The Seventh Power

One CEO's Journey into the Business of Shared Leadership

By: Kevin Hancock

Narrated by: Steve Menasche

A corporate executive loses his voice and discovers a new pathway to organizational excellence, built on the premise of dispersed power and shared leadership.

©2020 Kevin Hancock (P)2020 Gildan Media

A refreshing prolific view to corporate leadership

Thanks for being intentional with the life you chose to live Kevin. You are now a living example of what is possible when you believe in spite of and in the face of fear. The truth you’ve seeked will allow others to follow theirs.

Keep up the great work.

The ethos of the song Imagine

In this book Kevin Hancock presents the ethos of the song Imagine (John Lennon), with hints of Crack in the Cosmic Egg (Joseph Chilton Pearce), in the narrative style of A Pilgrimage to Eternity (Timothy Egan). It's a very personal account that provides hope for humanity with a practical approach—the practical aspect is a cause for hope.

Hancock provides tangible evidence that treating people with respect as fellow humans increases monetary profits. The mantra of putting people first and profits will follow has confirmation in real life at Hancock Lumber—counterintuitive to the assumptions underpinning private equity practices, employee self actualization is foundational to shareholder value. If only this were universally practiced! It's difficult to imagine Capitalism surviving without this fundamental course correction within businesses—the alternative is a fascist dystopia of oligarchic oppression the world and the US in particular are rapidly hurling toward.

The author describes his experiences with the Lakota people at the Pine Ridge Reservation near Rapid City, SD, the poorest county in the United States. He also chronicles his meetings with survivors of Soviet imposed starvation during the 1930s Holodomor in Ukraine. Among the many lessons from these experiences is that we are all fellow members of the human tribe, and should relate to others accordingly.

Although the Seventh Power is that of the individual, it is there to help other humans, contrary to what is touted as individualism in the libertarian sense. We need Seventh Power individualism—the exact opposite of the self-serving individualism that dominates our culture today. May we all pursue that!

“The Seventh Power” is incredibly insightful

I bought Kevin’s book “The Seventh Power” on Audible. It should be a required read for all managers in any industry. Kevin has incredible insight into how to encourage and empower employees while giving them a voice. His intent to listen to each employee is a testament to how his company has disbursed authority while providing employees with a greater sense of pride and buy in. He listens to how decisions that are made effect jobs and employee satisfaction. I wish I had run across this book years ago. His philosophy rang true with me as empowering and listening to employees was a core component of how we managed a boutique firm in a former position. We encouraged employees, helped them grow, and made them feel like they were part of a family that took care of each other. So many times, managers have no idea how their actions or what they say can discourage growth and deflate an employee’s spark. In the last few years, that happened to me; I just wish my managers had met Kevin and read his book years ago. I have listened to “The Seventh Power” twice and each time I pick up something different. I intend to listen to it again! I am in awe of Kevin and how he transformed his management style into one that encourages and empowers his employees; and, how he is so willing to share his personal journey on how he got there. The world needs Kevin’s leadership model. Employees are the true and most important asset of any company. This is one of the best books I have read, and I encourage every manager, owner, director, and employee to read “The Seventh Power.”

not for me

book just didn't resonate with what I think it would have. the story is fine, but as for application to real world, it fails short.