This Forbes-published book presents 12 essential habits grouped under four key themes: will, values, results, and skills. Through engaging storytelling, each habit is brought to life in a well-structured narrative. Every chapter sheds light on a different aspect of how professionals create value in the workplace. The authors—Verne Harnish, Kevin Daum, and Anne Mary Ciminelli—bring decades of experience in leadership, business growth, and performance. Harnish is best known for Scaling Up and his insights on entrepreneurship and scaling strategies. Daum brings expertise in storytelling and sales in business, while Ciminelli is a consultant who has worked in leadership development and corporate training, with a focus on unlocking both individual and organizational potential.
Considering the competencies highlighted in the WEF 2025 Report, I believe this book offers valuable takeaways, especially for young professionals.
Habit 1: Developing as a Leader
The protagonist of the story, Jessica, an attentive and driven employee at Japan-based semiconductor firm SumCo, aspires to lead since the day she joined. Her talent for client relations and constructive approach with colleagues earned her early recognition. At just 26, she’s promoted to team leader as a natural result of her hard work, but soon realizes that doing a job well and managing a team are entirely different responsibilities. She’s challenged not just to deliver results, but to understand, support, and guide people. With limited support, a busy and distant manager, and no leadership development program in place, Jessica begins to chart her course.
At first, she makes frequent mistakes, but she learns from them. She listens to more experienced colleagues, dives into leadership articles late at night, and gradually applies her learnings not just for herself but for her team’s growth. The moment she starts to see her role not just as managing, but as expanding and transforming it, her impact within the team becomes clear.
Jessica’s story illustrates that leadership is not a title, but a mindset. Her true strength lies in how she faces uncertainty, with openness to learning and a drive for growth. What sets her apart is that she sees the lack of external support not as an excuse, but as a reason to take initiative. That’s leadership in action.
Habit 2: Aligning Vision
This time, our protagonist is Alex, newly appointed to lead the Pleasantville branch of PrepaTax, a firm offering individual tax advisory and financial planning services. Energetic, results-driven, and proactive, Alex quickly makes an impression on both employees and senior leadership. Without delay, he rolls out his plan to exceed the company’s 15% growth target. He motivates his team, launches new campaigns, and even teaches himself coding to speed up technical processes. By the end of the year, his branch delivers a remarkable 27% growth. A truly impressive outcome.
But trouble soon follows. Alex overextends the company’s limited resources and places an extra burden on central teams. His advertising tone drifts from corporate standards, and his self-made coding tweaks cause unexpected technical issues. In short, his success starts to come at the expense of organizational integrity. Though his intentions are good, the “wins” he delivers begin to trigger losses at a broader level.
The real problem is not solely Alex’s behavior, but also senior management’s reliance on a few written announcements instead of engaging in clear dialogues that would internalize certain goals and foster a shared understanding. This communication gap allows individual initiatives to spill beyond the system and strain it.
Eventually, Alex realizes that growing his branch isn’t sufficient. He begins to understand the importance of harmony across the organization and adjusts his approach. He takes a closer look at the strategic plan, studies industry dynamics, and starts reaching out to other branch leaders. Rather than acting on his own, he now shares his ideas with relevant teams first. His marketing proposals are redesigned to serve the entire company. His tech suggestions are developed in a way that doesn’t burden IT.
By year-end, every branch across the company hits the 15% growth target. And Alex? He evolves from a high-performing manager into a vital employee who aligns with the company’s vision and contributes to its shared strategy. Several of his ideas helped establish a new internal committee dedicated to improving employee productivity.
Habit 3: Enabling Growth
Isaac starts working at VeggieHut, a healthy fast-casual chain with a plant-based menu, while still in college. He doesn’t see the job merely as a source of income, but as a place where he belongs. After graduation, regional manager Diane recognizes his potential and offers him an assistant leadership role at the Boulder branch.
From the start, Isaac is enthusiastic, well-connected, and deeply bonded with his team. He earns the appreciation of both branch leader Franco and Diane. However, work life requires more than just goodwill and energy. Soon enough, an upcoming health inspection becomes a test for both the branch and Isaac. The chain’s past loss of reputation during a similar inspection is still fresh in everyone’s minds. On top of that, chronic equipment failures remain unresolved.
Isaac quickly springs into action for his branch. He arranges preventive maintenance for the refrigerators, assigns regular inspection duties to the kitchen staff, and ensures everyone is fully prepared for the inspection day. In the end, the branch earns its highest health score ever. A new crisis is averted.
Aware that the issue extends beyond his branch, Isaac calculates the long-term benefits of upgrading the equipment. He shares his data with Diane and Franco, leading to equipment replacement across all branches.
Isaac becomes valuable not simply because he manages the crisis well, but because he transforms the challenge into a bigger solution. Instead of just fixing a small problem with personal initiative, he turns it into a scalable growth opportunity.
Habit 4: Integrating Core Values and Purpose
Megan has served as Creative Director at Commnivore Agency for five years, in a role that goes beyond managing projects. She leads her team while actively keeping the agency’s core values alive:
- Foster growth
- Communicate well
- Avoid drama (handle tense or emotional situations)
- Learn from everything
- Be an expert
These five core values are prominently displayed in bold letters at the agency’s entrance. Megan believes these values should be visible, not just on posters, but genuinely felt in the way work gets done.
She is thorough in immersing new team members in this culture. However, Alan, a skilled and experienced designer, soon reveals reluctance to embrace these values despite attentively listening during orientation. He contributes little in meetings, dismisses feedback, and shifts blame onto others, creating unrest within the team.
Megan does not ignore the issue. In one-on-one meetings, she explains how these values form the foundation of the team’s dynamics. She schedules brief preparation sessions before meetings to help Alan participate effectively. These small interventions gradually spark a positive change in his behavior.
But Megan realizes the challenge extends beyond Alan alone. The team talks about values, yet there is no clear indication that they truly live by them. Reflecting on her leadership, Megan acknowledges she has not set clear boundaries or clarified expectations from the outset. Motivated by this insight, she launches a company-wide core values program. She proposes integrating the values into hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, and reward systems. Through these initiatives, Megan ensures the values become central to team decisions, everyday choices, and the overall company culture.
Habit 5: Managing Conflict
This time, the story centers on Brin, who has worked at Longville Healthcare Agency for two years. From the outside, it looks like Brin has a good job, a solid salary, and a stable future. But the internal reality tells a different story: long-standing, unresolved tensions, passive-aggressive email threads, raised voices in meetings, and occasional shouting matches.
At first, Brin tries to stay neutral and manage the situation quietly. But over time, he realizes that doing nothing helps neither himself nor the team’s productivity. In the current environment, the entire organization operates at only half of its potential.
One evening, while explaining the situation to his father, Brin puts it into words: “No one is completely right or wrong. But everyone seems unable to see beyond their perspective.” Around the same time, a book on conflict resolution introduced him to techniques like active listening, emotional mirroring, and pausing before reacting in triggering moments. He begins to apply them, and as he practices, he starts seeing results.
He invites his manager, Andy, out for coffee, even bringing the book, marked with notes in the margins. He says, “If you’re open to it, I’d be happy to support this effort.” Andy is surprised at first but agrees.
Together, they develop a new communication strategy for the office. Andy begins organizing meals with employees in pairs, focusing on impact-based conversations. Brin proposes a structure to encourage positive language in weekly meetings. While the team initially approaches the shift with caution and limited engagement, within three months, the atmosphere begins to change. Respect is redefined, embraced, and lived across the agency.
Habit 6: Driving Excellence
Angela works at Evergreen Commercial Construction, a company known for its eco-friendly projects. She sees her job not just as a duty, but as a way to contribute to society. When the company goes through a merger and communication missteps lead to a spike in customer complaints, Angela becomes increasingly concerned. In this period of confusion, her manager, Jeff, turns to Angela for help, trusting her to take charge of the company’s external communications. Angela quickly puts a plan in place. She puts together a dedicated feedback response team, revamps the company’s social media content, launches weekly blog posts, and starts an internal podcast series to strengthen communication.
At first, the podcast episodes with high play counts spark interest, and things seem to be going smoothly. But momentum begins to fade. The team gets tired. Content becomes inconsistent. Angela does her best, but soon comes to see that the structure she created isn’t sustainable. This time, instead of rushing to fix things, she takes a step back to grasp the situation. She reevaluates the company’s new goals, the available internal resources, and how the brand is perceived externally. Then, she begins building a more resilient and collaborative communications model.
The new system is simpler and more inclusive. Blog content now revolves around company values. The social media calendar is aligned with project timelines. Each department takes on annual content responsibilities. On top of that, an external media intern is brought in to raise the overall quality of the content. Within three months, the shift is palpable. Blog content begins to attract new clients. Employee engagement improves across the board. Ultimately, Angela manages to turn a crisis into a long-term growth opportunity for the company.
Habit 7: Surfacing Issues
Jonathan, a long-time team member at Midstate Capital Finance, is one of the company’s most experienced loan officers. He’s known for quickly resolving small discrepancies in paperwork, handling complex applications with ease, and using his expertise to simplify the client journey. Even though company processes are not clearly defined, Jonathan doesn’t view this as a problem. He simply follows his trusted methods.
When he starts assisting Sean and Rebecca Smith with their application, everything initially follows the usual rhythm. He overlooks minor inconsistencies in their documents, assuming—based on countless past experiences—that he can resolve any issues along the way. But as the process moves forward, the situation becomes more tangled. Discrepancies between documents and verifications increase. Eventually, the system rejects the application altogether. In addition, a newly introduced industry regulation now requires the couple to pay a higher down payment, which Jonathan fails to catch in time.
Suddenly, everything spins out of control, and the Smiths are left in a state of uncertainty. Jonathan steps in to meet with senior leadership, reorganizes the documentation, and works to reassure the clients. After days of effort, the loan is finally approved. The Smiths move into their home, and “Jonathan once again earns recognition for resolving a crisis”. But the truth is that this so-called success is just a well-managed patch over a preventable problem. Jonathan invests valuable time fixing an issue that could have been avoided altogether. The absence of a structured system forces him to rely on a personal workaround that ultimately breaks down. It costs not only his own time but also company resources, client trust, and team spirit.
After this experience, Jonathan shifts his approach. For each new application, he starts from the ground up. He creates pre-checklists for documents, explains the process to clients in simple terms, and closely monitors industry updates every week. He begins thinking beyond individual cases and takes steps to benefit the broader team.
He also launches a weekly email thread summarizing regulatory changes and frequently encountered issues. Jonathan is no longer just a seasoned problem-solver. He evolves into a team-oriented leader who helps others stay informed and prepared.
Habit 8: Improving Processes
Mary, our protagonist, leads the visual communications team at Excelsior Marketing, a rapidly growing digital marketing agency. Recently, stress levels in her team have visibly risen. Internal video requests multiply suddenly, while external client demands continue unabated. The team works late into the night and even spends weekends at the office. Every project is declared urgent, and there is no system in place to prioritize tasks.
Mary begins by listening carefully to her team. She asks how they manage their work and what steps they take for each project. Their answers reveal that everything changes “based on the situation.” There is no shared process or defined structure. As a result, when workloads increase, the team struggles to stay on track.
Rather than imposing an immediate solution, Mary sits down with her team to identify recurring steps in every project. The process is challenging at first, with some members being reluctant to share technical details. But eventually, they create a checklist outlining the essential steps each project must follow. They estimate time requirements and allocate tasks more equitably. While not perfect at the start, this framework brings much-needed order compared to the previous chaos.
Knowing the system will require time and careful attention to mature, Mary asks her team to dedicate half an hour each day to collaboratively refine the process. Despite some initial resistance, they engage in open discussion, experimentation, and simplification until they develop a clear process map. Cross-training is implemented to ensure everyone fully understands the workflow. The process is documented, and control points are introduced to minimize errors.
Within weeks, the team begins working more cohesively. They respond to requests more quickly, and the quality of their output improves significantly. Mary moves beyond simply managing workload pressures; she becomes an indispensable employee who plans for the future and provides her team with a solid foundation for success.
Habit 9: Getting Things Done
Dylan works at BreezeAir, a company operating in the home services sector. A recent promotional campaign, though highly successful, triggered a surge in demand far beyond expectations. The technical team is understaffed, appointments are delayed, cancellations spike, and tensions escalate between customer service representatives and technicians. Both the company’s reputation and employee engagement are at risk.
Dylan doesn’t remain indifferent. He begins by taking immediate steps to provide temporary relief. With the help of external support, he organizes an eight-hour training session for both call center agents and field technicians. The program goes beyond technical procedures, covering topics such as handling difficult customers, tone of voice, and empathy. A short assessment follows to reinforce what’s been learned.
Next comes a shadow mentorship initiative. The most experienced technicians are paired with those who have less-developed interpersonal skills. Small buffer times are added between appointments, giving technicians time to prepare for the next visit and preventing delays from snowballing. As a result, both customer satisfaction and team rhythm improve. Customer feedback is collected, and internal stress begins to ease.
Even after solving the current problem, Dylan realizes that the challenges go beyond surface-level symptoms. The team is not operating efficiently—procedures are either unknown or inconsistently followed. He understands that lasting improvement will only come through systemic change. He designs an onboarding program for new hires and schedules regular refresher training for the entire team. He holds one-on-one conversations with experienced technicians to better understand the real challenges in the field. He realizes that the problems are not just about knowledge, but also about systems. Dylan brings his findings to management. The performance evaluation system is updated. Procedural handbooks are distributed to all employees, and training materials are simplified and made easily accessible. Quarterly meetings are introduced as a core component of improvement.
Over time, customer feedback becomes increasingly positive, and employee engagement strengthens. Dylan stands out as a key contributor, helping to improve the organization’s long-term resilience.
Habit 10: Fostering Communication
Brittany leads a customer service team. When they’re tasked with preparing a company-wide presentation for the CEO, the team throws themselves into the work during the first week. They gather data, carefully select the right fonts, and keep visuals clean and minimal. To them, the final presentation seems flawless. But during the rehearsal, the feedback is clear: the presentation lacks impact and isn’t memorable.
This is where Aliyah steps in. Drawing on her background in performing arts at college, she brings a new vision, where communication isn’t just about content, but also about emotion and narrative. Thus, a standard presentation starts evolving into a story. A new visual language is built around the company logo. Candid photos from the past, humorous video clips, and a fictional character that represents company goals are all woven in. Every detail is rethought. Posters spark interest before the presentation, and follow-up emails reinforce the message afterward. The team’s goal is no longer just to deliver information through the presentation; it’s to fulfill their task in a way that makes the narrative unforgettable. When presentation day arrives, the room erupts with laughter. Employees see themselves in the narrative that has been so thoughtfully crafted. The message lands, and the intended impact is achieved. Because effective communication isn’t just about what is said. It’s about what is remembered and how long the story lives in people’s minds.
Habit 11: Inspiring Creativity
Connie is the first full-time marketing lead at BrightStart-4-All, a nonprofit organization supporting children in the local Latinx community from an early age. Until now, the organization relied on volunteers and interns, with communication efforts limited not only by needs but also by resources. Connie quickly adapts. She launches social media accounts, renovates the corporate website, develops a visual identity, and shoots the images herself. Visibility grows rapidly, and operations take on a more professional framework. The team is pleased, and there’s even a sense of relief, with some saying, “Connie’s got this covered.”
Over time, however, this ease reveals another challenge. Creativity centers around one person, and the team is left out of the process. Phrases like “I’m not that creative” start to serve, often unconsciously, as a legitimate excuse to step back from idea generation.
Recognizing this, Connie slows her own pace to make space for others. She launches simple gatherings called “Creative Lunches” to bring team members into the content creation process as natural contributors. Instead of training or assigning tasks, she focuses on collaborative thinking. Together, they brainstorm on storytelling, visual choices, and social media tone, and try out new ideas.
Gradually, content production becomes a team effort. The social media calendar is shared across departments, emails and brochures come from different hands, and the website is redesigned with input from everyone, better reflecting the company’s identity in every aspect. This transformation is felt not only externally but internally as well. A strong sense of ownership takes root within the team.
By year’s end, the entire team thanks Connie. But what makes her happiest is hearing a colleague say, “I designed my visual for the first time last week.”
Habit 12: Effecting Change
The story’s protagonist, Auggie, takes charge of the engineering team at GoGas, a company that has operated with the same production system for years. GoGas is stable and predictable, with an experienced team and familiar processes. However, it gradually becomes clear that this stagnation is eroding the foundation needed for progress. Outdated software, production technologies that no longer meet evolving demands, and a lack of focus on critical issues like the transition to electric vehicles paint a troubling picture.
Auggie spends his first weeks observing, getting to know his team, and trying to understand the process. While everything seems to be running smoothly on the surface, he senses an unspoken resistance to change beneath. Discussions about change are postponed or dismissed with “not needed for now.” Yet, the market is rapidly evolving through technological transformation. Rather than pushing change forcefully, Auggie chooses to give it meaning. He seeks to understand why people resist change and realizes it stems not from laziness but from a fear of uncertainty. With this awareness, he presents new ideas not just as innovations but as outcomes of a collective growth process.
He prepares a presentation that includes not only technical data but also examples from other companies, potential opportunities, missed chances, and most importantly, his trust in the team. This approach resonates with his team. The meeting results in decisions to start software training, 3D prototyping efforts, and draft plans for electric vehicle infrastructure. The team no longer says, “not needed for now”; instead, they ask, “What’s the next step?”
This is a prime example of how a vision comes to life only when people are convinced, needs become visible, and there is a collective commitment to move forward. What makes Auggie valuable is his ability to build a reliable foundation for change without imposing it.
The values woven throughout these stories by the authors are universal. Connie organizing small creativity workshops with her team during lunch breaks, or a young employee inviting their manager out for coffee to recommend a book—these might seem culturally out of place to us today. What truly matters is not the form these actions take, but the intention behind them. You don’t need to replicate the exact actions of the protagonists in these stories. The real point is to grasp the underlying message and adapt it to your cultural context. That’s why, in this article, I haven’t tried to tell you what should be done. Nor have I attempted to explain, analyze, or draw conclusions from the stories. Instead, I invite you to connect each story to your own professional life, put yourself in the shoes of those characters, and discover what feels right for you.
As someone who has contributed for years to a company operating across many regions of the world and reaching 4 billion people across five continents, both as a “leader” and a “team member,” I have come to believe that despite changing people, systems, and expectations, a few things remain constant: 1) Enthusiasm 2) Doing what the job truly requires.
There is a vast difference between merely doing what is asked and bringing spirit and dedication to the work. The stories above highlight that difference. The authors call us to develop a questioning mindset, one that sees what’s unsaid, senses what’s needed, and truly grasps what’s said. For passionate employees, what the job requires is evolving fast. And if you noticed, each story begins with someone saying, in essence: “This is not enough.”
References
Harnish, V., Daum, K., & Ciminelli, A. M. (2024). 12 Habits of Valuable Employees: Your Roadmap to an Amazing Career. Forbes Books.
https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/
Note: This open-source article does not require copyright and can be quoted by citing the author.
