Book Notice – F.O.R.G.E.D.: Six Practices of Great Leaders in Volatile Times

F.O.R.G.E.D.: Six Practices of Great Leaders in Volatile Times by Douglas Scherer, offers insights and practical guidance for business managers who want to become better leaders. For Scherer, an IT executive and Lecturer at Columbia University’s Technology Management Program, the current moment presents many significant challenges to corporate leaders. Volatile times call for a new approach to leadership. That’s what Scherer delivers in this book.

The American business environment has never been static or placid, but the disruptions of the last decade or so have been enough to throw even seasoned leaders off balance. From the COVID pandemic to inflation and unpredictable social/political trends, such as anti-LGBTQ boycotts, a host of difficult-to-foresee factors force businesses to be resilient and adaptive.

To succeed, according to Scherer, leaders should embrace an ethos he refers to as F.O.R.G.E.D., which stands for:

• FAVOR compassion
• OWN the unexpected
• RECAST ideas
• GO with intuition
• EMPLOY action communications
• DRIVE community bonds

The F.O.R.G.E.D. approach has a lot to do with encouraging leaders to push past their old assumptions and habitual ways of thinking. By rewriting their playbooks, leaders can see people and events from new perspectives and devise uniquely effective responses to match the strain of unique times.

Scherer comes to this from a lot of hard-earned real-world experience. As an IT executive at major financial services firms, he’s lived the processes he describes in his book. This gives F.O.R.G.E.D. an appealing blend of pragmatism and visionary thinking. For example, he relates an anecdote about the boss “who only shouts” at daily meetings—creating a poor environment for the kind of creativity and output he actually needs to succeed. Time to revisit those old ways of thinking.

This is a very readable book. Scherer keeps it light, constantly throwing in relatable examples and citations to other thought leaders in the business management space. If you aspire to leadership, or feel your leadership skills could use a tune-up, this is a book for you.