Activate Leadership

In a leaderless age when many problems remain unsolved and critics point at Millennials as being self-centered job-hoppers, Activate Leadership inspires Generation Y to lead on purpose. In Activate Leadership, trusted voice and Thin Difference founder Jon Mertz makes the case for Millennials as great leaders. Drawing on new wisdom from an ancient source – aspen groves, Mertz offers clear leadership practices to further the big strides Millennials are making already in their workplaces and communities.

In an age when leaders have left our world’s most pressing problems unsolved, Activate Leadership takes a radically new look at the workforce’s growing Generation Y. What if within the very traits Millennials in the workplace are criticized, lay the seeds of strong leadership qualities ready to be activated? Activate Leadership draws new wisdom from an ancient source -- aspen groves -- to inspire Millennials to lead on purpose. Author and Thin Difference founder Jon Mertz matches his “Aspen Truths” to four distinct Millennial traits for leadership skills. With ample narrative studies and pragmatic yet inspiring leadership practices, Activate Leadership makes the case for Millennials as great leaders and gives clear guidance to further the big strides they’re already making in their workplaces and communities. The time for new leadership has arrived. Activate Leadership offers Millennials an inspired, workable path forward.

Jon Mertz enjoys starting a robust conversation, interacting with thoughtful people, and offering what he can to engage in meaningful actions on how to lead and live in better ways. A farmer’s son, a political appointee during his twenties, and a marketing and business development leader over twenty-one years, Jon has worked in large and entrepreneurial companies like Deloitte, IBM, BMC Software, QuickArrow, and Corepoint Health. In 2014 and 2015, Trust Across America-Trust Around the World named Jon one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders for Trustworthy Business. Jon graduated with an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, in 1993. He also has a BA in Government & International Affairs from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.