Perseverance > Endurance

Lead with Resilience. Grow Through Adversity. Win Together.

By: Blayne Smith, Brandon Young

From the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq to the boardrooms of Nike, Walmart, and Microsoft, Blayne Smith and Brandon Young have consistently built tightly-knit, high-performing teams that persevere and win.

Join the Army Rangers on the peaks of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and the Green Berets at Firebase Anaconda to gain key insights for leading teams through uncertainty and the understanding that perseverance is what’s most required for today’s complex world.

Doubt crushes leaders daily—from GMs of Fortune 500 companies to small business owners across America, leaders nearly unanimously express doubt and fear in the face of adversity. This makes sense because adversity pushes us beyond our training and our comfort zones.

We cannot simply put our heads down and endure. Instead, learn that adversity is an opportunity for transformation. When faced with circumstances beyond our capabilities, we must grow to meet those challenges by persevering and becoming the person the situation requires.

Perseverance > Endurance empowers leaders to gain clarity of their challenges, apply sound leadership principles, and lead their teams to victory by embracing the five factors of perseverance:

• Change: Factors outside of our control change fast and often.
• Uncertainty: We are confronted with situations beyond our training or capabilities, creating a sense of fear.
• Acceptance: Accept the consequences, embrace the reality of the situation, and surrender what we cannot control.
• Choice: Choose to become our creeds, values, and ethos and become the person your team and the situation call for.
• Growth: We will be changed on the other side, becoming better, wiser, and more confident leaders ready for the next big challenge.

Discover a framework that has helped real organizations, including ThermoFisher Scientific, Siemens, GEICO, Ziggi's Coffee, SDA Colorado, Frontline Construction, Public Trust Advisors, and many more, learn to lead through adversity and win. From two US Army Special Operators turned business professionals who have built successful businesses and led teams to persevere and achieve no-fail missions in war, business, and life, this book will become a staple for leaders worldwide.

©2025 by Blayne Smith and Brandon Young used with permission of BenBella Books, Inc. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.