03/24/2026
A full-circle moment and a powerful reminder that the most meaningful leadership journeys rarely follow the “supposed to” path.
Proud to see our founder and CEO, David Grossman’s new book on display at Barnes & Noble on 5th Avenue in NYC, and even prouder of the message behind it: modern exceptional leaders lead with heart, not just strategy.
I’m standing on 5th Avenue in New York City, staring at a Barnes & Noble window.
My books are in it.
I kept looking around to see if anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing.
Growing up, I followed what I call the “Supposed To Track.” Get good grades. Find the right job. Live the life everyone expected.
At 33, I had achieved all of it. The career. The house with the white picket fence. Everything I was “supposed to.” And yet I found myself in a therapist’s office, clutching a pillow to my chest, wondering why none of it felt like enough.
There was no version of the “Supposed To Track” that included my name on books in a window on 5th Avenue. Because there was no version of that track where I had the courage to be myself. To write what I actually believe. To say out loud that leadership is about heart, not just strategy.
That took a different road. A difficult one.
And that road brought me here.
The most powerful stories we tell are the ones we first have to live.
To Steve, Avi, and Noa. To my team at The Grossman Group. To this community, who kept saying “write the real book, not the safe one.”
Thank you for believing that heart and leadership belong in the same sentence.
If you’re in NYC over the next two weeks, you can pick up copies at Barnes & Noble. If you do, send me a pic.
Available online everyday: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heart-work-of-modern-leadership-david-grossman/1148813797?ean=9798900260860
What’s a moment where the difficult road led you exactly where you needed to be?