In this valuable book, business and investment consultant Johnnie Garmon uses failure as the base line in sharing his journey towards not only growing a thriving company, but creating opportunities that have lasting impact in the larger community.

Garmon had experienced failure in his marriage and had quit his job as operations manager in the construction field to leap into the hospice industry; “I knew that I wanted to change lives,” he explains of his move into a human resources position. A year later, he joined a hospice start-up that was half-a-million dollars in debt. As executive director, he reversed the company’s fortunes, turning a profit of over $3.5 million in just under two years; yet when he was unexpectedly fired, “[t]he frustration and pain I endured were the price of admission to prepare me for the person I needed to become.”

Garmon believes that failure is not a “no”; it’s the equivalent of “not yet” and “a stepping stone to a much greater yes” in the future. Using his experiences founding his own hospice company, Garmon lays out his step-by-step “Milestone Map,” a four-part growth plan containing 11 concrete milestones/goals. Although he leans into business jargon, he also constructs analogies and shares anecdotes that make the guidance easily comprehensible.

Garmon’s gift is his grasp of story and his optimistic vision. He’s also helpful with straightforward advice, such as “know your season,” a metaphorical approach to understanding whether it’s winter “when things feel frozen,” or spring, when it’s “time to begin planting the seeds for new sales relationships,” or fall “when you are harvesting the gains from all your relationship-building momentum.”

While the author’s Christian faith is apparent throughout, he’s non-dogmatic, and readers across the religious spectrum will find value and lived-experience-wisdom in Garmon’s warm-voiced narrative. This easy, well-paced read offers support and encouragement, and will bolster business leaders to eschew comfort and try good disruption in the name of growth and change.

Also available as an ebook.