APG Success Stories

What makes a great leader? Mountains of books have been written on the traits, skills, and qualities that provide this answer. In my mind, one easily rises to the top: The Power of Playing Offense. —Eric Yuan, Founder and CEO, Zoom Video Communications

We hear it all the time: “I want this book to be a short read. Something that can be consumed on a plane ride.” And a short read is sometimes the right answer. Sometimes. Paul Epstein’s new book The Power of Playing Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Personal and Team Transformation can also be finished on one plane ride—if a reader were on a flight from New York to Hong Kong. And in Paul’s case, a lengthier book was the right answer.

Solving business problems isn’t about pulling ideas out of thin air. It’s about asking the right questions the right way.

Consider an airport where passengers complained about wait time at baggage claim. They initially worked on the problem, “How can we speed up the bags?” but they realized that the real problem was, “How can we reduce the wait time?” Wait time involves both the speed of the bags and the speed of the passengers. So instead of speeding up the bags, they decided to slow down the passengers by moving the baggage carrousel further away, requiring people to walk for a few extra minutes. Asking the right questions created potentially better problems for them to solve. For example, they could change one word and go from, “How can we reduce the wait time?” to “How can we improve the wait time?” Now the problem isn’t about speed, but rather experience.

A Plan to Grow the Middle Class and Revitalize the Democratic Party

Rather than developing a long-term plan to help middle-class Americans, today’s Democratic politicians too often lean on ‘the public’s revulsion to Trump’ as the center of their electoral strategy. In place of the party’s vague, anti-Trump approach, the authors propose an ‘Opportunity Agenda’ revolving around economic uplift for the middle class. —Kirkus Reviews

Disrupting the Democratic Party to Improve Its Core

New York businessman and civic leader Winston Fisher and former Kansas City mayor Sly James wouldn’t seem like they have much in common. They come from different cities, cultures, and professions. But they do have one thing in common: their desire to save the Democratic Party from itself.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Fred Claire’s cancer diagnosis came out of left field, but at the City of Hope, he found the dream team to help him beat it.

Extra Innings is a must-read that chronicles Fred Claire’s incredible career in baseball. —Dave Roberts, Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers

A Baseball Legend

The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series. The last time the Dodgers won the Fall Classic was back in 1988, with an overachieving team assembled by former sportswriter-turned-baseball-executive Fred Claire.

How one successful wealth advisor made it his mission to increase millennials’ financial literacy.

George “G$” Kroustalis thought it was another typical day hosting a 401(k) enrollment seminar. Though a financial advisor for pre-retirement clients, Kroustalis hosts these events to reach young adults just starting their professional lives and to encourage them to begin saving money. That day, October 10, a former attendee came up to Kroustalis and told him that, though he was initially doubtful, he had followed Kroustalis’s advice over the past twelve years and built his wealth beyond his wildest expectations. That moment turned Kroustalis’s passion for spreading financial literacy into a crusade, which drove him to write Secrets to Becoming a Financial Badass.

Organizations that are Crisis Ready^® are more than just resilient. They’re invincible.

Building an Invincible Brand In an Uncertain World

Written by crisis management advisor as well as founder and CEO of the Crisis Ready Institute Melissa Agnes, Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World provides organizations such as businesses, police, military, and universities the tools they need to build resilient brands. Being Crisis Ready^® means if an organization is faced with a crisis, they come out of it stronger and even better than before.

What does this mean?

A Political Title Ideally Suited for New RealClear Politics Imprint

Worsley convincingly connects the pseudoscientific racism that permeated the anti-immigration wing of the Progressive Movement to today’s ethnocentrists, particularly John Tanton (the co-founder of the controversial Center for Immigration Studies), who deploy similar environmental and eugenicist arguments in their opposition to immigration. —Kirkus Reviews

Former Arizona state senator Bob Worsley uncovers the surprising beginnings of modern anti-immigration sentiments in his book, The Horseshoe Virus: How the Anti-Immigration Movement Spread from Left-Wing to Right-Wing America.

Named one of the Best Business Books 2019 by strategy+business, The Age of Intent guides readers through the challenges of using AI to improve customer experience.

Pioneering the Conversation Around AI-Powered Chatbots.

Written by co-founder and CEO of [24]7.ai P.V. Kannan, The Age of Intent: Using Artificial Intelligence to Deliver a Superior Customer Experience expertly discusses how AI-powered virtual agents can help a business to succeed—or fail.

What does this mean?

Headlines scream that football causes CTE, but the headlines don’t tell the whole story.

A detailed, well-documented account of the issues that surround the sport of football and the potential for brain injuries. —Dr. Julian Bailes, Director of neurosurgery and co-director of the NorthShore HealthSystem Neurological Institute

A bold statement for an even bolder book that put Amplify on the map.

Written by former NFL running back Merril Hoge (with contributions from neuropathologist Peter Cummings), Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football was hailed as “a must-read for any parent” by current Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and his wife, Ashley.