Leadership’s Perfect Storm

What Millennials Are Teaching Us about Possibilities, Passion and Purpose

Buffeted by currents of change, today’s leaders are finding traditional leadership approaches insufficient to compete and thrive.  The most successful are discovering that to stay ahead of the curve, every employee must have the leadership capabilities once only required of senior managers. Millennials are uniquely poised to take on these challenges provided they feel aligned with a company’s vision and can use their gifts to do meaningful work.

Susan Inouye, executive coach for over 20 years lays out in a compelling fashion, case stories, concepts and principles, grounded in research and substantiated in proven results what millennials can teach us to be better leaders and live a purposeful contributory life in complex times. Motivated to find a better way to engage millennials for her frustrated clients, she was introduced to Tony LoRe, founder and CEO of Youth Mentoring Connection. A successful business executive, LoRe had been transforming and saving the lives of thousands of inner-city millennials in Los Angeles ghettos for over 15 years. His leadership style changed when he listened to what would engage them. Over the years influence by these youth, he created the “Gift-Centered Approach” which refers to bringing out the best “gifts” that each of us carries inside. This method is at the heart of his way of leading which he called Sawubona (Zulu for “I see you”).

Inspired and moved by YMC’s culture, the unprecedented results of their programs and the way they honored and valued each other’s gifts, Susan brought Sawubona Leadership to the corporate world, guiding hundreds of clients’ teams through dramatic turnarounds and cultural transformations to achieve increased productivity and profitability while transforming their lives. Today Sawubona is in over 30 countries. By learning the three principles of Sawubona Leadership, Inouye shows you how to make the five LeaderShifts that are critical to compete in today’s world; how to tap into your three centers of intelligence – head, heart and body, to harness the drive from within to exceed organizational objectives and strengthen 21^st Century Leadership Capabilities at all levels. The Coach’s Corner provides diverse ways for readers to incorporate Sawubona Leadership into their lives. With inspiration and instruction, Inouye becomes your personal coach through Leadership’s Perfect Storm.

“This may be the most important leadership book you’ll read for the next several years. . . . Ms. Inouye shows us how Sawubona Leadership is the path to becoming a great leader among this generation’s talent force. Leadership’s Perfect Storm is a wonderful guide for leadership in the twenty-first century, filled with helpful tools, techniques, and real-life stories that give practical applications to ever-shifting, new millennium ideas. . . . Embrace Sawubona Leadership and find yourself with a happier, more energized, and more productive team.” 

– Sean Scott, founder and chief instigator at COMUNITY, original member and chief shoemaker at TOMS 

“I’m fascinated by the idea of cross-generational mentoring. Every person has gifts to pass along as they learn from others. Read Leadership’s Perfect Storm and let Susan Inouye teach you about Sawubona—a way of connecting that just might change your definition of leadership regardless of your generation.” 

– Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The New One Minute Manager and One Minute Mentoring

 “This book is by far the best coach you need to transform yourself and your company!” 

– Tara Sheahan, founder, Conscious Global Leadership

“Susan Inouye takes the reader on a journey of Sawubona leadership. A must-read for any executive charged with navigating a dynamic new world. It is a celebration of the millennial spirit and how we might embrace their superpowers.” 

– Erik Oberholtzer, co-founder and CEO of Tender Greens