By Bill Treasurer

Maybe you don’t love the title of the book. (For the record, the author got agreement from his mother to use the A-word. She said, “Let’s be honest, Bill, ass isn’t really much of a swear word.”)

Whether you love his word choice, or not, it is hard to argue that most successful leaders have had things go wrong, have gotten critical feedback, or have made really big mistakes at some point in time. The author would call those “kicks in the ass”. The premise of the book isn’t whether you get kicked, but what you do after you have been kicked.

This book helps you deal with what Bill calls “transformative humiliation” and how to make it, well, transformative.

In a well-written, easy-to-read manner, the book walks you through several career kicks and shines brightest (at least for me) near the end in the discussion of confident humility.

This book isn’t your grandmother’s leadership development book, and while it might be rated PG, it isn’t crass or disrespectful. Rather it is a creative take on an important part of the life and development of a leader – what to do when things don’t go so well.

In full disclosure, I know the author, and had the chance to read an early draft. Yes, my name is in the book as I wrote a testimonial for it. Now the book is released and you can get a copy. I encourage you to do just that – even if you haven’t been kicked yet – don’t worry, you will be.

Final note – Bill was also a guest on my podcast last July. If you missed that, or if this leaves you curious about a guy who wanted to ask his mom about the title of his next book, you can listen to our conversation.

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Kevin Eikenberry is a recognized world expert on leadership development and learning and is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group. He has spent over 30 years helping organizations across North America, and leaders from around the world, on leadership, learning, teams and teamwork, communication and more.

Twice he has been named by Inc.com as one of the Top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World and 100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference. The American Management Association named him a “Leaders to Watch” and he has been twice named as one of the World's Top 30 Leadership Professionals by Global Gurus. Top Sales World has named him a Top Sales & Marketing Influencer several times, and his blog has been named on many “best of” lists. LeadersHum has named him one of the 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2023.

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