Controversial New Leadership Book Rock The Business World

The brutal-but-brilliant manual for how to say the hard things—and survive it.

CA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ --
Kickstarter CTO Mahesh Guruswamy Releases How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away With It

A bold new leadership book tackles the conversations most managers avoid

Most leadership books sell inspiration. Few deal with the reality: telling Karen she’s not getting the promotion, admitting your project is late, or owning up to a decision gone badly wrong.

That gap is exactly what How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away With It—the debut book from Mahesh Guruswamy, current CTO at Kickstarter and former executive at Kajabi, Mosaic, and Smartsheet—sets out to close.

The book is a frank, funny, and practical guide for managers navigating the hardest moments in leadership: performance plans, strategy pivots, broken promises, and bruised egos. Each chapter provides a toolkit of stories and solutions drawn from Guruswamy’s two decades in technology leadership.

“There are hundreds of books on how to inspire, influence, and innovate,” Guruswamy said. “But almost no one tells you how to look a brilliant team member in the eye and say, ‘This isn’t working.’ That’s the moment that defines leadership—and that’s what this book is for.”

How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away With It tackles the “messy middle” of leadership—after the TED Talk ends and before the quarterly results land.

Readers will learn how to:
* Deliver difficult news without destroying trust
* Write tough messages with clarity instead of jargon
* Handle repeated strategy changes without losing team morale
* Offer feedback upwards without risking their career
* Recover when a decision turns into a Very Bad Call™

Unlike many management titles, the book assumes leaders are busy, human, and fallible—not superheroes with endless patience and charm.

This book isn’t designed to sit on a shelf. It’s a working manual—part therapy, part toolkit, part safety net—for leaders at every level. Guruswamy positions himself not as a guru, but as a co-pilot—offering steady, tested advice for when managers need it most.

“Everyone wants to be a great leader when things are going well,” Guruswamy said. “But the moments that matter? That’s when you’ve got to say something no one wants to hear—and still be respected after you say it.”


About the Author
Mahesh Guruswamy is a seasoned technology executive and writer, currently serving as Chief Technology Officer at Kickstarter. Over the past 20 years, he has built and led teams across global tech companies including Smartsheet, Kajabi, and Mosaic. A long-time mentor and leadership essayist, Guruswamy draws on lived experience rather than theory, offering practical insight into the real challenges of management. He is currently working on his second book, exploring career acceleration in technology.

Who Should Read It
* Managers caught in “feedback purgatory”
* Founders and CTOs steering teams through pivots
* First-time team leads facing tough conversations
* Leaders determined to build trust—even when delivering bad news

Suggested Interview Questions
1. What’s the worst piece of bad news you’ve had to deliver—and what did you learn?
2. Why do you think most leadership books avoid the “hard stuff”?
3. How can leaders maintain trust when delivering disappointing news?
4. What’s the most common mistake managers make when giving feedback?
5. Why do so many leaders delay tough conversations until it’s too late?

Alfie Brown
A - B Media
+447876586946 ext.
email us here

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.