Book Details How To Succeed And How To Pivot

Arika Linton is the author of Creative Disruption: 7 Effective Strategies For Millennials To Lead In The Workplace. PHOTO BY AMBER MARIE GREEN.
Arika Linton is the author of Creative Disruption: 7 Effective Strategies For Millennials To Lead In The Workplace. PHOTO BY AMBER MARIE GREEN.

Book Details How To Succeed And How To Pivot

By Tia Carol Jones

Arika Linton describes her journey as non-traditional. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a goal to write television shows and direct. After having a taste of that life, she moved back to Chicago, where she reconnected to purpose.

Linton became Dean of Students at a school, where she used her non-traditional, creative background to approach her role. What she thought was her deficit in not having a background in education became a benefit to her, the students and staff at the school where she worked. Having a creative background led her to partner with outside entities to bring opportunities for the students that they had never experienced. 

Linton pivoted again, this time working as the Director of Secondary Success at OneGoal, a postsecondary nonprofit organization. In this role, she often asks the students she works with “what do you want to accomplish?” and “how do I set that up for you?”

“It’s always, for me, rooted in authenticity and connection to their higher purpose,” she said.

Linton wrote the book, Creative Disruption: 7 Effective Strategies For Millennials To Lead In The Workplace, based on a TED Talk she gave at Columbia College Chicago in Spring 2024. During the talk, she talked about her journey after graduating from Columbia College Chicago and how she found success in the creative, education and non-profit field, by building a network, trusting her gut, being authentic and trusting that she had everything she needed to grow and move forward. After the talk, she decided a book was the most tangible way to engage audiences and give strategies for making pivots work for people.

“This book is a playbook for those who coach millennials, those who manage millennials,” she said.

Linton believes that millennials need to understand what to ask for when they are hired and people who manage millennials need to understand how millennials operate in the workplace. She said the book is for millennials who are sure they are looking to move upward on their path and are not looking to move into entrepreneurship, as well as for those who want to know when it is time to pivot out of a situation.

 She said the book is a guide for people who know what they have to offer, for them to trust their authenticity and position themselves as a high value employee to get the things they need.

The book gives actionable strategies for discovering and harnessing their authentic leadership style, fostering and driving change within their industry, while giving real-life examples and lessons on how to rise above challenges and make a lasting impact. She said with the book, readers will be able to create experiences that will build their inner self and outer self in the workplace, because the two work together.

Linton said she was grateful to have truth tellers around her to guide her through the editing process. She said people who have read the book have told her that the book is a transformative guide to disrupting norms, driving innovation, and creating a meaningful impact. Others have said the book is a dynamic, pragmatic approach to leadership, flavored with a sense of humor.

Linton said the workplace is ever-changing and it is important that millennials are at the forefront of the transformation. She said the book is from her heart and are things that worked for her and helped her accomplish the things that she is most proud of.

The e-book, Creative Disruption: 7 Effective Strategies For Millennials To Lead In The Workplace costs $4.99. It is available for pre-order at arikalinton.com. The book will be widely released on Feb. 28th.


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