Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success

By Gary Vaynerchuk

Genre: Non Fiction - Hardback

In his sixth business book, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and investor Gary Vaynerchuk explores the twelve essential emotional skills integral to his life—and business—success. He provides today’s (and tomorrow’s) leaders with critical tools to acquire and develop these traits.

For decades, leaders have relied on “hard” skills to make smart decisions, often dismissing the importance of emotional intelligence. Soft skills like self-awareness and curiosity aren’t quantifiable; they can’t be measured on a spreadsheet and aren’t emphasized in institutions. We’ve been taught that emotional intelligence is a “nice to have” in business, not a requirement. However, Gary argues that soft skills can actually accelerate business success.

For analytical minds, it’s challenging to understand how to improve self-awareness, curiosity, or empathy—or even why it’s important. In this wise and practical book, Gary explores the 12 human ingredients that have led to his success and happiness, providing exercises to help you develop these traits yourself.

He also reveals the “half”—the emotional ingredient of leadership he’s weakest at and works hardest to improve. By working through the ideas and exercises in the book, you’ll discover your own “halves” and gain insights on how to strengthen them.

Gary’s secret to success lies in using these twelve traits in varying mixtures, depending on the situation. But how do we know when to balance patience with ambition or humility with conviction? Gary provides real-life examples involving common business scenarios to demonstrate how to use these traits together for optimum results.

This iconoclastic book will help you refine your ingredients and enhance your leadership capabilities. When implemented correctly, these ingredients can help leaders land promotions, retain core employees, outpace competitors, win customer loyalty, and build successful, lasting organizations.