Step Up and Play Big

How Step Up and Play Big will benefit you: The style of this book approaches the reader in the same way I coach – directly and in a practical manner. My overall goal is to show you that it doesn’t require a great deal of extra effort to be exceptional i.e. to “Step Up and Play Big.” You will be given simple but effective strategies and tactics you can use to create a future vision; make better decisions; develop effective business “habits”; what it means to be a leader; how to challenge your team and how to identify and solve problems. There are exercises at the end of each chapter to help you implement the tactic or skill discussed. At the end of the book, there is a template to help you create your own self-development game plan. The “stuff” in the book works only if you “work the stuff.”

CHRIS RUISI is a nationally recognized executive leadership expert, professional speaker, author and business coach who challenges business leaders to Step Up and Play Big. Chris uses his real life experiences as the former President and COO of USLIFE Corporation, and as a member of the Board of Directors to help his clients develop the practical skills and solutions necessary to navigate the demands of the current economic climate. Drawing upon his 30+ years as a senior level executive, Chris works with his clients to cultivate their vision, set goals, prioritize their strategies and execute a targeted, solutions-based plan. As a highly sought-after speaker, Chris combines his expertise on how organizations, leadership and decision making works with real life anecdotes to create humorous, inspiring, informative and entertaining speaking programs. "Chris has earned acclaim as a decisive, respected and effective leader with high level of integrity, among both superiors and colleagues alike." (Gordon E. Crosby, former Chairman of the Board and CEO of USLIFE.) Others have praised Chris as "a rational problem-solver who is able to keep his cool and promote a calm sense of solution-finding, through the challenges faced by a major publicly traded company." He has also been acknowledged as "the kind of leader who has the unique ability to drive individuals to top performance levels." One of his readers offered this quintessential description of Chris Ruisi: "Here’s a guy who has made good decisions and bad ones and knows the difference. He consistently offers common sense wisdom and gives great advice, especially for those in a marketplace embroiled in chaos."

Preface ‒ Why This Book and Why Now Introduction ‒To Step Up and Play Big, Start with a Vision To Step Up and Play Big You Need to Find Your Full Capabilities To Step Up and Play Big, You Have to Fight Distractions To Step Up and Play Big Requires Knowing What Leadership Is and Isn’t To Step Up and Play Big Means You Know How to Use Leadership To Step Up and Play Big Requires New or Better Habits To Step Up and Play Big Means Handling the Tough Stuff To Step Up and Play Big, You Must Stay Focused to Make the Right Decisions Creating Your Own Step Up and Play Big Development Growth Plan—Putting Your Strategy into Action Post-game Analysis ‒ Some Final Comments Chris Ruisi ‒ Inspirational and Motivational Business Speaker of Choice About the Author ‒ Chris “The Coach” Ruisi