Brave Together

Brave Together Plot Summary

Introduction

The conference room fell silent as the CEO's voice boomed across the table. "We need results, not excuses!" he barked, slamming his fist down. The young product manager visibly shrank in her seat, her innovative proposal dying on her lips. Across town, in another company, a different scene unfolded. A team gathered in a circle, ideas flowing freely as their leader nodded encouragingly. "What if we combined these two approaches?" she suggested, sketching on a whiteboard. The energy in the room was electric, with everyone building on each other's thoughts. Same industry, same challenges, but worlds apart in approach. For decades, we've celebrated the "shark" approach to business—aggressive, competitive, and often ruthless. We've glorified leaders who rule through fear and intimidation, mistaking their tactics for strength. But what if this model is fundamentally flawed? What if the future belongs not to the sharks but to the dolphins—creatures that thrive through collaboration, communication, and community? This transformation isn't just about being nicer; it's about unleashing the full creative potential of organizations through co-creation, where diverse minds come together to build something greater than any individual could achieve alone. Through powerful stories of transformation and practical frameworks for change, we'll explore how to shift from toxic competition to creative collaboration, from fear-based compliance to principle-powered innovation, and from lonely leadership to the joy of being brave together.

Chapter 1: The Mirror Test: Finding Clarity Through Self-Reflection

Imagine standing in front of a mirror, not just seeing your reflection but truly examining who you are at your core. Are you managing an image or building your future identity? This question lies at the heart of the Mirror Test, a powerful pattern that helps us reconnect with our authentic selves and break free from fear. Fear is our baseline—it's where we all start, whether we realize it or not. We experience fear from others, self-inflicted fear, and fear tied to our growth. These fears can paralyze us, keeping us stuck in the status quo and preventing us from reaching our full potential. Mohammad Anwar found himself facing this exact challenge when his company, Softway, was on the verge of bankruptcy after 13 years of success. He had just laid off a significant portion of his staff, and when he asked the remaining 100 employees if they still trusted him, only two raised their hands. It was a dark, existential moment where he felt completely alone and like a total failure. He had to make a choice: blame others and circumstances or take responsibility. The turning point came unexpectedly at a University of Houston football game. The team was undefeated but down by 20 points in the fourth quarter, heading for their first loss. Mohammad had come to feel better, but now felt even worse. Yet something made him stay until the end, and he witnessed an incredible comeback victory with just 30 seconds left. The next day, watching the press conference, he heard head coach Tom Herman explain that the key to their comeback was love—the love players had for one another, the kind that builds championship-winning cultures. This revelation changed Mohammad's life. He chose to become the leader his people needed, taking responsibility for his actions and seeking forgiveness for his behavior. He invested time in building relationships and transformed both himself and his business. He even co-authored a book called "Love as a Business Strategy," and his team now feels energized by hope in a leader who grew from being rough to changed. The Mirror Test is about clarity—connecting to your core and taking ownership of your life. It helps us reach a deep understanding of ourselves and find the first principles that guide our work and lives. By reconciling our past, learning from our future self, and being present in the real, we can make progress and avoid feeling stuck. The Mirror Test reminds us that the most powerful change starts from within, creating a foundation for a life of co-creation with others.

Chapter 2: From Thinking Different to Different Together: Apple's Evolution

When I joined Apple in 2015 as an HR business partner, I marveled at the technical depth of its genius-level engineers. There seemed to be no problem they couldn't solve. Beyond the focus on innovation, Apple had a fundamental premise: secrecy. This value was held dear to preserve the "surprise and delight" for customers on launch day when nobody, not even most employees, knew how insanely great new products would be. But this culture of secrecy had its dark sides: hoarding of critical information, pushing personal agendas, and infighting. As a new HR business partner, I was often pulled into these escalations, usually about "that team not sharing." New employees would ask: "How do I operate like this? If I can only share information with certain people, how do I know who and when? I don't want to end up fired or in jail." These dilemmas felt paralyzing, especially as the product ecosystem grew and technical challenges increased, creating a greater need for collaboration. I wrestled with this question until I saw an interview with Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. When asked about Apple, he said he worried about the company but added that Apple would be fine if it could do one thing that Steve Jobs did: spend time staring in the mirror, essentially asking, "What do I need to do differently?" This hit me hard and prompted the thought: Yes, but what's that mirror? Apple was a company that had historically innovated with small teams of engineers who had built long-standing relationships, but times had changed. The growing workforce increased the demand to accelerate connection, convergence, and collaboration. Secrecy was getting in the way, particularly with the development of AirPods. Teams were innovating for months in silos, only to finally converge in the eleventh hour before launch, causing tremendous friction and burnout. We formed a mini braintrust at Apple to explore this challenge, asking: "Which leaders and teams innovate and collaborate best, and why?" We discovered a braintrust in the camera team that was a powerful example of collaboration, applying key ingredients: a weekly cross-staff transparency session, focusing on a vulnerable approach to sharing challenges they faced. Each leader and team would share exactly where they were in development and what they needed from other teams. The transformation at Apple shows how any organization can evolve from "Think Different" to "Different Together." By breaking down silos, fostering brave conversations, and creating a culture of co-creation, teams can achieve what once seemed impossible. The future belongs to those willing to sacrifice ego and be brave together, unleashing the power of co-creation in their culture.

Chapter 3: The Hero's Sacrifice: Trading Ego for Collective Success

Imagine being told you're "the best" at your favorite sport all your life. Everyone sees you playing at a level far above anyone else. You're faster, better, stronger. You're destined for greatness. You rise to the pro level, signing a massive dream contract to play with an amazing team—only to find yourself in a new reality. You're no longer told you're the best. Now it's made clear that only one or two people on your team are considered the best. They're sports royalty, rock stars. Everything revolves around them. The NBA has plenty of "rock star" players grabbing the microphone to proclaim their dominance as "the best in the world" while their teams struggle. Does the decades-long obsession with having a top-performing player translate into championships? It has contributed to inflating the self-importance of "star" players as they maneuver for more back-office power, trying to influence trades "or else." Surprisingly, teams sometimes perform better without their superstars. The Memphis Grizzlies had a 21-6 record without Ja Morant, their second-team All-NBA performer. The Lakers have shown better statistics when LeBron James is on the bench. The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors without James Harden. These examples challenge our perception of "rock star" players and suggest that focusing on building a "team that rocks" might be more effective than relying on individual stars. This "Rock Star Curse" is hard for organizations and businesses to break. We put so much focus on one person to do it all, whether it's a star athlete or a CEO who can "save" the company. But the best teams, like the Golden State Warriors at their peak, embrace a different approach. They focus on fundamentals, stay humble, support each other with constant "high-fives," take creative risks together, and find joy in every part of the game. The Hero's Sacrifice is about trading in ego for the greater good. It's about cutting through image management and getting clear on our identity. Using the Mirror Test in the context of our Hero's Journey helps us understand our roles better and what's within our power. We need to ask ourselves: What should I do (based on my value system)? What could I do (based on my capabilities)? What will I do (based on my willpower)? The path to true success isn't about being a rock star but about creating a team that rocks—by sacrificing ego and embracing the power of collective achievement.

Chapter 4: Pain to Power: Transforming Challenges into Creative Energy

What do you do with a dying business model? Revenues were negative and the bleeding continued, but Clint Schaff didn't let that stop him or his team. He had been tapped to lead LA Times Studios, the first in-house revenue-generating content studio of the Los Angeles Times, a newspaper business that had been completely disrupted. It was in the red. But deep down, he knew he and his team could innovate their way out of it. He set out to do just that, brainstorming a list of the craziest world-changing ideas they could think of, among which was #47: start a podcast. Simple enough. That one idea turned into a $10–$15 million business and became a shining light for the LA Times. Studies tell us that we interpret 80 percent of what we experience every day as negative, or as a loss. This is rooted in how our brains evolved to react to threats: fight, flight, or freeze. We feel the loss of something far more than an equivalent gain. This negativity bias can trap us in a cycle of anger and resentment, preventing us from seeing the gains all around us. Belle Ang, a nurse and healthcare administrator, faced this challenge when she received a devastating phone call during her shift. Her nine-year-old son had been rushed to the emergency room with severe flu-like symptoms. Seventy-two hours later, Tristan Michael Ang was pronounced dead. The experience devastated Belle. After a 10-month leave of absence, she returned to work, though not emotionally ready, facing mounting bills and financial pressure. During a vulnerable moment of connection, Belle was introduced to the principle of Turning Pain into Power. She was told, "You have one of two choices. You can become bitter over something that indeed seems cruel, unfair, and inexplicable; or you can get better and take your life back, one day at a time." This simple visual representation of turning pain into power became a transformative tool for Belle and her husband, giving them hope for the future and the courage to move forward. Turning Pain into Power is more than just a mindset—it's a way to navigate difficult emotions. By choosing to see gains instead of losses, we can break free from the cycle of negativity. Gains lead to happiness, which helps us experience peace. Others begin to see we are grateful, that we're peacemakers building joy with them. This shift doesn't happen overnight, but by redirecting our thoughts and actions to focus on small gains, we transform our experience of life and unlock a source of endless energy that can fuel our work and relationships.

Chapter 5: Making Others the Mission: The Compassion Revolution

Boom! Debris showered the earth as another bomb detonated outside. She clung to her dad, brothers, and mom, hoping tomorrow would come, but knowing it would never be the same. Terrorists were destroying what was left of her small town of Swat, Pakistan, tearing schools apart and seeking death to all girls who sought an education. She looked for solace in the chance that her family's suffering could mean something. More than that, she wanted to change people's lives, maybe even change the world. She needed to start where she was. Her father had named her after the legendary woman who stood against an army and won. She was about to face her own army. But her weapon wasn't the AK-47s carried by her Taliban enemies. It was her voice. Malala Yousafzai amplified her words anonymously in a BBC blog. She wrote about the suppression of girls' education and why everyone deserves access to learning. Through media broadcasts, she challenged the ideals of the Taliban head-on—risking her own life. She bravely proclaimed her belief in education everywhere—until a Taliban terrorist jumped on a bus she and her friends were riding, asked, "Are you Malala?," and shot her in the head. Her story could have ended there. But it didn't. After months in the hospital and one grueling surgery after another, Malala fully recovered. She had a mission she still needed to carry out. So she focused her whole soul and her sincere prayers on standing up again to tell the story—not just her story, but the story of everyone deprived of an education. "Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country—this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world," she said. She went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize and continued to inspire in powerful ways. When we Make Others the Mission, our world gets bigger. Our problems seem smaller. There's more than enough joy, more than enough hope, more than enough impact to share with others. We create endless energy, take life to the next level, and become more compassionate. Compassion makes us present, making our conversations the holy ground others can walk on, helping them feel safe, seen, and heard. By focusing on serving others rather than ourselves, we unlock a power far greater than individual achievement—this is the future of influence.

Chapter 6: Leading with Questions: Unlocking Collective Wisdom

Is it possible to create a perpetual motion machine, one that could work infinitely without an external energy source? Science tells us it's impossible, that it would violate the laws of thermodynamics. But could it be done anyway? Leonardo da Vinci took a stab at it, sketching designs, using fluid mechanics, for a "self-filling flask." But ultimately, he failed to produce a working machine. Centuries later, Nikola Tesla put his powerful mind to the task, developing a concept he'd tested in his mind with enough iterations to share it with others. Tesla created most of his inventions in isolation. He worked alone. He had an incredible work ethic and unique way of looking at the world, and he captured the details in what are known as the Tesla papers. But there is a different path, one that offers an energy source with the power to fuel the perpetual motion of our future work life forever and to guide us toward the greatest innovations. Being brave together harnesses the power of asking great questions and our ability to co-create with others. For decades, people have flaunted their intellect and knowledge as the ultimate superpower, obsessed with inserting their "expert perspective" into everything. Companies claim to be the main authority in their market, stacking teams with experts to one-up everyone else and hiring a thought leader to share their "one solution to rule them all." Experts see the one answer they offer and assume that others will be impressed by it. Rather than collaborate in a meaningful way, they tend to view others as a threat. Ed Catmull, founder of Pixar and author of Creativity, Inc., took a different approach. When we met with him at the Lazy Dog restaurant in Cupertino, California, we expected him to dispense wisdom like a Yoda. Instead, Ed asked questions and listened. After 15 minutes of us sharing, we got anxious and asked, "Ed, what's your leadership philosophy?" He said, "I lead with a question." He told us about his early days leading Pixar, as a PhD, answering every question people asked him. The pressure overwhelmed him. He realized he wasn't empowering anyone. His wife encouraged him to go on a meditation retreat for seven days to only ask questions and listen. After the first few days, he was ready to quit. But he stuck with it, and it changed his life. The power of asking starts with "What if?"—being brave and taking risks. Steve Jobs said, "Now, I've always found something to be very true, which is most people don't get those experiences because they never ask. I've never found anybody who didn't want to help me when I've asked them for help." The Wisdom Principle teaches us that the future belongs to those who ask powerful questions rather than provide quick answers. By leading with curiosity instead of expertise, we create space for co-creation and unlock the collective wisdom of our teams.

Chapter 7: Becoming the Future: Embracing the Co-Creative Mindset

It wasn't the singular "I." It was plural. "I," as in everyone. We are the "I" in "I have a dream." How do we know this? When 250,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, in the summer heat of August 28, 1963, with millions tuning in, change was in the air. The promise of freedom, made 100 years before, had not been fully delivered. What came next some might call a singularity event. It came at a time when tensions were high. A one-of-a-kind speech for all of humankind. Martin Luther King Jr. was waiting to give the address of a lifetime, the culmination of years of fighting, imprisonment, death in the streets, and unfulfilled hopes for massive change. Dr. King stood up and gathered himself as the TV cameras pointed at him. Everyone was waiting on edge. He'd done plenty of speaking before. He knew what to do. But when Dr. King got to the podium, as the crowd roared, he paused. His original speech had the right themes, but in real time, it was transformed into something else. The venerable gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, whose voice had inspired a nation, stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the core group. She shouted, "Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream!" And that's when he launched into "I have a dream." Jackson co-created a moment with Dr. King. It was in response to her that he shared his beautiful dream of a future where we'd all be judged "not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character," where "all the children of God" would converge. This moment changed history. It fired up the imagination of the nation and galvanized a people to action. That dream has yet to be fulfilled. As we look back, the story is often told as though it were just Dr. King's dream. But it was Jackson's dream, too, as it is ours as well. As human beings, we are designed as creators. We have a Creative Propensity. We understand the need for structure but refuse to be limited by it. While structure may give us the comfort of predictability, we hate being boxed in by the status quo. People are rejecting the companies, leaders, and cultures that are constraining and diminishing their creative identity. The future is co-creative. That's reassuring in a world facing massive change, where fear sneaks up on us and we feel lost and paralyzed by the proliferation of all that is new. But we can be brave together and lean into creativity. We can chart a different path. Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of Apple Retail and former CEO of Burberry, said, "The acceleration and the pace of change and what AI will spawn isn't dissimilar to everything that came from the iPhone. We can't begin to fathom all the innovations that will come from this." The co-creative mindset is about embracing our role as creators and building with others. It's about moving beyond the limitations of ego and fear to shape a future that's shared, not self-made. By owning our creativity, being open to building together, being brave enough to build original, and connecting with other creators, we unlock a power far greater than individual achievement. This is how we become the future together.

Summary

At its core, Brave Together is about the transformative power of co-creation—a journey that begins with looking deeply at ourselves through the Mirror Test, making the Hero's Sacrifice by trading ego for collaboration, and ultimately Becoming the Future by embodying a co-creative mindset. The authors show us that the path to meaningful change isn't about going it alone or building personal empires, but about connecting with others to shape something greater than ourselves. Through powerful stories—from Apple's evolution from "Think Different" to "Different Together," to Malala's courage in making others the mission, to Dr. King and Mahalia Jackson co-creating the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech—we see how co-creation can transform individuals, organizations, and even societies. The six meta principles presented—Lead with a Question, Turn Pain into Power, Make Others the Mission, Define the Situation, Create Context, and Follow True North—provide a framework for navigating our increasingly complex world with wisdom, compassion, and creative energy. By embracing these principles, we can break free from fear, move beyond ego, and unlock our full potential as co-creators of a better future. The future isn't self-made; it's shared. The time for co-creation is now. The world needs people who are brave enough to build together.

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Chris Deaver

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