Overview

Everything you want to achieve in life requires you to take risks, push beyond your comfort zone and build trust with others. Our first instinct is often to avoid risk altogether, but that only creates a chasm between what we want to achieve and what we're willing to do to get there. To bridge that divide, we need a way to make those risks feel smaller, less dangerous, more worthwhile, and, frankly, more fun. Safe Danger offers groundbreaking insights that will allow readers to overcome and control the risks in their lives, based upon seven core principles. Safe Danger is an essential companion for anyone looking to unlock their full potential or escape an unsatisfying professional life.

Full Product Details

9781785120701

Table of Contents

Reviews

Our story about risk is getting in the way of creating the future we need. Ben opens the door for teams to come alive, wake up and make an impact -- Seth Godin * Bestselling author of This Is Strategy and This Is Marketing * Safe Danger offers a research-backed roadmap to building more effective teams - showing how small, playful risks can unlock the psychological safety and authentic trust that we all need to thrive -- Laurie Santos * Professor of Psychology at Yale, and host of The Happiness Lab podcast * Delightful and profound, Safe Danger delivers on its provocative title. Author Ben Swire offers a timeless guide to living a fuller and more innovative life while becoming a better leader. With its engaging stories and practical creative activities, this may be one of the most useful management books you will read this year -- Amy C. Edmondson * Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School; author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, and the person whose work brought the term ""psychological safety"" into everyday life * Safe Danger is a blueprint for building cultures where connection and creativity become the norm - not the exception. With the insight of a designer and the heart of a humanist, Ben Swire shows how small risks can lead to big breakthroughs - in teams, in culture, and in ourselves -- Tim Brown * Author of Change by Design and Chair of IDEO * I didn't expect a book about risk to be so fun. But I guess that's exactly the point! Safe Danger doesn't just lay out the facts and tell you why taking small risks matters - it actually gives you an experience and makes you feel it. * Jad Abumrad, Peabody Award-winning creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton’s America * Safe Danger is about more than team-building - it is about the invisible forces that shape our relationships, our creativity, our very sense of belonging. Swire is a brilliant guide, reminding us that risk is not just the domain of thrill-seekers or disruptors but is woven into the fabric of human connection. Through small, playful, intentional acts of courage, we can transform not just our teams, but ourselves. * Jordan Harbinger, host of The Jordan Harbinger Show * Safe Danger is a powerful exploration of the paradoxes that make us human - our craving for safety and our longing for aliveness. With heart, depth, and practical wisdom, this book invites us to expand our comfort zones, not by abandoning security, but by redefining it. A must-read for anyone seeking to grow beyond their fears - and looking for tools that will actually help make it happen. * Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of The Psychology Podcast and bestselling author of Transcend * Calling all reluctant heroes... Ben Swire's book, Safe Danger, is an amazing combination of fantastic storytelling, useful advice, and an authentic practical application element for any leader striving to build a great team. Useful across fields - from Fortune 100 companies to sports teams to creative entrepreneurs. Buy this. Read it. Apply it. Your future self will thank you for it. * Ryan Hawk, host of The Learning Leader Show; author of Welcome to Management, The Pursuit of Excellence, and The Score That Matters * There are no two better words to describe brilliant team cultures than Safe Danger. Ben Swire has captured the essence of what makes great teams great, effective leaders beloved, and innovative companies soar. No platitudes - just hard-earned advice from the front lines of creative work. * Todd Henry, host of Daily Creative and author of The Accidental Creative and Herding Tigers * A must-read for any human at work. With a mix of humor, psychology, and real-world exercises, this warm and witty book teaches you how to take small, fun, manageable risks that help you build trust, unlock creativity, and reconnect with what excites you. * Mollie West Duffy, bestselling co-author of No Hard Feelings * Safe Danger shows us how to use strategic play to superpower both our professional and personal endeavors. Swire has gifted us the playbook for how to play with others to do the best work of your life. * Ryder Carroll, creator of the Bullet Journal method * If I know anything, it is that people can only do their best work when they are connected and trust each other. Safe Danger takes what we dismiss as 'just fun' and reveals it as the secret to deep, lasting connection. Leaders who want to cultivate impactful, thriving teams need to get their hands on this book! * Megan Summers, Global Head of Production, Facebook * The world doesn't need another book about innovation - but it does need this one. Ben's take is refreshing, logical, and eye-opening. * Clayton Ruebensaal, Chief Creative Officer, Comcast * Safe Danger is a practical roadmap for navigating the emotional fundamentals that lead to workplace transformation. With playful challenges and sharp insights, Ben Swire shows how small, low-stakes risks build real trust and unlock creativity. It's not just smart - it's very doable and refreshingly human. * Victoria Lubomski, Senior Director of HR and Global Business Services, BCG * Creativity blooms when risk and play hold hands. Ben Swire reveals that when we dive joyfully into uncertainty, we can forge deeper connections, ignite fresh ideas, and make surprising discoveries. In Safe Danger, he shows us how. * Alex Gallafent, Executive Director, IDEO * As an educator, I've grown wary of the term 'safe spaces.' True dialogue begins with trust. Safe Danger offers a thoughtful, practical approach to building psychological safety that allows curiosity, connection, and productive disagreement to flourish. * Eli Woolery, Lecturer, Stanford Design Program; co-host of Design Better Podcast * A must-read for anyone tired of playing it safe - but afraid to shake things up. Safe Danger is a beautiful, practical guide to courage in small, meaningful ways. Read it, use it, and watch your team - and yourself - transform. * Andrea Stangarone, Director of Design Operations, Yahoo! * Ben Swire captures something quietly radical: the idea that the smallest risks - when approached with care and play - can spark the deepest connections. This book is part toolkit, part manifesto, and entirely heart. * Matthew Hassett, Founder & CEO, Loftie *

Author Information

Ben Swire is one of today's most innovative thought leaders on company culture and workplace belonging. An award-winning designer, writer, and former design lead at the iconic innovation firm IDEO, Swire cofounded Make Believe Works, a team-building company that uses creative activities to accelerate connection, deepen trust, and fuel collaboration. His methods have helped organizations from Fortune 500 companies to public school districts build healthy and productive workplace cultures. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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