A Failure of Nerve (Revised Edition)

Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix

By: Peter Steinke - foreword, Edwin H. Friedman

Narrated by: Charles Constant

An invitation and guide for leaders “to cast a courageous and imaginative vision, to lead resiliently, and to be present and steady in times of deep anxiety.”

Ed Friedman’s genius was to see the individual in the family in the larger group, bringing the wisdom of his experience as a therapist and rabbi to the field of organizational leadership.

A timeless bestseller, A Failure of Nerve still astonishes in this new edition with its relevance and continues to transform the lives of leaders everywhere―business, church, family, schools―as it has for more than 20 years:

• Offers prescient guide to leadership in the age of “quick fix.”
• Provides ways to recognize and address organizational dysfunction.
• Emphasizes “strength over pathology” in these anxious times.

“The age that is upon us requires differentiated leadership that is willing to rise above the anxiety of the masses. We need leaders who will have the ‘capacity to understand and deal effectively’ with the hive mind that is us. This is, in Friedman’s words, ‘the key to the kingdom.’ I am grateful for this accessible new edition.”

―C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Texas

This audiobook is expertly read by Charles Constant, with audio engineering by Mike Thal. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

©2017 Edwin H. Friedman and Peter Steinke (P)2025 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

Outstanding

This book is unlike any leadership book I have read before. A fresh and sharp take on how to be a well differentiated leader. I will read this one again!

Pretty good book on differentiation

It’s ok for those interested in differentiation. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to be a better version of self.

It's All in Friedman

Friedman does an excellent job of identifying the symptoms, causes, and solutions for chronically anxious families and systems. His solutions are very practical and help the reader identify where they've been running on a treadmill trying to solve a problem they didn't know they had.
My only knock is his use of evolutionary biology and psychology for a few of his assertions. As a Christian, I found that part of his approach to actually make some of his arguments more flimsy because they were not rooted in a higher design, but rather on an animal instinct.