When the COVID pandemic burned across the world in 2020 the United States found itself in an unaccustomed place. A country that had always assumed its superior capacity to deal with large problems instead flailed in its response not only to the health threat posed by the virus but to the economic calamity and social unrest accompanying it.

When crisis came where was leadership?

Paragraph 3: Prepared Leadership in the Age of Uncertainty illuminates the how of guiding organizations and institutions in what promises to be a long era of uncertainty, of which the upheavals of the pandemic were only a taste.

Paragraph 3 is not another leadership book. It is a practical guide to running organizations in an age when every operating environment will be complex, volatile and ambiguous.

The interviewees in Paragraph 3 are a striking cross section of American leaders, a diverse collection of senior leaders, men and women from the military and corporate worlds–admirals and generals now working in the private sector, CEOs, a leading surgeon, technology innovators. Paragraph 3 captures their real-world lessons for finding a way forward.

Paragraph 3 is a manual for the 21st Century.

Advanced praise for Paragraph 3

A compelling read that takes you into the trenches with men and women who have achieved success in business, medicine, technology and the military. Paragraph 3 is the guidebook we need in the post-COVID world, where unpredictability and uncertainty are part of our everyday reality.

Leaders are expected to move their teams and their organizations forward whether the path ahead is obvious or not. This book provides a roadmap to do just that.

Alison Levine, author of the New York Times bestseller On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and other Extreme Environments.

One of the best books I have read this year.

I love the thesis of Paragraph 3, which is that in a very uncertain world there are what the authors call recombinant risks that accelerate unpredictability. Reading the introductory essay I wanted to underline every other sentence.

The authors back up their ideas with insider accounts of key moments in our recent history. Every single interview offers something powerful.

Organizational success in an unpredictable reality depends on two abilities. The first is the collective intelligence to determine the right changes for the future. The second is the emotional know-how to inspire people to embark on that journey. Paragraph 3 gives you the tools to do both. A must-read for any leader.

Sanyin Siang, Professor at Duke University and CEO Coach

Paragraph 3 is a practical guide to running organizations in an era when every operating environment may be subject to periods of serious instability.

The heart of Paragraph 3 is its collection of page-turning interviews with accomplished men and women from the military and corporate worlds. They see beyond the COVID era’s overlapping crises, and beyond the fluidity of long-term disrupters like artificial intelligence. They offer us tools for working in a new kind of world.

A compulsive read.

Kevin O'Brien, CEO of Orbital Insight