You're It

The faculty of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University distill their extensive research and experience to teach you how to become a better leader every day, while giving you the tools to handle the inevitable crises that come your way.

Formed in 2003 on the request of the federal government, the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government has trained political leaders, government officials, members of the armed forces and senior leaders all over the world on how to handle crisis situations.

Managing crisis well is at the very heart of good leadership. Here, the NPLI team draws on a deep well of research as well as their experience working with leaders to respond to crisis events of all kinds, from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Boston Marathon bombings, to more everyday crises like a product recall or media controversy that can hit corporate operations, risking terrible PR and outrage from customers.

You're It distills the wisdom the NPLI have gained from observing the way the most effective leaders take charge of situations with real authority, marshal and connect different networks together, and bring their organizations, cities and countries out through the other side of crisis into recovery. It outlines their theories of crisis leadership-as well as lessons on how to apply them every day so you're prepared when the unexpected happens.

Filled with true life stories of danger and risk, You're It is an essential book for anyone potentially facing a crisis or a wrenching change.

About the Authors

Leonard J. Marcus, Ph.D. is the founding co-director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard and an internationally recognized authority on leadership during times of crisis and change.

Eric J. McNulty, M.A. is Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative and an Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is a contributing editor and columnist at strategy+business magazine and writes periodically for Harvard Business Review and others.

Dr. Barry Dorn, M.D., M.H.C.M. is Senior Advisor of the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Harvard T.H. Chan of Public Health and faculty member of The National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. He is a retired orthopedic surgeon.

Joseph M. Henderson, M.P.A. is Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan of Public Health and is on the faculty of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. He retired from the U.S. Government in 2018 as a member of the Senior Executive Service.