The Book

RUG: How to Move What You’re Tripping Over and Lead with H.E.A.R.T. is a call to rise
when life pulls the ground out from under you. Blending hard-won personal insight with decades of leadership experience, it introduces the H.E.A.R.T. Powered Leadership™ framework — Humanize, Empower, Ascend, Reimagine, Transform — to help you lead yourself and others through profound change. Part story, part guide, RUG is for anyone ready to turn disruption into a catalyst for growth.

Pre-Order Your Copy

Inside H.E.A.R.T. Powered Leadership™

At the core of RUG is the H.E.A.R.T. Powered Leadership™ Framework — five principles to help you lead yourself and others with empathy, courage, and vision through any disruption.

  • Humanize – Lead with empathy. Put people first
  • Empower – Trust deeply. Let others lead
  • Ascend – Rise above comfort. Choose growth
  • Reimagine – Challenge norms. See possibility
  • Transform – Rewrite your story. Lead from experience


RUG brings these principles to life through real stories, fresh perspectives, and practical tools you can put into action right away. Each chapter includes:

  • Stories from the authors’ personal and professional lives that bring the principles to life
  • Kevin’s Takes, which offer an additional lens on the themes explored from co-author Kevin G. Ordoñez
  • RUG Reflections to prompt personal insight and self-assessment 
  • The Practice to apply lessons in real time with hands-on exercises 
  • Micro-Moves to enable readers to take small, powerful actions today

What Readers Are Saying

  • “RUG changed the way I see my leadership. It’s part book, part mirror, part movement.”
    Association CEO
  • “If Brené Brown and Simon Sinek co-wrote a guide for this messy, modern moment—this would be it.”
    Conference Attendee
  • “This isn’t theory. It’s lived experience, and it gave me permission to show up as a whole.”
    Nonprofit Executive Director