40 The One BIG Idea Innovative Leaders Use to Create Transformational Change
Dennis Sullivan of 40 Groups
A breakthrough blueprint for how innovative leaders make decisions, seize opportunities, and overcome challenges in today’s fast-changing markets.
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — At a time when business leaders face unprecedented complexity, volatility, and high-stakes decision-making, “40” challenges the traditional model of leadership development. Rather than offering another framework or theory, the book presents one powerful and practical alternative available to every leader: collaborative thinking as the ultimate competitive advantage.
“The most important decisions a leader makes don’t come from more information, they come from better judgment,” said Dennis Sullivan, author, business founder, and professor. “This book is about how great leaders sharpen that judgment through the power of trusted peers.”
In “40”, Sullivan draws on three years of meetings and interviews with leading CEOs as well as in-depth scholarly research to expose a critical gap in leadership development and why learning breaks down at the top. As leaders rise, feedback becomes filtered, the corner office becomes an echo chamber, but yet the challenges become more complex and the margin for error shrinks. This book argues that the solutions to these challenges can be found through a collaborative mindset that can lead to better decision-making, faster turnarounds, and higher probability of success.
Key insights from the book include:
• Why traditional leadership development fails senior executives
• How peer forums accelerate decision-making and reduce costly mistakes
• The role of trust, candor, and shared experience in leadership growth
• Why collaborative thinking is becoming a strategic advantage in modern organizations
More than a title, 40 represents a timeless principle of transformation: Trials Embraced. Opportunities Prepared. Transformational Change Born. The concept of “40” reflects a period of intentional withdrawal, reflection, and rigorous engagement – a pattern seen throughout literature and history as a precursor to meaningful breakthrough.
For today’s executive, that “withdrawal” takes the form of a peer advisory environment, a setting where leaders step outside day-to-day noise and into a trusted forum designed to challenge thinking, test assumptions, and elevate decisions.
The book also provides insight into the philosophy behind 40 Groups, an invitation-only network of executive peer groups designed to deliver:
• Real-time insight into what’s working now
• Confidential, high-trust dialogue among true peers
• Practical, experience-driven decision support
40 positions leadership growth as something forged through shared experience, disciplined thinking, and peer-to-peer collaboration.
The book is now available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GV9679XV
About Dennis Sullivan
Dennis Sullivan, MBA, is the Founder & CEO of 40 Groups, a premier peer advisory organization serving leaders across the financial services industry. With decades of experience working alongside senior executives, Sullivan has helped launch and turn around more than 100 products, services and businesses. He is a former lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, professor at the Community College of Baltimore County, and winner of the International Teaching Excellence Award.
About 40 Groups
40 Groups creates high-impact leadership forums for CEOs, CFOs and Chairs in the community banking and credit union industries. Each Group convenes top leaders for deep-dive discussions, thought leadership, and relationship-building that supports long-term organizational success. Learn more at: www.40groups.com
Andrew Umhoefer
40 Groups, Inc.
aumhoefer@ceo40group.com
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