Stop, Ask, Explore - by Joan P Ball (Paperback)

About the Book

Master 'what now?' moments and use life's inevitable interruptions and disruptions as an opportunity to reflect, reorient and grow in your professional life and beyond.

Book Synopsis

Interruptions and disruptions are a threshold to uncharted territory. You can learn to navigate uncertain transitions - and to flourish in times of unrelenting change.

This book offers readers a practical framework for navigating life's inevitable turning points, thresholds and transitions - at work, at home and in between. Drawing upon more than a decade of research and work with established and emerging leaders across the globe, leadership consultant, Joan P. Ball invites you to reimagine your relationship with uncertainty and recognize the creative potential that exists in the messy middle between life's inevitable What Now? Moments and what comes next.

Stop, Ask, Explore is a lively and eye-opening book that will allow you to more effectively engage interruptions and disruptions and develop the experimental mindset needed to flourish in an era of unrelenting and exponential change. Discover the power of curiosity, wayfinding, and discernment to make sense of uncharted territory and learn to thrive in times of uncertainty.

Review Quotes

"Joan P. Ball lit up a room of skeptical, hard-nosed engineers who aren't normally comfortable delving into soft skills. She used her authenticity, her wonderful energy, and her sense of humor to really reach them. I watched everyone's posture change during her presentation. Instead of sitting back with arms crossed, they were leaning forward and interacting with Joan as well as their peers. She gave them rich content that convinced them of the value of arming their teams with resilience, tools, and hope during a period that she so aptly described as "active waiting"."-- "Kim Furzer, Chief of Staff to CIO, Verizon Media"

"A wonderful book asking profound, vital questions that will help propel us all to a better, more secure, more interesting, and successful life."-- "Tom Goodwin, CEO of All We Have Is Now and author of 'Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business Disruption'"

"All too often, disruption can drive one of two extreme reactions: either a deer in the headlights paralysis or knee-jerk response. Stop, Ask, Explore is the structured set of principles and fresh, practical tools that can finally equip leaders to take action that's truly effective in the face of disruption. It's the missing link in the path to get to the best "next"."-- "Andrea Kates, Partner at Suma Ventures and author of 'Find Your Next: Using the Business Genome Approach to Find Your Company's Next Competitive Edge' and Get To Next masterclass series"

"Creating a workplace where women of color can thrive requires a commitment to transformation in every part of the organization-and getting there means rethinking everything. In Stop, Ask, Explore, Joan P. Ball provides a framework that favors action and experimentation to navigate the messiness and uncertainty on the journey to genuine change."-- "Minda Harts, Workplace and Equity Consultant, author of 'The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table' and 'Right Within: How to Heal from Racial Trauma in the Workplace'"

"Everybody has experienced the challenge of getting from "What now?" to "What's next?" In this wonderful book, told through compelling stories and backed by years of rigorous research, Joan P. Ball will help you do just that. This is so much more than a book to enhance your career. It will animate your life! I couldn't recommend it more highly."-- "Greg Satell, Transformation and Change expert, international keynote speaker, and bestselling author of 'Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change'"

"Excellent leaders create conditions that advance and empower those around them, especially in times of uncertainty. In Stop, Ask, Explore, Joan P. Ball offers a field-tested framework and practical tools and approaches to help leaders-from first-time managers to C-suite executives-navigate change and equip their teams to over- come challenges in their presence, as well as their absence."-- "Frances Frei, Harvard Business School Professor, Thinkers50 Award-winner, and co-author of 'Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You'"

"Leadership of the recent past required unquestioned experts to drive productivity top-down through execution of well under- stood tasks in relative certainty. Leadership of the current requires humble, curious learners to inspire their people bottom- up to explore, to find, and to frame new challenges in a world of continuous change and uncertainty. Stop, Ask, Explore is not a "how to" book, because it acknowledges that we will not go back and our path forward is unclear. Since our path forward is yet to be forged, we need "learn to" guides that help us become comfortable with not knowing, exploring, and wayfinding. Stop, Ask, Explore is a book that clearly understands all this. From Joan P. Ball's deep research, we learn the power of self-reflection and self-awareness in establishing a new breed of leaders who can help lead us through ambiguity towards a better, more inclusive, and equitable future for all."-- "Heather E. McGowan, Future of Work Strategist, keynote speaker, and author of 'The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast, And Thrive in the Future of Work'"

"So many books simply suggest that change is something we cope with, adjust to, or survive. This book does far more. Rather, in a wonderfully clear and gracious way, Joan P. Ball empowers us to find the power in flux. Once we've understood that possibility, we don't just cope. We're transformed."-- "Cait Lamberton, MBA, PhD, Alberto I. Duran Presidential Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania"

About the Author

Joan P. Ball is an associate professor of Marketing at St. John's University, a researcher and a leadership coach. Joan works with emerging and established leaders to help them navigate flux, build resilience and develop an experimental mindset when faced with tricky transitions. The founder of WOMBLab, she works with individuals, teams and organizations to develop new tools to help leader navigate uncertain transitions and teach others to do the same. She has worked with leaders from companies like Verizon Media, Capital One and Herman Miller. She is based in New York City, New York.