Unreasonable Leadership

Achieving a vision that seemed nearly impossible, having the courage to make difficult decisions, and leading with conviction transformed a company and its entire industry.

Unreasonable Leadership charts the growth of Acosta Sales and Marketing, a food brokerage firm that grew from a one-state operation employing 11 people to an international sales and marketing agency employing a staff of more than 16,000 in the US and Canada. During a 12-year span, company sales grew from $3 billion to $60 billion. How did this happen?

Acosta Chairman and Former CEO Gary Chartrand followed the advice of George Bernard Shaw: “All progress comes from unreasonable people.” Chartrand’s success as an unreasonable leader testifies to the value of setting a bold agenda, never being afraid to ask, and the critical importance of molding a corporate culture. His personal saga shows what can be accomplished no matter the odds of what “conventional wisdom” labels as impossible.

Practical leadership advice and inspiring quotes are carefully woven into a fascinating story of how one company achieved extraordinary business success.

What are they saying about Unreasonable Leadership?
“This is a smart, thought-provoking approach to leadership and how to create the ideal environment for bringing about positive change and achieving meaningful results.”
-Mitt Romney, Former Governor of Massachusetts

“Unreasonable Leadership should be required reading in every business school. What Gary Chartrand did to build Acosta into an industry-leading sales and marketing juggernaut is simply remarkable and so is this book.”
-Jon Gordon, best-selling author of The Energy Bus and Soup

“Gary Chartrand’s Unreasonable Leadership provides a blueprint for leaders who are driving change not only in the corporate sector but in the social sector as well. Gary describes what it takes to be a true pioneer, to achieve unprecedented, groundbreaking results despite the complexity of the work and the enormity of the challenges. We’ve learned through Teach for America that unreasonable leadership is exactly what is required to transform our entrenched public education system.”
-Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder, Teach for America

“Gary’s story and his message are both inspiring and educational. Given the state of our economy and the many challenges we all face, leadership is more important than it has ever been. Unreasonable Leadership and the building of the Acosta business serve as a fantastic case study of business leadership, coupled with tangible lessons that anyone can use.”
-Brad Alford, CEO, Nestle USA