Aim High

As the 23rd Secretary and the "CEO" of the male-dominated U.S. Air Force (only the second woman to lead a U.S. military service), Secretary Deborah Lee James led a force of 660,000 people and managed a $139 billion budget—larger than the GDP of more than 120 countries. In the midst of unprecedented political dysfunction in Washington, she faced down enormous challenges, including preparing military women and men to fight terror in the Middle East, combatting sexual assault in the military, and responding to a crisis in the nuclear enterprise.

In Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success, Deborah James shares her personal and professional challenges, outcomes, strategies for success, and the problem-solving principles she used to overcome the daunting pressures, threats, and challenges that come with rising to the top of the U.S. Armed Forces. As a supplement to her storytelling, Bain and Company, a top-tier management consulting firm, offers research and statistics that prove James's insights have widespread impact.

The book offers an insider's view on how things really work in Washington—and how the author's five-step, repeatable problem-solving approach can work in any walk of life.