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Super Players

Category: Business and Investing
Author: Verne Harnish
Publisher: Forbes Books
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
Number of Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 979-8887505398
ASIN: B0H636B2WT

What separates the employee who merely shows up from the one who becomes indispensable? In Super Players, Verne Harnish and Kevin Daum, with Anne Mary Ciminelli, argue that the difference between the two is not talent. It is habit. Drawing on decades of coaching companies through scaling, they map twelve high-impact habits across the four capacities every organization wants to win at: Will, Values, Results, and Skills. Each chapter opens with a deceptively familiar workplace story—a branch leader who overperforms, an eager new manager, a marketer with creative spark—then replays the same scenario to reveal what a Super Player would do differently. The effect is a vivid line separating excellence from adequacy, showing how ordinary professionals generate extraordinary value by developing themselves, spotting problems early, aligning with vision, and learning to lead not only people but the AI systems reshaping modern work.

Super Players delivers practical advice for professional development and career success, and it delivers an outstanding philosophy: employment is a pact, every day is an audition, and “good enough” is the enemy of great. These authors won’t let you off the hook. You don’t get to blame leadership—they insist that doing so only stalls your own career—yet they balance the tough love with humor. The prose is crisp, the voice authoritative, and the writing is story-driven. The structure doubles as a training regimen: three action steps per habit, a “Create Immediate Value Today” box pairing essential reading and viewing with conversation starters, and candid field-note essays from leaders at Etsy, Oracle, and Entrepreneurs’ Organization. A closing section even flips the lens, coaching employers on building cultures where such talent thrives. This book is perfect for career professionals who will find a roadmap for growth; seasoned managers who will have a mirror to look at; and executives who will discover a blueprint. In an era when AI can draft the email but cannot supply the judgment, the author’s take on curiosity, character, and initiative becomes a timely message. If you follow the one-habit-a-month rhythm in this book, you’ll never settle for adequate again. 

Reviewed By: Mitchell Grumby

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Date: October 2, 2026

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