.png?width=20&height=20&name=search-icon-new%20(1).png){kind=icon}
Welcome to "Executive Library," a series presenting books written by Forbes Councils experts on business topics.
Informed Leadership: Applying First Principles To Unify Purpose, Heighten Performance, and Maximize Prosperity
by David Ribott, Forbes Coaches Council
Passionpreneur Publishing
September 9, 2025
Our take:
In Informed Leadership: Applying First Principles To Unify Purpose, Heighten Performance, and Maximize Prosperity, Forbes Coaches Council member David Ribott explores how today's leaders can align purpose, performance, and prosperity through a values-based framework.
Informed Leadership: Applying First Principles To Unify Purpose, Heighten Performance, and Maximize Prosperity explores the concept of informed leadership in detail, emphasizing the application of first principles to unify purpose, enhance performance, and maximize prosperity within organizations. Drawing on his extensive leadership experience, Ribott expertly identifies key blind spots in this area and offers a practical framework for overcoming them.
About this book:
Informed Leadership is a field guide for senior operators—CEOs, board directors, CXOs, and NexGen leaders—who need practical tools, not theory. It distills the author’s experience advising Fortune-level and sovereign-backed organizations into plug-and-play frameworks (e.g., the 4 Pillars of Informed Leadership RIDE – Respect, Integrity, Dignity, Empathy, the ABCs of Informed Leaders, and the 3Ps – Purpose, Performance, and Prosperity) that help leaders:
- Turn strategy into execution with clear operating rhythms and meeting maps,
- Make faster, better decisions under ambiguity, and
- Build accountable, resilient cultures during scale, transformation, or crisis
About the author:
David Ribott, Forbes Coaches Council, has forged a path as one of today’s most trusted advisors to purpose-driven CEOs and boards. With over two decades of experience guiding leadership teams across EMEA and APAC, David blends behavioral insight, governance expertise, and performance coaching into a unique framework that has redefined executive leadership for the modern age.
A semi-professional athlete turned leadership strategist, David’s early discipline in sport formed the foundation of what he calls the Corporate Athlete Approach- a methodology built on the belief that CEOs, like elite athletes, must train for peak performance, resilience, and clarity under pressure.
As the founder of Ribott Partners, David advises multinational corporations, family businesses, and government institutions on leadership effectiveness, succession planning, and complex organizational transformation. His clients trust him not just for strategy, but for his ability to guide them through the human side of high-stakes decision-making- where board dynamics, culture, and vision intersect.
In September 2025, David launched his book, Informed Leadership, offering a battle-tested framework for leaders to operate with purpose, integrity, and impact in today’s rapidly changing business environment. The book distills his decades of experience into actionable insights, helping executives navigate complexity, develop high-performing teams, and drive meaningful organizational outcomes..
Reviews:
“Informed Leadership" is a deeply grounded guide to becoming the kind of leader people actually want to follow. David Ribott offers a clear, actionable roadmap for navigating complexity with purpose, clarity, and integrity.”
— Dorie Clark, executive education faculty at Columbia Business School, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "The Long Game"
“David's wealth of experience from his days as an athlete to helping transform companies across MENA has been distilled in this book that starts with informed leadership, but ends with impact.”
— Diana Wu David, CEO, Future Proof Lab, and ranked #2 Global Futurist by Global Gurus
“David is credible and experienced. If you are looking for someone to challenge you as a leader and your assumptions, I think his book will encourage a deeper, reflective conversation with yourself.”
— Dustin Seale, Regional Managing Partner EMEA, Heidrick Consulting, and co-author of Lead Through Anything
If you are a Forbes Councils member who has published a business book, contact your concierge to learn how to get it featured in this column.
