When you pick up this book you might be thinking, “Aren’t there enough leadership books out there?” Only a few years ago I would have thought that as well. I am an avid reader and consumer of books especially books that inspire and teach me. And even I was growing weary of books in the leadership space.

But then a funny thing happened. The organization that I built began to challenge my thinking and long-held beliefs about leadership. For example, I had always heard (and believed) that leaders are born, not made. Suddenly, leaders in my organization began to simply emerge. Great leaders! My first reaction to this phenomenon was pure joy. We were growing at a phenomenal clip and I needed great leaders. And, here they were, right on time.

My second reaction was to do what I always do: question it. I began to take a deep dive into what was happening and here’s what I discovered: The system itself was producing leaders, creating them and equipping them at a much higher rate than I could ever have imagined.

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My third reaction was to write this book and share it with you. I realized that what I was calling Alignment Leadership was working for everybody involved and could work anywhere and with any leader willing to put in the time and effort. What happened in my organization when I implemented what you will read in these pages surprised even me. In my case, leaders who didn’t even know they were leaders and who didn’t necessarily aspire to it when they were hired on grew and became their best selves. They found their one thing that they do better than ten thousand other people. They were and are fulfilled. They understand and they sacrifice for our mission because they know it and it is written on their hearts. While most people go to work every day and struggle through, these people come in early and are filled with enthusiasm and new ideas that worked and are still working.

If you love your people, then it doesn’t get any better than this.

When you read my book, here’s what you’ll find. If you think that leadership is only about you then you’ll be a little confused by what I am proposing. If you think that leadership is about a position that you are promoted to, then you, too, will be more than a little lost.
 

But, if you want your people to be successful in every way; if you worry about them and their well-being; if you take joy in their joy and fulfillment, then this book is for you. You will find what I have found. That Alignment Leadership is a revolution created out of necessity. Nothing else I tried was very good. Like most leaders I wanted to be more profitable. I wanted to cut turnover. I wanted my people to be their best and find their calling.

And, so I came up with a plan. Alignment Leadership. I realized right away that to build an organization like I dreamed of there would be no shortcuts. There are no shortcuts for you either. But, I can promise you, the effort is well worth it.

To learn more go to: https://www.alignleadthrive.com/
 

About Chris Meroff
 

Chris Meroff would be the first to tell you that almost nothing in his upbringing predicted his future performance. For example, he is a lifelong learner but the structure of K-12 school stifled him. He is a voracious reader who balked at most of the books he was offered in his traditional school setting. He is a successful entrepreneur and transformational leader who never gave a single thought to going into business for himself until he bought and built his company MSB, into a thriving laboratory of cutting edge cultural ideas. Yet every step along the way has been an important building block in a life of purpose.

Born in New Jersey but raised in New Hampshire, Chris learned early on the value of unconditional love and transparency from his parents. After graduating high school, he married, moved to South Carolina, started a family and began to work two jobs while also attending college. After a while, he realized that his life had become something he never intended and, thankfully, he had the fortitude to change it. He left both his jobs and college making his way back to Maine to work in his parents’ business.
In 2011, Chris took ownership of MSB, an organization dedicated to helping Texas schools navigate the labyrinthine world of accessing Medicaid funds for their special education students who need them most. Under his leadership it grew quickly into a successful enterprise with all of the potential issues and pitfalls that success can bring. With a strong sense of mission and great resolve he created a blueprint for a culture that would attract top talent and help them thrive in a fast moving, high growth environment. His north star for this effort was and is a simple goal: “I knew that I wanted an organization where people can be seen for who they really are,” he says. “How am I going to show up for people here, in a way that gets them to believe even more in themselves? How am I going to love people in a way that allows them to be something more than they ever thought they could be in the future?" Building that organization became his mission and life’s work.

Today, MSB is a company that employs over 170 people and those individuals will be quick to tell you that the unique culture there is unlike any other. All of the evidence says that Chris’ Alignment Leadership model is performing at the highest level. Not just because the financials say so, but because the people themselves do.

“It turns out that the template of love works everywhere,” he says.

Chris first book on the subject, Alignment Leadership, will publish in 2019. It will be long on both inspiration and practical tools for leaders and those who aspire to be. “I would like for readers to have hope that they can be fulfilled, either as a leader or an employee,” he says. “That there's more to all of the hours that they put in away from friends, family, and hobbies; that work doesn't have to be a drudgery that consumes most of our waking hours. You can integrate work and life and the result can be extremely fulfilling."

He knows it’s possible because he and his MSB team are accomplishing that every single day.

Chris lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Sue. They have four grown children, Ben, Liz, Grace, and Josh.