‘The Challenge Culture is a must-read for employers and employees alike, and promises to get ideas for long-term success percolating.’ – Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group
‘Nigel’s career, vision and humanity are very refreshing’ – Claude Littner, former Chief Executive of Tottenham Hotspur and author of Single-Minded: My Life in Business
Challenge is essential for survival and sustained success in today’s volatile world.
We live in an era when successful organisations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.
Nigel Travis has forty years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crisis – such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his ten years as CEO and Chairman of Dunkin’ Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organisations to succeed in today’s environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback, rather than reject them. Everyone – from the newest recruit to the senior leader – must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics – although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organisations steadily improve?
Through colourful story-telling, with many examples from his own experiences – including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of Leyton Orient Football Club -Travis shows how to establish a culture that embraces challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.
PRAISE FOR THE CHALLENGE CULTURE:
‘Nigel Travis has hit the nail on the head. Collective brilliance can only come from challenge and he proves this throughout his own leadership journey. Entertaining, edifying and exactly right.’ — Manley Hopkinson FRSA FRGS, author of Compassionate Leadership
Women, especially young women, in today’s world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it. (Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch)
‘A must read for all people leading organizations in these turbulent times!’ (Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, coauthor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done)
‘This book not only takes you inside [Nigel’s] businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them to thrive. If you can use 20% of what he’s suggesting, you’ll be ahead of the game. Use 40% and you can blow the doors off.’ (Mark Goldstein, former chief marketing officer of BBDO Worldwide)
‘Dissent is not disloyalty but can be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. … Conformity kills creativity and subverts justice and The Challenge Culture is the antidote to a contagion of conformity across sectors.’ (Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice, Yale School of Management)
‘Nigel’s career, vision and humanity are very refreshing’ – Claude Littner, former Chief Executive of Tottenham Hotspur and author of Single-Minded: My Life in Business
Challenge is essential for survival and sustained success in today’s volatile world.
We live in an era when successful organisations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.
Nigel Travis has forty years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crisis – such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his ten years as CEO and Chairman of Dunkin’ Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organisations to succeed in today’s environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback, rather than reject them. Everyone – from the newest recruit to the senior leader – must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics – although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organisations steadily improve?
Through colourful story-telling, with many examples from his own experiences – including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of Leyton Orient Football Club -Travis shows how to establish a culture that embraces challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.
PRAISE FOR THE CHALLENGE CULTURE:
‘Nigel Travis has hit the nail on the head. Collective brilliance can only come from challenge and he proves this throughout his own leadership journey. Entertaining, edifying and exactly right.’ — Manley Hopkinson FRSA FRGS, author of Compassionate Leadership
Women, especially young women, in today’s world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it. (Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch)
‘A must read for all people leading organizations in these turbulent times!’ (Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, coauthor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done)
‘This book not only takes you inside [Nigel’s] businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them to thrive. If you can use 20% of what he’s suggesting, you’ll be ahead of the game. Use 40% and you can blow the doors off.’ (Mark Goldstein, former chief marketing officer of BBDO Worldwide)
‘Dissent is not disloyalty but can be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. … Conformity kills creativity and subverts justice and The Challenge Culture is the antidote to a contagion of conformity across sectors.’ (Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice, Yale School of Management)
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Nigel's career, vision and humanity are very refreshing.
'The insights of The Challenge Culture provide a powerful playbook for people across the business world.'
'The world is filled with CEOs who major in one or two parts of their enterprise, but minor in none. Nigel understands the intricacies of everything. And even better, he knows how to put them together to make a business run the way it should. This book not only takes you inside his businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them to thrive. If you can use 20% of what he's suggesting, you'll be ahead of the game. Use 40% and you can blow the doors off.'
'Nigel Travis has hit the nail on the head. Collective brilliance can only come from challenge and he proves this throughout his own leadership journey. Entertaining, edifying and exactly right.'
'Business and politics have become ever more competitive and unpredictable. In order to succeed in this environment, Travis introduces The Challenge Culture where employees are encouraged and are sufficiently self-confident to push back, engage in debate and along with their leaders search intensively for the best answer to critical issues. A must read for all people leading organizations in these turbulent times!'
'Smart and insightful, this work offers an insider's account of the leadership approach behind a successful global brand that executives in any industry can emulate.'
Nigel Travis shares his insight on the importance of creating a challenge culture, one that questions the status quo, encourages internal pushback and helps companies be nimble enough to adapt to change. The Challenge Culture is a must read for employers and employees alike, and promises to get ideas for long-term success percolating.
Women, especially young women, in today's world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it.
'Dissent is not disloyalty but can be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. ... Conformity kills creativity and subverts justice and The Challenge Culture is the antidote to a contagion of conformity across sectors.'