Acclaimed CEO, TED Speaker, and Entrepreneurship Professor James Rhee shares the inspirational true story of finding success through kindness (plus a little math). Learn the deceptively simple and positive way to embrace your agency, lead change, and fly free--in the business of life and the life of business.
In kindergarten, James Rhee received a toy red helicopter in gratitude for a simple act of generosity--sharing his lunch. Decades later, the lesson from that small gift led him to develop a human-centered framework for business and personal achievement that helped him overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles and find unprecedented success.
Rhee was a high school teacher turned private equity investor when he unexpectedly took the helm of Ashley Stewart, an iconic company predominantly employing and serving Black women. Inspired by the values his dying Korean immigrant parents instilled in him, he knew that a radically different--yet familiar--approach was required to lead this twice-bankrupt company from certain liquidation to true transcendence. The entire world bet against him and Ashley, but Rhee trusted his instincts to identify, measure, and leverage the intangible goodwill at the company's core, a decision which ultimately multiplied its fortunes several times over.
By combining the clarity and imagination we had as children with fundamental business metrics, anyone can apply this refreshingly intuitive approach to lead change at work and at home. While eloquently sharing a story of personal and professional success, red helicopter presents a comforting yet bold solution to the dissatisfaction and worry we all feel in a chaotic and sometimes terrifying world. The insights and knowledge that Rhee imparts have been accumulated over decades of investing and leading at the highest levels of business. Drawing on this experience, he encourages us to trust the wisdom deep inside each of us so we can learn how to:
Create and measure "goodwill," the ultimate collective goodDiscover agency and the truth about kindness it entailsIdentify the invisible obstacles standing in your wayLead transformational change through small, scalable actsConstruct an accurate "balance sheet" of our assets and liabilitiesReorient our lives, organizations, and the world to reflect the best in usA poignant and uplifting celebration of humanity, red helicopter--a parable for our times is a beautiful literary tale of struggle and triumph, as well as a clear, instructional path to create a more sustainable balance between life, money, and joy for both ourselves and others.
Author Biography:
James Rhee is an acclaimed impact investor, founder, CEO, goodwill strategist, thought leader, and educator, who empowers people, brands, and organizations by marrying capital with purpose. He bridges the emotional with the mathematical, and gives permission for us to be human. A long-time private equity investor, James also serves as a founding member of JP Morgan Chase's Advancing Black Pathways, a charter member of Ashoka's Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur Network, and former Chair of the Innovation Committee of the National Retail Federation. In addition to his private sector endeavors, Rhee teaches at Howard University (where he serves as the Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship), MIT Sloan School of Management, and Duke School of Law. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
James Rhee is an acclaimed impact investor, founder, CEO, goodwill strategist, thought leader, and educator, who empowers people, brands, and organizations by marrying capital with purpose. He bridges the emotional with the mathematical, and gives permission for us to be human. A long-time private equity investor, James also serves as a founding member of JP Morgan Chase's Advancing Black Pathways, a charter member of Ashoka's Entrepreneur-to-Entrepreneur Network, and former Chair of the Innovation Committee of the National Retail Federation. In addition to his private sector endeavors, Rhee teaches at Howard University (where he serves as the Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship), MIT Sloan School of Management, and Duke School of Law. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
