Name: The Humility Imperative: Effective Leadership in an Era of Arrogance
Author: Dave Balter

About the Book

The Humility Imperative begs the question: can one be confident and have humility at the same time? In order to explore that, this book emphasizes the very personal nature of leadership. It delivers authentic, raw evidence that building anything requires constant attentiveness to interpersonal dynamics. The Humility Imperative follows entrepreneur and investor Dave Balter's journey from the sale of his fourth startup, BzzAgent, through the launch of three additional startups—Smarterer, Mylestone, and Flipside Crypto—as well as his time as both a corporate executive and as a partner in a venture capital fund. The experiences highlight the fact that while humility may be intended in one's heart, it only becomes genuine if it is reflected through the thoughts of others. The lessons are a reminder that every interaction—both professional and personal—is the lens by which your own intentions become clear. Humility is an imperative. And it lives in the eye of the beholder.

Praise

“Raw, sometimes useful, always interesting, Dave Balter has delivered a personal account of what it means to be a tech entrepreneur. Books like this are rare indeed, and you won't soon forget it.”

— Seth Godin, author

“The Humility Imperative is chock full of lessons about entrepreneurial leadership: the sleepless nights, the complex relationships, and the incredible importance of not being suckered into thinking you are the greatest thing since Steve Jobs. And it reflects the Balter I've known for decades: witty, direct, insightful, and often just plain off his rocker.”

— Diane Hessan, founder and chairman, C Space

“If you read only one darkly entertaining and oddly insightful book about startups, leadership, and love, it should be this one. Also, you should read more books.”

— Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO, HubSpot

About Dave Balter

Dave Balter Dave Balter is CEO of Flipside Crypto, which provides business intelligence to crypto organizations. Previously, Dave was co-founder and CEO of Smarterer, a skills assessment company acquired by Pluralsight (NASDAQ: PS) in 2014. Post-acquisition, Dave was head of transactions at Pluralsight, while also serving as a board observer. In 2001, Dave founded and was CEO of BzzAgent, a social media marketing company, which was acquired by dunnhumby, a division of Tesco, in 2011. From 2011 to 2014, Dave sat on the Global Executive Team at dunnhumby, where he led all M&A activity and founded and led their investment arm, dunnhumby Ventures. Dave is venture partner emeritus at Boston Seed Capital; personally, he is an investor or advisor to more than fifty technology organizations.