Founder & CEO of Evergreen

Jack walked away from a big consultancy he came to loathe to build something better. Fifteen years later, Evergreen is splitting into two tribes, his best people are heading for the door, and he barely recognizes the company he built.

Founder & CEO of Human-Rooted Advisors

A neuroscientist and sociologist with more degrees than a thermometer, AJ is anything but conventional. Introduced to Jack by fellow founder Dom Garcia, she skips the assessments, surveys, and culture initiatives. Instead, she anchors her unorthodox approach in the human roots of Evergreen’s dysfunction to drive lasting change.

VP of Innovation & Growth of Evergreen

Evergreen’s rising star, the voice of its newer staff, and the leader of her own tribe at the firm. Brilliant, driven, and quick to push before she has alignment, Haley has built the fastest-growing team at Evergreen. Now she’s restless and ready to leave, and her superstar team is poised to go with her.

COO of Evergreen

Jack’s longtime friend and loyal right hand since long before Evergreen, Mark is the operator who keeps the firm’s engine running. Detail-driven and quality-obsessed, he has taken it upon himself to form a tribe of seasoned veterans to protect “the Evergreen way,” and he’s convinced Haley is a rebel the firm can’t afford.

VP of Human Resources of Evergreen

Evergreen’s third hire and the conscience of the firm, Amaya is a friendly but firm advocate for Jack. She sees the turnover numbers before anyone else: half of new hires gone within eighteen months. Caught between two tribes, she knows another survey won’t fix what’s broken. Evergreen needs a new approach to turn things around.

CEO of Canyon Code

The energetic young CEO of Canyon Code, Evergreen’s second-largest client, Chet is building fast and thinking big. He’s also Haley’s college friend and firmly in her corner, which puts him right in the middle of Evergreen’s tribal war.

Founder & CEO of Equipit

Jack’s close friend and the founder of Equipit, a construction-equipment rental company and Evergreen’s number-one client. Dom has been through his own team turmoil, and AJ helped him turn it around. Now he’s the one who introduces Jack to her and to a new way to lead.

Jack’s Wife

Nadia watched “soul death” slowly eat away at Jack at Strategia, and she backed his leap to start Evergreen. Fifteen years later, she sees something familiar in him again: a new kind of heavy that neither of them was ready for.

Managing Partner at Vectara Innovations

Once called Evergreen’s most important strategic hire in two years, Michael never felt supported by Mark and walked out the door. Now he’s a managing partner at Vectara, a firm started by another Evergreen departure, and a living reminder of the talent Evergreen keeps losing.

Dom’s Wife

Warm, gracious, and quick to open her home, Izzy is one of Nadia’s closest friends and Jack’s home away from home when he visits Dom. She’s also a friend of AJ’s, which, as Jack learns, makes him one too.

Technical Lead at Canyon Code

Chet’s incredibly bright, if somewhat glib, right hand. Clare walks Jack through the Canyon Code plan with a command that leaves him impressed and a little out of his depth. She’s exactly the kind of talent no company can afford to lose…as Chet is about to find out.

Jack and Nadia’s English Bulldog

Loyal to the core, Tyson is always waiting when Jack comes home late and worn down, ready with a sleepy yawn for a scratch behind the ears. It’s simple joy, with no tribes required. As Evergreen fractures, Tyson matters to Jack more than ever.