This Is Day One

August 13, 2018
The TEDx talk “Everyday Leadership” fails to make the leap to a book in this disappointing debut from Dudley, founder of Day One Leadership. Billed as a “leadership starter kit,” the book stresses that readers need to unlearn the lesson that leaders must be like Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs. Taking a note from his handbook of substance abuse recovery, Dudley urges readers to recommit themselves to their careers daily and to draw up “a list of behaviors that will generate positive moments of impact, courage, empowerment, growth and self-respect.” His chatty direction on identifying key values is entertaining enough, but can be boiled down to a single sentence: make one’s commitment to leadership a daily habit. Coupled with the disproportionate amount of space given to his own journey, this approach results in a book that feels most like an exercise in brand extension. In the most off-putting passage, he represents a sophomoric joke from his college days as “the greatest moment of leadership in my life.” By the end of this book, readers will be left wondering whether good judgment and leadership necessarily go hand in hand. Agent: James Levine, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.

Drew Dudley's captivating vocal personality conveys an earnestness that makes people pay attention without feeling like they're hearing a performance or sales pitch. His precise enunciation and dramatic phrasing may sound intense but never get in the way of his gentle and empowering message: No matter how much our culture and peers discourage us from stepping up and standing out, we owe it to ourselves to do just that--to seize opportunities to use our talent to impact others and bring good into the world. Dudley is a great writer and storyteller, and his stories are both achingly personal and effective. Avoiding the jargon and competitiveness of business school culture, he reframes leadership as living your values every day and creating a legacy for yourself you can be proud of. T.W. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine