Prelude

We first meet our protagonist, Will, in The 5-Day Turnaround . He’s the CEO of a six-year-old digital ad agency. Through the course of the story, Will guides his friend Matt to think and lead like an entrepreneur. Matt is the chief marketing officer at a large corporation, so the assignment is taxing. To make matters more challenging, it’s an assignment that Will navigates while also managing his own company.

This book is set a year before the story of Will and Matt in The 5-Day Turnaround. Will is dealing with an uncharted, unimaginably difficult situation. And it’s one that is reshaping the entire world. Will, like many others, is looking at an impending global recession, the likes of which has never been experienced. A pandemic threatens to kill hundreds of thousands, shuts down entire countries, and forces people to quarantine at home for months. It’s created massive unemployment, driven consumer confidence to new lows, and slowed projects and client spending dramatically. The situation is causing titanic economic ramifications, especially for young, small businesses.

Will is only five years into running his business and (like most) has no idea how to lead his company through this singular time. He is being tested more than ever before. Relying on advice from friends, the culture he has put in place, his instincts, and good old-fashioned fail-and-learn-while-doing, Will does his best to navigate through this crisis.

Perhaps his story is one that will resonate. Let’s get into it.