Our next Book Club selection is AQ: A New Kind of Intelligence for a World That's Always Changing by Liz Tran. Allison Sepe, most recently COO at Nili Lotan, leads the discussion.
In a time defined by nonstop disruptions, when jobs vanish overnight, industries evolve in months, and yesterday’s rules no longer apply, AQ—the Agility Quotient—is the intelligence you need to handle change, uncertainty, and the unknown. The good news is that, with the right toolkit, you can grow your agility and learn to navigate a world of increasing instability.
Drawing on leadership coach and former venture capitalist Liz Tran’s work with over 200 successful founders, executives, and dozens of companies and organizations, AQ reveals a model for how high-performing teams and managers adapt to uncertainty. Tran will show you how to cultivate “durable skills,” essential human abilities that remain valuable no matter what the future holds. With the book’s Agility Archetype assessment, the book personalizes the AQ journey to every kind of individual. No matter their experience level or ambitions.
Written with conversational flair and practical advice, AQ offers readers a wealth of resources, including:
Tools to rebuild confidence for when you’re bombarded by life's curveballs or feeling burned out Actionable steps for making a big shift, even when you feel stuck.
Advice on finding clarity in moments of professional turbulence.
AQ also takes readers behind the scenes at companies, from NVIDIA and Microsoft to rising startups like Lex, to see AQ in action. You’ll also meet trailblazers like Maggie Lena Walker, the first female bank president in American history, and Emile-Maurice Hermès, who transformed Hermès into a global luxury powerhouse.
As the adage goes, “the only certain thing is change.” AQ is the critical intelligence for our unpredictable future.
Allison Sepe is a seasoned fashion industry executive with more than a decade of experience leading operations, strategy, and growth for global luxury and contemporary brands. She has held senior leadership roles including Chief Operating Officer at Nili Lotan, Bode, and WARDROBE.NYC, where she scaled multi-channel businesses across e-commerce, retail, and wholesale, led international expansion, and implemented enterprise-wide systems and operational infrastructure. Throughout her career, Allison has partnered closely with founders and creative leaders to build efficient, scalable organizations while preserving brand integrity. Building on this experience, she has recently begun developing a practice as a fractional COO, advising fashion and consumer brands on operational strategy, financial discipline, team structure, and sustainable growth.
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