Communicator, Plan A With Klay
"Rethinking how we work and live, and why it matters, is an invaluable part of the challenging task of moving toward a more inclusive and sustainable economic system. We can all use Nell's powerfully simple framework to optimize the impact of all that we do and how it benefits our teams, our businesses, society, and the planet."
Anthea Kelsick, C-suite business leader driving impact through innovation; previous CEO of B Lab/B Corp, US & Canada
"Nell Debevoise's approach and methodology to purposeful leadership could not arrive at a better moment in time. In her new book, she creatively demonstrates the many concrete ways in which purpose drives performance while providing the necessary tools for success and the inspiration required to make positive change."
Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; corporate social impact leader
"Combining inspiring vision with pragmatic and actionable tools is not easy, but this is exactly what Going First manages to achieve. It should be viewed as essential guidance in the movement toward stakeholder capitalism."
Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital; member of Forbes Finance Committee; 2020 NACD Directorship 100; Business Insider's 2020 List of 100 People Transforming Business
"Nell has developed powerful and practical tools for purpose-driven leaders looking to be part of the shift to stakeholder capitalism. She shares these resources in Going First, giving CEOs and other leaders of teams the inspiration and guidance to go further in incorporating social, environmental, and financial priorities into their business performance. Nell shows you how to evaluate your business with balance and perspective."
Lorna Davis, board member of Seventh Generation, B Lab; Former CEO of Danone North America
"I aspire to be a purposeful CEO and deeply value Nell's business-aligned perspective on purposeful leadership. Her framework and tools inspire me and my team to mindful action in terms of the impact we wish to achieve in the Me, We, and World dimensions."
Sylvana Sinha, founder, chair, and CEO of Praava Health
