Exciting News for the Fall of 2026

Written by: Ralph Twombly

Published: June 15th 2026

Three Years in the making or puffing and panting across the finish line.

For over three years, we have been working on book three of the Priority Learning progression series. This final book focuses on workplace performance and, as you would expect from all of us, centers on people. And we have designed a new Priority Learning Series built around the book, starting in mid-September.

The Art of Performance – While the book is still in the final stages of editing, we have a tentative title. The title captures much of what is in the book. Performance is situational, thoughtful, and unique to each person. Some folks are open to performance changes and embrace them, while others wrestle with and resist them. In either case, an artful approach from leaders is critical to success. Those leaders need tools and techniques to support their artful approach. Our experience has shown us that all leaders want to manage and lead change, but struggle to know what to do and when to do it to maximize people's effectiveness.

Like the other two books, the ideas for this book arose from clients' expressed needs and capture our experience in helping leaders develop their people.

What we learned by writing the first two books - My first confession is that just because you write does not make you a good writer. As I began this third book, I sought as much help as I could, which meant going back to the clients who had worked with us and asking for their feedback and guidance. People were more than happy to help, and their input improved the work. You will see their names in the book, and I cannot thank them enough.

What’s in the book? This is a grounded, gritty, honest, and focused book simply dedicated to helping leaders do what is most difficult: manage performance. We know it's difficult because they tell us.

A quick excerpt from the book's introduction: “I don’t know what to do with my poor performers.” That is a real quote from a real leader. It came up in a leadership workshop, and it wasn’t the first time. Maybe that is the best way to start on this journey with you. That may have been the moment I decided to write a book dedicated to the art and science of performance management.

Self-help books have been ‘a thing’ for a long time, and it seems like about every six months a new book comes out with a clever name and the latest and greatest formula for personal success, leadership, and living a healthy and fulfilling life. The good news is that the theories are all about the same, with a few caveats here and there. That is good news because when you hear about things that work over and over, the list isn’t a mile long and is consistent among the old-time pros (Stephen Covey and Peter Drucker) and the emerging new masters (Adam Grant and Simon Sinek)—more good news. The concepts appeal to our values as people with big hearts, strong minds, and the will to build our futures. Those same value-based ideas contribute to robust workplaces and fulfilling lives.

What next? I will release an article every few weeks between now and Labor Day, and I hope it will pique your curiosity and inspire you to join the artful journey toward leading performance change.

Ralph Twombly

In the 20 years since starting Priority Learning, Ralph has facilitated countless learning experiences and has conducted training for thousands of managers and leaders. With over 30 years of leadership development and organizational development background and work, Ralph continues to build relationships with client companies all over the U.S.