Taking the Lead

The president of Joe Gibbs Racing―the winningest team in NASCAR history―shares the secrets of succeeding in business and in life. In NASCAR, as in life, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to being in the right place at the right time and making the most of every opportunity. Nobody understands that better than Dave Alpern. Dave started his career as an unpaid intern selling T-shirts for the newly formed Joe Gibbs Racing team. Nearly three decades later, he’s now the president of JGR, a multimillion-dollar elite, record-setting racing team with more than 500 employees. In Taking the Lead, Dave shares the wisdom he’s learned along the way: key principles that will equip you with what you need to rise to the top and succeed with integrity and purpose―whatever team you’re on.

1. Opening Credits
2. Foreword
3. Prologue
4. Principle 1: Deliver More Than You Cost | Chapter 1: The Power of Influence
5. Chapter 2: Make Yourself Indispensable
6. Chapter 3: Be a Fountain, Not a Drain
7. Chapter 4: Be a Complement, Not a Clone
8. Principle 2: Create a Winning Culture | Chapter 5: Honoring God First and Foremost
9. Chapter 6: From Family Business to Factory
10. Chapter 7: Fitting the Joe Mold
11. Chapter 8: Buying In to a Culture of Yes
12. Principle 3: Stay on Mission | Chapter 9: The Most Important Question
13. Chapter 10: People Fulfill the Mission
14. Chapter 11: A Mission-Critical Partner
15. Chapter 12: The Last Plane Out of Vietnam
16. Principle 4: Treat People as Souls, Not Transactions | Chapter 13: People Before Profits
17. Chapter 14: Conflict, Hard Messages, and Crisis
18. Chapter 15: Business Is Relationships
19. Chapter 16: Traits of the Greats
20. Principle 5: Win at Life | Chapter 17: Achieving that Elusive Work-Life Balance
21. Chapter 18: Investing Most in Who Matters Most
22. Chapter 19: Not the Same Ol’ J.D.
23. Chapter 20: Carrying on J.D.’s Legacy
24. Afterword
25. Closing Credits