House on Fire!: A Story of Loss, Love & Servant Leadership

by Ken Jennings, Mike McCormick, Ken Blanchard (Foreword)

A tale of leadership in a class of its own, House on Fire! , winner of the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Award, moves past tips and techniques to uncover the heart of leadership transformation that occurs when people see differently and serve differently. House on Fire! follows Sophie, a young investigative journalist searching for answers whose sources for a story on leadership principles in a high-purpose organization get mixed up in a series of mysterious fires around Pittsburgh. Along the way Sophie meets Jeb, a handsome firefighter and leadership partner at The House who is working to determine who is behind the mysterious fires targeting local Christians. Despite herself, Sophie finds herself falling for Jeb and tension mounts as she comes face to face with her past. Will Sophie confront her fear of fire and help solve the arsons before Jeb gets hurt―or worse? Based on the conviction that leadership transformation in the real world is more caught in the context of community than taught by a single textbook, Ken Jennings and Mike McCormick brilliantly bring leadership development to life through an integrated team of characters, each contributing to the personal growth of the others. Fit for the new landscape of leadership, House on Fire! specifically helps those navigating the shift from leading a company to leading a cause, from command and control to team empowerment, or from leading an organization to transforming a community. Readers follow Sophie as she explores the intersection of faith and Servant Leadership in high purpose organizations and discover how to put Serving Leadership to work in their own high-purpose organization today.

194 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 2019

About the author

Kenneth Wayne Jennings III holds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! Jennings won 74 games before he was defeated by challenger Nancy Zerg on his 75th appearance. His total earnings on Jeopardy! are US$3,022,700 ($2,520,700 in winnings, a $2,000 consolation prize on his 75th appearance, and $500,000 in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions). Jennings held the record for most winnings on any game show ever played until the end of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (first aired on May 25, 2005), when he was displaced by Brad Rutter, who defeated Jennings in that tournament.

After winning, he began working on a book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, which explored American trivia history and culture. Ken also appeared as a member of the mob sitting in podium #13 from the new game show 1 vs. 100 in 2006, and in 2007 Jennings was the champion of the first season of the US version of Grand Slam.

Jennings was selected to co-host Jeopardy after the death of Alex Trebek.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book online. I enjoy leadership fables when done right.

House on Fire has a good enough plot, but the leadership aspects seems shallow. I wanted them to go deeper. They ended up being too obvious.

[Kayla Nickels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this book! WOW, AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL!!! I am glad I didn't buy the paperback tho and got the digital version cuz it would've been covered in a river of tears. It was such a moving story and I hope others will take the time to read it as well. I was able to read it in one day, it was so good and so unputdownable (new word). So thankful to have been able to experience such a beautiful story