What people are saying.

  • "The lasting impact any leader can make, on a business and the team, is often through the culture they create and sustain.  Astute leaders, understand culture is not an initiative, but the foundation for enabling all initiatives and when down right business outcomes.  Bravo Sarah!  the book, the use cases and tools provided should be a foundation for all leadership training.  I thoroughly appreciated this read."

    — Moe Abdula, VP Solution Architecture and Technology, Google

  • "Driving Outcomes is a valuable companion for both new and seasoned leaders navigating significant change for their company, their teams, and themselves. Plantenberg not only helps us change culture but develop cultures that will be resilient through ongoing waves of change. Through very relevant and engaging first person anecdotes she helps the reader understand each person’s role in fostering a productive environment and aligning teams to drive positive business results regardless of product or industry.“

    — Opal Perry, Senior Technical Executive

  • "Driving Outcomes is, at once, an impactful culture story, a model for creating a healthy and productive culture, and a powerful resource for guiding your team towards that culture. Plantenberg presents both the why - proof that a healthy culture drives performance - and the how - actionable models and exercises to build consensus and confidence in that culture. If you lead a team that sometimes struggles with delivering on performance promises and often hesitates with being authentically supportive of each other, this book is a must."

    — S. Chris Edmonds, author of The Culture Engine and co-author of Good Comes First

  • "Driving Outcomes reveals the true power of culture in turning team dysfunction into high-performance results."

    — Louis Carter, Founder & CEO of Most Loved Workplace®

  • "Plantenberg deftly illuminates and makes easily accessible the intricate and often underappreciated connection between organizational culture and business success. The material is very accessible and speaks plainly to complex topics, providing the business leader with practical ways to quickly ignite change."

    — Retired IBM Sales and Consulting Executive

  • "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." While this phrase coined by management expert Peter Drucker is well-known by many business leaders, how many of them truly focus on building the right culture to power their business? The reality is that many of these leaders prefer to focus on "harder" aspects of the business such as technology or go-to-market rather than the "softer" aspects such as culture. And yet, as Drucker alludes, culture is key to creating a successful business. Sarah Plantenberg's Driving Outcomes provides a blueprint for how to create the culture your business needs. I particularly appreciated the exercises at the end of the book. I worked with Sarah using many of these exercises to create a unified culture for the organization I ran - the Office of the CTO at VMware. They were immensely powerful in bringing my leadership team together, which then extended to the entire organization. And with this book, you now have the opportunity to take advantage of them!"

    — Kit Colbert, Former Chief Technology Officer VMware

  • “Sarah demystifies one of the prime components of organizational DNA that comprises every modern company: Corporate culture. What it is, how it works, how to recognize it, and most importantly how to change it to attain desired business outcomes. A must read for anyone involved in corporate change management…Sarah provides tools and techniques to help create a work environment where individuals and teams are aligned to—and driven by —business strategy .”

    — Marc Oulette, Senior IT Executive, Technical Strategy and Implementation

  • "What sets Driving Outcomes apart is its relevance to today's fast-paced business environment. Plantenberg expertly identifies common pitfalls that dilute results and provides actionable strategies to align teams around a shared vision. Plantenberg’s emphasis on culture as a strategic asset is both refreshing and vital; it’s a critical reminder that success is not merely about metrics, but also about the human connections and values that underpin them. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their organization’s performance and create an environment where people thrive. I encourage you to pick up a copy of "Driving Outcomes" so that you have the tools you need to masterfully lead at the intersection of human beings and technology."

    — Steven Leist, Chief Technology Officer

  • "In Sarah Plantenberg's new book Driving Outcomes, she distills her extensive experience driving innovation at IBM Garages into a practical and repeatable methodology that can benefit any business. Having worked closely with Sarah, I saw firsthand how she led enterprises and startups through strategic transformations, turning complex challenges into actionable outcomes. Her book walks readers through a step-by-step framework, including tools such as the "Hopes and Fears," "Empathy Map," "Active Listening," and "So That Method," among others, designed to help organizations identify goals, enhance collaboration, and drive real business impact."

    — Steve Robinson, Retired General Manager, IBM Software, current senior advisor, IBM and McKinsey