Now You Will Excuse Me: Bite-Sized Lessons for the Leader in All of Us

What can pushing yourself past exhaustion into the hundredth mile of an ultramarathon teach you about leadership?

What about flower gardening, or caddying for cranky, cheating golfers? Plenty, according to business leader and consultant Jim O'Brien, whose exhilarating mix of business experience and life adventures has made him a top executive leader and global financial strategist today.

Unflinching, evocative, and sometimes hilarious, Now You Will Excuse Me is a leadership tool chest packed with stories and wisdom for the leader in all of us. If you're not ready to run a hundred miles to gain this wisdom, you're in luck: this book will take you there.

In this vivid evocation of his leadership journey, Jim O'Brien walks you through the experiences that made him a better leader, including the humbling mistakes he made along the way. Join him as he faces down his own fears and doubts while looking for leadership clues in the world around him. O'Brien shows leaders how little things illustrate big things, why understanding self-interest is so important, and how getting in tune with the rhythms of nature and life is critical to becoming a great leader.

Jim O'Brien has worked in senior roles for a variety of asset management organizations, including London-based Henderson Global Investors, where he was a member of the executive committee and oversaw its US business for nine years. Jim served as a trustee of the Henderson Global Funds board and as president of Henderson Global Funds, and he was a board member of THRE, a $20 billion joint venture between TIAA-CREF and Henderson. Jim also served as a board member of The Olson Company, a California-based homebuilder. Jim enjoys reading, gardening, and ultramarathons as well as spending time with his wife Michelle and their children.