Like Volkswagen, Wells Fargo's avoidable failure was not the result of one bad apple but of a system that demanded hitting targets so ambitious they could only be met by deceit. Employees operated in a culture of fear that brooked no dissent. Rather than manifesting interest in salespeople's experiences while executing the cross-selling strategy and using what was being learned in the field to shift or sharpen the company's strategy, managers sent a clear message: produce – or else.

The operative word here is “listening.” In the Chapters 5 and 6, you will read about eight flourishing organizations where leaders have created the conditions to make listening and speaking up the norm, not the exception. In these fearless workplaces, it's far less likely that employees will refrain from sharing valuable information, insights, or questions and far more likely that leaders will listen to rather than dismiss bad news or early warnings.

This is true not just of the Walt Disney Company but of any company or institution. Something will always come up. At its simplest, this book is about being guided by a set of principles that help nurture the good and manage the bad.

We are not those people. We do recommend Hidden Value: Getting Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, by Charles O'Reilly and Jeff Pfeffer, as well as Amy Edmondson's research on organizations that create psychological safety for their employees, which is some of the most exciting work we've seen in this space. There are many others who deserve to be on that list.

We are not those people. We do recommend Hidden Value: Getting Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, by Charles O'Reilly and Jeff Pfeffer, as well as Amy Edmondson's research on organizations that create psychological safety for their employees, which is some of the most exciting work we've seen in this space. There are many others who deserve to be on that list.