Case of the Missing Cutlery

Kevin Allen is founder & chairman of Planet Jockey, which specializes in gamified leadership training, and re:kap, a business transformation company which counts Google, Burberry, Smythson, Swedbank and Verizon among its global clients. He is recognized as one of the world's most accomplished growth professionals. He is the best-selling author of The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Business and Create a Following (Bibliomotion, 2012), and also The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star (Bibliomotion, 2014), which has been featured on BBC Radio's Four Thought leadership series. With decades at the top of advertising giants McCann-WorldGroup, the Interpublic Group and Lowe and Partners Worldwide, Kevin worked with such brands as MasterCard--developing the globally famous "Priceless" campaign--Microsoft, Marriott, Smith Barney, Nestle, L'Oreal, Lufthansa and Johnson & Johnson, and was an early part of Rudy Giuliani's team that prepared the way for the successful Mayoral election and turnaround strategies for the City of New York. An academy instructor at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and Eurobest Festival, and a visiting lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and the European Business School at Regents College London, Kevin is a featured speaker at companies like Google, Microsoft and has appeared on BBC.

"[A] great read filled with entertaining real-life stories and very human leadership lessons." -- Angela Ahrendts, CEO, Burberry "Kevin Allen knows what it means to lead -- persuasively, effectively, and with heart. Read this book and become the leader you're meant to be." -- Dorie Clark, Forbes and Harvard Business Review contributor and author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future "From his heartwarming tale as a newly minted leader to his stories as a high flying ad man, Kevin Allen shows how to truly make practical the power of emotional intelligent leadership. The Case of the Missing Cutlery should be in every leader's back pocket!" -- Andy Janowski, CEO, Smythson "Kevin's charming and absorbing 'case' and his practical course on buoyancy is proof beyond a doubt of emotionally intelligent leadership taking center stage. This is an easy-to-read and highly valuable resource for anyone mobilizing people to greatness." -- Daryl Fielding, Director Brand Marketing, Vodafone UK "This book is jam packed with valuable ideas, which Kevin has delivered with wit, charm, and most of all humanity. Both practitioners and academics alike will benefit greatly from it." -- Joseph Plummer, PhD, professor, Columbia Business School "Kevin is a truly inspirational and challenging leadership trainer whose buoyancy principles are at the heart of the first-class inspiration he delivers for the next generation of agency account talent." -- Phil Thomas, CEO, Lions Festivals

• Introduction, Part I: The Case, Chapter 1. Aghast, Chapter 2. We’ll Show ’Em, Chapter 3. Jodell Speaks, Chapter 4. Told You So, Chapter 5. Whodathunkit?, Part II: A Course in Buoyancy, Exercise 1. The Hero, Exercise 2. The Quest, Exercise 3. The Followers, Exercise 4. The Setback, Exercise 5. Reaching the Summit, Epilogue