Joseph Jarworski had climbed to the top of the legal profession and also ran a horse breeding business before his life-changing event. His father was a successful legal practitioner who found fame in his sixties as the Special Prosecutor for the Watergate trials. The son found his father changed by wartime experiences and some alienation seems present in the work. In part the travelling and searching seems to be about laying that to rest too.

During his travels Jarworski meets various people. For example he sees a woman at the airport, their eyes meet, he skips his flight to talk with her and within a year they are married. He meets, or seeks out, influential thinkers such as Robert Greenleaf and David Bohm. The former arouses his interest in servant-leadership; the latter arouses his interest in the connections between thought and dialogue (from a background in Particle Physics). He sets himself goals such as being in the Grand Prix pits and finds he achieves them because things work to have that happen. Over time his various interests lead him to found the American Leadership Forum which starts with 17 of the world's most influential thinkers, and ultimately advises at national government level as well as large organisations. He then has time with Shell heading up its famous scenario planning activities.

In style it is like a novel for the business reader. There are principles discussed but there is no great theoretical discourse, the text is presented in a factual manner, without hype. In some ways it is almost an extended case study, but with a good dose of inspiration.

Some sceptical readers feel that synchronicity is not necessarily evident in his experiences in meeting influencers, it is the effect of his background, and the circles he mixes in, which facilitates the meeting and so on. Generally though, his low key explanations suggest a desire to have all experience these ways of doing things, as they work better than the old models of rushing around for the sake of it. Charges of personal grandiosity seem wide of the mark as ultimately his message is that any individual, however insignificant, can have an impact. The closing analogy shows how many, seemingly insignificant, actions add up, making each essential to the end result.

For many, this book has been an introduction to a different way of thinking about life, achievement and leadership compared to old hierarchical and linear models. Coaches will find it useful personally, and also can use it for cerebral clients who need to be awakened to non-linear ways of leading and achieving. It looks like there are plenty of used copies about too.