The word “disruption” has traditionally meant a disturbance of some kind. However, the term has another, more subtle meaning. It also means dealing with an unanticipated change in direction, though not necessarily an unpleasant one.
Authors James Patterson and Patrick Leddin, Ph.D., have pooled their respective expertise to dig deeper into this second, more complicated interpretation of the word in their new book, “Disrupt Everything—and Win: The Proven and Effective Way to Harness Change Into a Force for Success.”
“Disruption is a force of change,” writes Patterson. “Disruption can be scary, but it can also be an agent for positive change.” The economic disruption in 2008 created a financial crisis, and the worldwide health disruption in 2020 caused a pandemic.
These are examples of one version of disruption. Another version is disruptions in business, like same-day deliveries for those living in rural communities or the “print on demand” technology which allows for books to be printed as needed versus accumulating unsold stock. Through real-life examples, Patterson shares how disruptions brought positive results for businesses and personal triumphs for individuals.
Patterson’s Storytelling Skill
With his years of book writing experience, Patterson takes the lead in crafting captivating stories of people who’ve disrupted their careers. Two examples are a cast member on “Sesame Street” and a seasoned mountain climber.
Their experiences are written by a master storyteller, who introduces these “disrupters” like characters in his latest thriller. However, their stories are inspiring and true, showing how they grasped unexpected opportunities or stepped up to face unplanned challenges.
The way the co-authors came together is another example of disruption. As Patterson tells it, he’d returned to Vanderbilt University to guest lecture at a business class led by Professor Patrick Leddin.
By telling the students how he made his way into advertising and then into writing by untraditional methods, Patterson advocated for making bold choices and going against the norm. This book, he says, is a product of “that disruptive lecture.”
The anecdotes provided make for convincing evidence that what the pair offers is something everyone can do, and it’s worth trying. Some may believe that the market for advice on leadership has hit the saturation point or that there’s nothing left to learn.
This book, however, takes the subject a step further with the addition of a toolkit and worksheets. Readers can take the questionnaire at the back of the book to reveal their hidden talents, answer what guides them in decision-making, and realize when they feel at peace with themselves.
Disrupting for Good Causes
The authors tell stories of ordinary people making changes in their lives or in their businesses. These are simple narratives, making it easy to imagine what was at risk.
Split up into seven sections, the book provides ample explanations of the steps to take in the disruption process: discern, behave, achieve, and refine. The example Patterson uses concerns a successful restauranteur in Denmark.
While on vacation in India, she learned about street children as young as 2- or 3-years-old who have no home, no food, and no adults in their lives. She asked a taxi driver to take her to where the children stay. It became an image she couldn’t forget: children living under a bridge, huddling around a fire to keep warm.
This is when “discernment” came into play, namely, sensing that something needed to be done or disrupted. In the coming months, the Danish restauranteur decided to act, set things in motion, and made refinements to the plan.
She broke down every step in her progress to create an organization to feed, educate, and provide medical care to these children, aligning with the outline Patterson and Leddin provide. While starting a charity may not be in everyone’s future, readers should come away with food for thought about their own disruption opportunities.
The Case for Disruption
To collect these examples, the co-authors connected with hundreds of people from “household names to unsung heroes, each of whom has forged a distinctly disruptive professional or personal path.”
One-on-one interviews were conducted and countless hours spent researching the topic. Time after time, the winning outcomes for the greater good provided more meaning for those who participated than the pursuit of their own personal goals.
While James Patterson is a household name as a writer, Leddin’s background in leadership is also worthy of note. A former ranger infantry officer in the U.S. Army, he earned a Ph.D. in strategic communication and became a business consultant in the private sector. As a faculty member of Vanderbilt University, he directs the Business Studies program as well as the Disruption Project.
Because of Leddin’s position as a professor, this book can fit as comfortably as a class textbook as it can in boardrooms across the country or in discussions around the dinner table.
Disrupt for Family
In Part V, Leddin shares his own disruption experience. As he answered a survey about how successful he felt in his roles as parent, leader, friend, and so on, the role of son is where he came up short.
His connection with his aging parents was “stale,” something he considered more of an obligation, so he vowed to do something different. He made it a priority to keep in touch and improve their relationship.
“I’m grateful I took the time to take stock of where I stood and chose to reignite the fire between me and my parents,” he writes. It was just in time, too, as he was able to enjoy the last years of his mother’s life. Now with his dad at 94, Leddin says, “It’s never too late to disrupt your family.”
In their promise to provide “proven and effective” ways to make change, the Patterson-Leddin team have succeeded in that mission. Not only have they illustrated a variety of areas in our lives that may need positive disrupting, their detailed and at times moving examples show us how.
‘Disrupt Everything – and Win: The Proven and Effective Way to Harness Change Into a Force for Success’
By James Patterson and Patrick Leddin, Ph.D.
Little, Brown & Company: Sept. 29, 2025
Hardcover, 384 pages
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