The Challenge Culture

Nigel Travis, the chairman of Dunkin' Brands, was the company's chief executive officer from 2009 through 2018. His distinctive human-centered perspective on leadership and management, now viewed as essential in today's complex and diverse global organizations, took root early in his career when he was a human resources manager.

"Business and politics have become ever more competitive andunpredictable. In order to succeed in this environment, Travis introducesTheChallenge Culturewhereemployees are encouraged and are sufficiently self-confident to push back,engage in debate, and, along with their leaders, search intensively for thebest answer to critical issues. A must-read for all people leadingorganizations in these turbulent times!"—Larry Bossidy, retired chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, coauthor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
"Aculture built on open dialogue and honesty will deliver collective positiveoutcomes for customers and team members."—Catherine D'Amato, president and CEO, The Greater Boston Food Bank
"Whata wonderful read, with terrific, memorable thoughts, and a powerful theme: whatis essential for a successful business is the ability to question theleadership and ask 'why?'. There are more lessons to be learned than offered byany Harvard MBA."—Jack Cowin, chairman and managing director, Competitive Foods Australia Ltd
"Nigelunderstands the intricacies of everything. And, even better, he knows how toput them together to make a business run the way it should. This book not onlytakes you inside his businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them tothrive. If you can use 20 percent of what he's suggesting, you'll be ahead ofthe game. Use 40 percent and you can blow the doors off."—Mark Goldstein, former chief marketing officer, BBDO Worldwide
"The Challenge Cultureis a must-read for those wanting to improvetheir leadership skills in light of a fast changing social and politicalworkplace environment. Nigel implores all of us to foster an open and engagingculture of challenge. For over three decades, Nigel has been at the helm ofinternationally recognizable organizations, and the insights ofThe Challenge Cultureprovide a powerfulplaybook for people across the business world."—Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox
"Weall know that Americarunson Dunkin', but have you ever wondered howDunkin' runs? Dunkin' Brands chairman and CEO Nigel Travis has experiencerunning some of the nation's largest franchises and shares his insight on theimportance of creating a challenge culture, one that questions the status quo,encourages internal pushback, and helps companies be nimble enough to adapt tochange.The Challenge Cultureis a must-read for employers and employeesalike, and promises to get ideas for long-term success percolating."—Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and The New England Patriots
"Nigel Travis has been at the top of majormaverick enterprises which missed moments for vital re-invention as well asthose which seized the moment for needed transformation. I knew Bill Rosenberg,the visionary founder of Dunkin' Donuts, well and he'd have loved the challengeculture Travis helped inspire there today. Dissent is not disloyalty butcan be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. Firms from the governance financial frauds ofEnron and Worldcom to the privacy and gender 'bro cultures' at today's techtitans would have benefited from Travis' leadership lessons. Conformitykills creativity and subverts justice andTheChallenge Cultureis the antidote to a contagion of conformity acrosssectors."—Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for Leadership Studies and Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice, Yale School of Management
"Smart andinsightful, this work offers an insider's account of the leadership approachbehind a successful global brand that executives in any industry can emulate."—Publishers Weekly
"Women, especially young women, in today's world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view.The Challenge Culturebrilliantly explains how to do it."
—Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch