The Challenge Culture

Why the Most Successful Organizations Run on Pushback

By: Nigel Travis

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

The executive chairman and former CEO of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins reflects on the unique, results-oriented discipline he's developed over decades of leadership, which provides a blueprint for any organization to achieve prosperity.

We live in an era in which successful organizations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.

Nigel Travis has 40 years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crises - such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his 10 years as CEO and chairman of Dunkin' Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organizations to succeed in today's environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback. Everyone - from the new recruit to the senior leader - must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how to talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics - although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organizations steadily improve?

Through colorful storytelling, with many examples from his own career - including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of the London-based Leyton Orient Football Club, of which he is part owner - Travis shows how to establish a culture that welcomes challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.

©2018 Nigel Travis (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Women, especially young women, in today's world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it." (Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch)

"What a wonderful read, with terrific, memorable thoughts, and a powerful theme: what is essential for a successful business is the ability to question the leadership and ask 'why?'. There are more lessons to be learned than offered by any Harvard MBA." (Jack Cowin, chairman and managing director, Competitive Foods Australia Ltd)

"The Challenge Culture is a must-read for those wanting to improve their leadership skills in light of a fast changing social and political workplace environment. Nigel implores all of us to foster an open and engaging culture of challenge. For over three decades, Nigel has been at the helm of internationally recognizable organizations, and the insights of The Challenge Culture provide a powerful playbook for people across the business world." (Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox)

Great stories and interesting topic on success in business

Nigel is a great storyteller and his resume of failure and success can relate to anyone in business. He subtly adds in the theme of the challenge culture woven into the experiences of his time in the corporate world.

The path to the right decision.

Very good book and the language used throughout the book is very descent. He provided really good examples and situations. In reality when you ask questions or clarifications in the meetings, manager or bosses are often offended. It is very important to learn the art of asking questions in a way to not offend anyone. This part is the most challenging part and if this skill is learned then i can see how successful that person or organization could be.

I gave up on it.

Gave up on it after 4 chapters of self-aggrandizement. Basic idea is to build a culture of respect and authenticity. Also good if you want to hear C-suite stories of mega-corporations including epic fails like Blockbuster.

Slow and useless

The book is common sense and the author spent the entire time bragging about how awesome he thinks he is.