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Stop Leading On Empty

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Stop Leading on Empty

Patrick Dunn

Archway Publishing / Simon & Schuster, April 2026

Most leaders were never taught how to sustain the work. They were taught how to deliver it, and the two are not the same. Stop Leading on Empty is written for people carrying responsibility on an empty tank, and it lays out what presence, purpose, renewal, and service look like as daily practice rather than as language on a wall.

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About the author

Patrick R. Dunn

Patrick R. Dunn spent thirty years leading global crisis and operational resilience teams through 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy for companies including Gilead Sciences, SunGard, and Broadridge. Before that he was a National Park Service interpretive ranger at six sites. He is the founder of Vianarra, a hospitality storytelling practice working with winery owners, hotel GMs, and restaurateurs. He lives in Sparks, Nevada, and writes weekly at newsletter.vianarra.com.

About the book

Who wrote Stop Leading on Empty?

Stop Leading on Empty is by Patrick Dunn. He spent thirty years leading global crisis and operational resilience teams through 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy for companies including Gilead Sciences, SunGard, Capgemini, and Broadridge. Before that he was a National Park Service interpretive ranger at six sites. He founded Vianarra, a hospitality storytelling practice, and lives in Sparks, Nevada.

What is Stop Leading on Empty about?

The book is about what happens to people who keep delivering after their capacity is gone. Most leaders are trained to produce results and never trained to sustain the work that produces them. The book sets out the Lead with Soul framework as something to run daily, drawn from three decades of holding teams together during actual crises.

What is the Lead with Soul framework?

Four working principles: presence, purpose, renewal, and service. Presence is attention that is genuinely available to the room. Purpose is knowing which work matters when everything is urgent. Renewal is the maintenance that keeps capacity from running out. Service is why the other three are worth holding. Each one is treated as an operating decision with a cost attached.

Who should read it?

Executives, association leaders, healthcare leaders, and anyone carrying operational responsibility under sustained pressure. It is written for people who are still performing well and know privately that the margin is gone.

How is it different from other books about leadership burnout?

The book treats depletion as a readiness problem. Its language comes from business continuity and crisis operations: triage, redundancy, single points of failure, the decision made at three in the morning. Readers who work in operational environments tend to recognize the terrain before they recognize the advice.

Where can I get it?

Hardcover, paperback, and ebook. Published by Archway Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in April 2026. Available on Amazon and to order through most retailers. ISBN 978-1665792165.
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