The 7 Habits of Zen Leadership: What Successful Leaders Did When the World Stopped Going to Work is a bold, evidence-backed leadership playbook born from the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. Written by Tim Salau, Mr. Future of Work, this transformative guide explores how some of the world’s most impactful companies—Microsoft, Spotify, Patagonia, Chobani, and more—redefined leadership when the traditional workplace disappeared overnight.

In this deeply human, highly actionable book, Salau distills the stories, strategies, and habits of high-impact organizations into a new framework called Zen Leadership: a blend of purpose, agility, community, and compassion. Across seven modern habits—from “Lead with Purpose” to “Lead with Compassion”—Salau shares how organizations adapted, thrived, and created cultures rooted in trust, well-being, and innovation.

This is not a book about mindfulness. It’s about what happens when legacy leadership fails, and what comes next. Each chapter includes real-world case studies, workshop prompts, and powerful tools leaders can apply immediately to create workplaces that work—for everyone.

Whether you're an executive navigating hybrid work, a founder rethinking how your team operates, or an emerging leader building trust in uncertain times, this book offers a clear roadmap to evolve how you lead. You’ll learn how to:

— Replace control with clarity and surveillance with trust

— Design agile teams that respond to crisis with innovation

— Center community and inclusivity without sacrificing growth

— Scale culture without burning people out

The 7 Habits of Zen Leadership isn’t just about surviving the future of work. It’s about designing it—with more humanity, more impact, and more courage.

Tim Salau

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