Foreword to Catalyzing Leap

— For Every Leader Who's "Carrying the Weight" of Change

I first received the manuscript for this book at 2 AM.

Earlier that day, I had just emerged from a four-hour strategy meeting — another "perfect" annual plan locked in. The PPT was as beautiful as a work of art, the data as precise as a financial statement, and everyone nodded in agreement, saying "we understand." But as I walked out of the conference room, I saw something written across the backs of several core executives: exhaustion.

Not physical exhaustion. It was that deeper fatigue — the kind that whispers: "We've given it everything we've got. Why can't we make it move?"

You know that exhaustion.

I. Three Lessons I Paid Millions to Learn

Let me share three stories. See if any feel familiar.

The first. We hired a top global consulting firm to develop what we thought was a flawless strategic transformation plan. Three months later, the plan was locked in a filing cabinet. No one opposed it. No one executed it either. Middle managers said privately: "This is what the boss wants — not what we want."

The second. We rolled out a company-wide training program with great fanfare, bringing in a star industry speaker. Course satisfaction hit 4.9 out of 5. Three months later, business metrics hadn't budged. I asked our HRD: "What's the ROI on this training?" She was silent for a long time.

The third. We invested heavily in innovation, setting up a "Strategic Innovation Department." Meetings, project proposals, reviews, more reviews. One year later, the department's most impressive deliverable was a 128-page "Innovation Project Feasibility Study Report."

These three initiatives didn't just cost money. They cost team trust, the window of opportunity for change, and my confidence as a decision-maker.

Have you ever had that moment — when you realize that the more you do, the farther you get from where you need to be?

II. Until I Read the First Chapter of This Book

The first chapter of this book stopped me cold with just two words: Change Quotient.

Not "adapting to change." Not "resisting change." It was "embracing" change — the kind of embrace that says "I welcome it."

The author, James Chin, said something I read three times:

"The biggest cost of change isn't resources or time. It's believing you're already ready."

In that moment, I suddenly understood: all my past failures weren't because my team wasn't good enough. They were because we were using the wrong map.

We'd been using an old map to find a new world.

What do I mean by an old map?

- Mistaking "execution" for "working overtime"

- Mistaking "training" for "taking courses"

- Mistaking "strategy" for "making PPTs"

- Mistaking "change" for "sending memos"

The first revelation this book gave me: You're not learning methods — you're changing your entire operating system.

III. This Book Is Different from Every Other Management Book on My Shelf

I have hundreds of management books on my shelves.

Books on strategy. Books on execution. Books on leadership. Books on OKRs. Books on digital transformation.

Every one of them made a lot of sense. And every one of them told me the same thing: "You're not doing enough — you need to try harder."

But this book is different. It didn't tell me to "try harder." It told me to "stop and see clearly."

It introduced me to a model I'd never seen before — the CQ Four Quadrants — and for the first time, I could see exactly where my team was stuck:

- Some teams were Donkeys — working frantically, but heading in the wrong direction

- Some teams were Frogs — paralyzed by fear and anxiety, unable to move

- Some teams were Turtles — seeing everything clearly, but unable to take the first step

- And a rare few were Eagles — moving fast with clear direction — but flying high alone, unable to lift others

When I brought this model to my executive team, the room was silent for a full minute.

Then someone said: "We weren't actually 'doing change.' We were 'performing change.'"

The second revelation: Diagnosis is more important than action.

IV. It Doesn't Give You "Answers" — It Gives You the Ability to Grow Your Own

Ninety-nine percent of management consulting and training is essentially "blood transfusion."

They tell you: "You should do this. You should do that." Then they leave you with a pile of PPTs and toolkits. You feel great while the transfusion is happening. But once it stops, you're back to where you started.

But this book does something far more powerful: It doesn't transfuse blood. It teaches you how to make your own.

It gave me a complete organizational blood-production system — the Five-Step Closed-Loop Growth Model :

Goal → Action → Result → Reflection → Improvement

Just five simple words. But when I took my team through it, I discovered something that sent a chill down my spine:

- Our past "goals" had never truly been owned by the team

- Most of our past "actions" had nothing to do with our goals

- Our past "results" had never been truly measured by data

- Our past "reflections" were all about blame and finger-pointing

- Our past "improvements" were just "we'll try harder next time"

This closed loop was like a mirror — reflecting back every flaw in our organization that I'd assumed "wasn't a problem."

The third revelation: You don't lack effort. You lack a system that self-corrects.

V. What Shocked Me Most: It Puts "Meditation" and "Management" Together

To be honest, when I first saw terms like "Vipassana," "Equanimity," and "Five Covers," I was resistant.

I thought: "Here's another management book full of spiritual buzzwords."

But as I kept reading, I was completely convinced.

The author says: the root of team friction, change resistance, and decision hesitation isn't "capability" — it's "heart."

- Greed makes you chase short-term gains while ignoring long-term value

- Anger makes you defensive the moment you hear opposing views

- Ignorance makes you solve future problems with past experience

- Arrogance makes you refuse to admit you might be wrong

- Doubt makes you forever search for "reasons not to act" when facing change

These words cut through me like a surgeon's scalpel.

How many times had I missed opportunities because of Arrogance? How many times had I slammed the table and rejected a good idea because of Anger? How many times had I clung to an outdated approach because of Ignorance?

This book didn't teach me to "control my emotions." It taught me to "see my emotions." And the moment you see them — you're no longer controlled by them.

The fourth revelation: The highest level of management isn't "controlling others" — it's "seeing yourself."

VI. This Isn't a Book Written for "Employees" — It's Written for You

I've seen too many management books that gradually become all about "how to manage subordinates" and "how to motivate employees."

But this book speaks to you — from beginning to end.

It knows your loneliness.

You set the strategy — but the team is the one executing it.
You fought for the resources — but every department is the one consuming them.
You initiated the change — but you're the one who ends up most exhausted.

It doesn't tell you to "be stronger." It tells you: "You can be imperfect. You can stop. You can light yourself up first."

There's a passage I copied onto a sticky note on my desk:

"The best managers aren't the ones who make their teams dependent on them. They're the ones who make their teams capable of winning even when they're not there."

I posted it on my wall and read it every day.

VII. If You Only Read One Chapter — Read Chapter One

The book is 358 pages. Every chapter has tools, cases, and methods.

But if you only have 20 minutes, I suggest you read only Chapter One.

Chapter One will give you a single formula to calculate your own Change Quotient.

And you'll be shocked to discover: you've been using 90% of your effort to create just 10% of real value.

After reading it, you might feel the same sense of relief I did — "Thank goodness I read this today, not three years from now."

VIII. A Word from the Heart

I've been an entrepreneur for over a decade. I've read countless books, hired countless consultants, attended countless courses.

Most of the time, I'd feel fired up during the learning — and return to the same old patterns once I got back to the office.

But this book is different.

For the first time, it made me feel: I'm not "learning management." I'm "finding myself again."

    Finding the self that knows "who I create value for."
    Finding the self that is no longer consumed by anxiety.
    Finding the self that dares to stop and ask: "Is this really the right direction?"

    If you're also tired of "setting strategy year after year without it ever landing,"
    If you're also fed up with "spending millions on training with no visible ROI,"
    If you also want to shift from "price wars" to "value wars,"
    If you don't want to be "pushed around by change" anymore —

    Give yourself one evening. Read this book.

It will let you know:
    You are not alone.
    What you lack isn't effort.
    What you lack is a system that makes effort generate compound interest.

    And this book is that system.

— A founder who was awakened by this book