Caleb Gardner - No Point B: Rules for Leading Change in the New Hyper-Connected, Radically Conscious Economy

Contents

Praise for No Point B

Change isnt a threat. Its an opportunity. A chance to exercise our moral imagination and move beyond spin and the status quo to do work were proud of. Caleb Gardner is here to help us see that better is possible.

Seth Godin, author, The Practice

Navigating change is not merely a skillits an organizational superpower. In No Point B, Caleb Gardner shows us how it works, and delivers the tools we need to help our own groups thrive in todays world.

Daniel Coyle, author of The Culture Code

Today more than ever, we need a connoisseur on digital thought leadership to help build meaningful lasting relationships. Caleb Gardner is that connoisseur, and I cant wait for readers to discover his approaches for 21st century change leadership.

Nathalie Molina Nio, Cofounder & Managing Director at Known Holdings, and author of Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs

Caleb Gardner is at the very top of my list of experts to teach about change leadership in the digital age. Not only was he at the heart of the most dynamic and successful community movement in modern political history, he is also deeply thoughtful, principled, and pragmatic.

Pamela Slim, business coach, author of The Widest Net, and Cofounder of the Main Street Learning Lab in Mesa, Arizona

Optimism is the cornerstone for creating the change we seek and Caleb has always inspired us with his hopeful approach. Today, with No Point B, he delivers a newand essentialtool for us all to create meaningful change in this fast-paced, ever-evolving world.

Sarah Kauss, Founder of Swell

A vital and engaging recipe for embracing change, instead of fighting against it. Recommended for all business leaders!

Jay Baer, author of Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help, Not Hype

Caleb Gardner blends lessons from old truths, new technologies, and his remarkable experience and skill to develop a playbook for social change. He shows the moves to makeand the pitfalls to avoidas you and your allies nurse a nascent idea from a conversation among two people, to growing a community of supporters and advocates, to a national social movement.

Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isnt

In our technology-accelerated era, change can happen faster than everbut leading that change responsibly requires a new way of thinking and working. Caleb offers mission-critical guidance for those who want to build something better.

Kate ONeil, author of A Future So Bright and Tech Humanist, CEO of KO Insights, host of The Tech Humanist Show

Caleb Gardner is a big thinker with even bigger ideas about how business can more successfully navigate change. In an era that requires executives to sincerely embrace socially conscious leadership, this book is a must read. No Point B is both a reckoning and a road map.

Joe Mull, author of Cure for the Common Leader and No More Team Drama and host of the popular Boss Better Now podcast

Every day we hear about new ways our democracy seems to be failing us in the digital realm, but we cant wait for tech companies or the government to fix it. Weve got to do it ourselves. Calebs ideas for how to do that arent just theoreticaltheyre urgent. And Calebs been there; hes walked the walk. We should listen to him.

Ethan Todras-Whitehill, Cofounder & Executive Director, Swing Left

What a different world this would be if everyone had read No Point B by Caleb Gardner. Imagine always being ready, prepared, and proactively engaged when things change... and change they do. If youve grappled with resilience, or if youve found yourself questioning what to do when everything seems upside down, dont panic! Caleb is here. As No Point B clearly points out, you dont need to worry about disruption when you can best define the kind of disruption you want... and how you strive while surfing through it. Your point A is to read No Point B.

Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation and Ctrl Alt Delete

Caleb Gardners No Point B is the best playbook Ive read for ethical and inclusive political, business, and community leaders who wish to master change as a core competency in a hyper-connected and increasingly complex and volatile world.

Laura Gassner Otting, Washington Post bestselling author of Limitless

This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information about change management. Neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services by publishing this book. If any such assistance is required, the services of a qualified financial professional should be sought. The author and publisher will not be responsible for any liability, loss, or risk incurred as a result of the use and application of any information contained in this book.

No Point B copyright 2022 by Caleb Gardner

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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First E-Book Edition: July 2022

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021062759

ISBN 9781637740996 (hardcover)

ISBN 9781637741009 (electronic)

Editing by Katie Dickman

Copyediting by Ruth Strother

Proofreading by Lisa Story and Denise Pangia

Indexing by WordCo Indexing Services, Inc.

Text design and composition by PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Cover design by Brigid Pearson

Cover image Shutterstock / Yurchanka Siarhei)

Special discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact .

For Caroline, who is stubbornly steadfast and supportive no matter what change comes our way

CONTENTS

M y thoughts about change significantly shifted on a bright day on the South Lawn of the White House in October 2016. The day was sunny, a visual representation of the optimism of the thousands of people arriving for South by South Lawn (SXSL), a White House event inspired by South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual technology and cultural festival held in Austin, Texas, every spring. Called a festival of ideas, art, and action, SXSL was meant to be a cornerstone of an idea President Barack Obama had planted earlier that year at SXSW: the entrepreneurship and creativity shown by American technology companies in the past decade had to be harnessed to solve our toughest challenges as a society, not just to enrich a few billionaires. The event was a celebration of public-private cooperation, and it featured panels with titles such as Fixing Real Problems and How We Make Change led by activists, actors, and tech entrepreneurs. The late Congressman John Lewis introduced the latter with a call to action to young people: It is time for each of you as young leaders to get in troublegood trouble. Get in the way and make some noise. You have the ability. You have the capacity to do it. Just do it.