The Winding Road to Excellence: Leadership Lessons Learned from Life’s Potholes Hardcover by G.T. “Toby” Stansell

In this relatable collection of savvy business advice on developing a corporate culture where people genuinely want to perform at their best and keep the interests of the business top of mind, Toby Stansell develops a series of pithy, memorable “Mantras for Excellence.” The mantas he has developed take the form of “one-liners” that capture “learning experiences” in which he had willingly participated or grudgingly endured. From these memorable shorthand mantras, Stansell then develops the ideas and practical applications at their core. Recognizing that an authentic leader must start by being an authentic person, Stansell shares informative stories of how he came to form these mantras—often by falling into the potholes life so often offers up—and from them builds a framework that leaders can put to work in transforming their companies. A transformational leader elevates companies that are desirable to work for, cultivating a culture in which everyone―throughout the organization―is empowered to use their talents to live and work at their best.

As CEO of Cargo LLC and the former CEO and President of companies ranging from Finance to Apparel and High-Tech to Manufacturing, Stansell knows what it takes to lead in a manner that assists people in achieving their best. Stansell has proven an expert at learning how to transform his own life and those around him, taking what on the surface appear to be liabilities and shaping them into key assets. The book is based on the principle that if we look at everything life hands us, good and bad, as an opportunity, we can begin to build a positive, principle-based framework for successful leadership.