Going First: Finding the Courage to Lead Purposefully and Inspire Action

Are you clear on the purpose of your business - and your life?

When we're connected to purpose, we're more motivated, creative, energetic, resilient, and collaborative. Having a clear purpose is a key driver of success and profitability and unlocks our full potential. It also increases the likelihood that we'll have the social and environmental impact we want to have, toward our desired legacy. When we lead and live with purpose, we move beyond our doubts and fears and take action that transforms our lives, our companies, and even the world!

In Going First, Nell Derick Debevoise explores how we can identify our values and the benefits of putting in the effort required to lead and live a purposeful life. She shares her own journey zeroing in on her life's work and her experiences running leadership development programs for international organizations. Along with insights gleaned from over 150 CEOs, founders, human resources officers, and other wise and courageous leaders, Debevoise presents the Impact Dashboard, a framework we can use to connect day-to-day actions to our desired outcomes. She describes the six spheres, an action-oriented blueprint for living purposefully that enables us to envision how best to spend our limited time, energy, and attention.

Debevoise shines a light on the people who are leading and living purposefully in a wide variety of industries and differently-sized companies, roles, and geographies. Isn't it time to join them, Going First in your own unique way?

Nell Derick Debevoise lovingly wrangles people, ideas, and horses to make work healthier and fairer for all of us. To activate that purpose, Nell facilitates courageous conversations that lead to growth and innovation and improve well-being and performance, advises on talent and social impact strategies, and coaches leaders and founders to expand their impact and build powerful legacies. Since 2011, Nell has worked with hundreds of leaders from Fortune 500, startup, B Corp, and not-for-profit organizations to do the challenging but rewarding work of becoming the people their dogs and grandchildren think they are. Nell has an interdisciplinary approach, gathering international, academic and applied perspectives that bridge sectors, industries, and generations. She has lived and worked on four continents and collaborated across sectors with Japanese executives, Palestinian community leaders, French high school students, and Mozambique education ministry officials, among others.Nell studied leadership, innovation, and intercultural dialog at Harvard, Cambridge, Universita di Roma, and Columbia and London Business Schools. She is the Chief Wrangler of Inspiring Cowgirl PBC, a partner of PurposeFused, and cofounder and CEO of the Purposeful Growth Institute. Nell advises and invests in values-aligned startups across industries. She speaks and writes about this entire portfolio of work as a senior contributor for Forbes Leadership, and her first book is Going First: Your Invitation to Find the Courage to Lead Purposefullyand Inspire Action (Spring 2023).