Hire Without Ego

Hire Without Ego goes behind the scenes and into the boardroom to uncover how egos often get in the way of hiring the right C-suite talent. After many years working with boards on executive searches, I developed a unique fact-based framework, The Talent Lifecycle, to improve senior-level hiring outcomes. This framework provides key insights that enable senior executives and board members to reduce costly hiring mistakes and, ultimately, improve their business results. Hire Without Ego is the quintessential guide to making better long-term hiring decisions and career choices.

My hope is that, in reading my book, you will discover the steps, tools, and insights necessary to reframe and refine hiring criteria and I can help you mitigate hiring risks and dramatically improve your own career success.

In this book, you’ll learn about each of the four stages of my Talent Lifecycle framework, how to use the framework to align on the stage a company is in and then determine what type of talent aligns best to that stage.

• Introduction: The embryonic period in a company’s lifecycle—a time marked by experimentation, risk-taking, the quest for achieving product-market fit, and ultimately architecting a defendable business model ready for scaling.
• Growth: A company’s early prototype is refined into a scalable business model.
• Maturity: Scaling and hyper growth are over and the company drives performance while reinventing itself. Competition intensifies as customers have more choices.
• Decline: a company’s core customers have started voting with their feet (or their mouse) and its revenue and profits are falling sequentially. The company spends increasingly more on marketing and discounts to generate sales, while losing market share.

Hire Without Ego is a nonfiction book that speaks to senior-level executives and corporate board members who are making critical senior hiring decisions or being recruited themselves.

The book is written in 3 Parts:

In Part [1], readers will be introduced to The Talent Lifecycle framework and learn about each of its four stages in detail, through case studies and my personal stories.
In Part [2], readers will explore several senior-level hiring and recruiting topics, including:

• Why the most important decision a CEO makes is when to leave (and why it’s so hard for them to make the decision!)
• Why succession planning is vital to a company’s long-term survival and why most boards are doing it wrong
• Why ‘Boomerang CEOs’ are a red flag and why they seldom succeed
• How C-level talent archetypes align with different stages of the Talent Lifecycle and why mis-matches don’t work
• How senior executives should navigate a recruiting process to achieve the best career outcomes

Part [3], is a workbook for the reader to use as they themselves make critical decisions. In the workbook, readers can assess a company’s situation and needs to make more effective recruiting and hiring decisions. Readers who are being recruited can also use the workbook to ask the right questions during their recruitment and make the very best career decisions.

My Publishing Journey: Where Your Support Goes

I’m publishing Hire Without Ego with the support of Manuscripts Press, an innovative platform that provided me with a full publishing team to bring this book to life.

This Summer, I’m working closely with:

• A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader to refine and elevate every story in the book
• A marketing strategist to help me connect with new audiences and make the book’s message reach those who need it most.
• A cover artist and layout editor who will ensure the final product is visually stunning and professionally produced.

If we reach our pre-sale goals, I’ll be releasing Hire Without Ego It in multiple formats:

• E-book, paperback, hardcover, audiobook if we pre-sell $15K

Launch Ticket Perks & Exclusive Packages

Everyone who purchases a ticket to the book launch will receive:

• A physical copy (paperback) or digital copy (ebook) when I publish in early 2026.
• The opportunity to have your name or organization featured in the Acknowledgments section of my book (“with Special Thanks to”).
• You will have the opportunity to be involved in finalizing my cover and title.
• Early access to the Introduction and select excerpts near the final draft
• And more surprises along the way!

Other Ways To Support

If you can’t purchase right now, you can still be a huge part of this journey:

• Share the pre-sale campaign on LinkedIn. Use the hashtag #HireWithoutEgo and tag me!
• Personally recommend the book to five friends, colleagues, or family members who would benefit from its message.

Thank you for your continued support!

John Long

About The Author:

With over 35 years of experience in global operating and senior advisory roles, John Long is passionate about innovation and growth and is an expert in identifying the business strategies and leadership talent required to bring them about. He partners with clients on corporate strategy and senior-level search assignments across all retail and digital formats including specialty, fashion, consumer durables, luxury, and lifestyle brands.

Prior to his years of executive search at both Korn Ferry and Russell Reynolds, John was a management consultant — a Senior Partner at Bain & Company where he co-led the firm’s Retail practice in the Southwest, and an Executive Partner at Accenture.

Over the course of his career, John has served as a senior advisor to the Boards and CEOs of globally-recognized companies, including Apple, AT&T, Benetton, Best Buy, Brooks Brothers, The Walt Disney Company, Gap Inc., H-E-B, Home Depot, IKEA, Kate Spade, Lego, McDonald’s, Neiman Marcus, Michaels, Mothercare, Nike, PetSmart, Samsung, Sleep Number, Sprouts, Starbucks, Tapestry, The Children’s Place, UPS, VF Corp. (Nautica, The North Face, Timberland), Wolverine Worldwide, Williams Sonoma, Warner Bros., and Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club. John has led assignments in over 15 countries — including China and Russia — across 5 continents.

Prior to his consulting career, John held senior operating roles at Macy’s (where he was in their storied Executive Training Program), SunVision (a nationwide sunglass specialty retailer with 50+ stores), and Beiersdorf S.p.A (a global skincare company best-known for its Nivea brand.) John has also worked extensively with private equity firms, including Ares Management, Bain Capital, Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, KKR, and Pritzker Capital.

John serves on the Board of GiftingBrands.com, a Dallas-based charity start-up. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry conferences and has been cited in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Women’s Wear Daily, and The Robin Report. John has been a guest on television and radio, including Fox Business, NPR, and CNBC’s Power Lunch.

John has a B.A. from The University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from The Anderson School at UCLA. He lives in Dallas with his wife, interior designer Susan Bednar Long, and their two children.

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