Testimonials
The Journey of Not Knowing beautifully breaks the business book mold and should be required reading for leaders…
[It] uses a cleverly constructed parable to demonstrate how to navigate business uncertainty. In modern business, one of the most significant challenges leaders face is moving an organization forward even when the answers to critical questions may be unknown. Coping with “not knowing” is the theme of Julie Benezet’s expertly written book.”
— Foreword Clarion Reviews
It’s more important than ever for managers to know themselves…in a world of shifting expectations and constantly looming unknowns…
“Benezet offers a management handbook geared toward the unconventional in the modern business world . . . [She] makes crystalline sense; for example, she writes relatively early on that it’s more important than ever for managers to know themselves—to know . . .”who you are and for what you stand” in a world of shifting expectations and constantly looming unknowns. This idea is related to the “core drivers” of her book, concentrated in the “Core Four” components . . . that deal with “the relationship between leadership and the unknown.” . . . In her explorations of these components, Benezet is at her most authoritative. A largely involving story-oriented breakdown of how to chart a steady managerial course in uncharted territory.”
— Kirkus Reviews
This book contains many jewels on how one deals with making decisions…
“. . .This book contains many jewels on how one deals with making decisions based on uncertain information. Despite the ubiquitous reliance on data collection and analysis, many business decisions are still based on a form of intuition. In most cases, the most important thing is to have the courage to act on those beliefs rather than playing it safe and eventually sorry.”
— Charles Ashbacher, Charles Ashbacher Reviews, Top 50 Amazon Reviewer
Ms. Benezet’s background in psychology, anthropology, the law, and her business experience coalesce into a single, multi-dimensional book…
“Ms. Benezet’s background in psychology, anthropology, the law, and her business experience coalesce into a single, multi-dimensional book that also shows off her gift of storytelling. . . (T)he description of the Journey of Not Knowing model . . . was a remarkable compendium of basic truths about working within complex organizations . . .”
— Ken Majer, Midwest Book Review
Benezet shows very simply how we become trapped by our hooks…
“Benezet shows very simply how we become trapped by our hooks into endless dreary cycles of limitation, and how we can liberate ourselves into the vast opportunities that await when we risk stepping beyond the known.”
— Susan Cannon, PhD, co-author of The Way of the Mysterial Woman: Upgrading How You Live, Love, and Lead
A fun read that takes lessons from Amazon’s early days…
“A fun read that takes lessons from Amazon’s early days and uses a fictional business story to teach us how to be better leaders and teammates. Benezet does a wonderful job in focusing us on the unknowns literally right in front of us – our teams and ourselves. A page-turner that doesn’t rely on murder or explosions, at least not literally!”
— Asuka Nakahara, Associate Director of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton
Benezet captures the spirit of a real leader…
“Benezet captures the spirit of a real leader . . . one who has the courage to take on the unknown with a balance of analytical brilliance and drive for making things better when there is no roadmap.”
— Gail Ayers, PhD, CEO CREW Network
The Journey of Not Knowing provides a great teaching tool…
“Through the vehicle of a well-crafted and entertaining story, The Journey of Not Knowing provides a great teaching tool for both established and emerging leaders. The book skillfully raises awareness of how defensive behaviors against the unknown can get in the way of their success as leaders, and how they might overcome them to achieve strategic results. The lessons are reinforced by a story from the author’s experiences as an early Amazon executive and a primer of the Journey principles that follows the story. I highly recommend this great read.”
— Patricia Langer, EVP, Human Resources at NBC Universal, Inc.
Benezet intimately describes the evolution of a leadership team…
“The Journey of Not Knowing combines the many years of business world experience of its author with astute observation of human behavior. Using a story format to describe familiar and widespread defensive organizational behaviors, Benezet intimately describes the evolution of a leadership team from resistance to engagement in order to solve a critical business problem. The Journey model included at the back of the book explains how they got there. The book is fresh, fun and inspiring.”
— Cindy Aden, Librarian, Former Amazonian and current Washington State Librarian