Leading Through Free Fall

How Innovators Turn Turbulence into Trust

Brianna Sylver

People aren’t predictable—but your innovation leadership can be.

You’ve built the best innovation process. You’ve mapped out every step. Then, reality hits: People hesitate. Doubt creeps in. Resistance surfaces. Suddenly, your well-designed plan feels like it’s unraveling, and you’re left wondering, What am I missing? What have I done wrong?

These moments aren’t setbacks—they’re gifts. They hold the key to deeper trust, alignment, and impact in your work. In Leading Through Free Fall, innovation strategist Brianna Sylver reveals how to turn the inevitable challenges of innovation into your greatest advantage.

Drawing on over twenty years of experience at the intersection of user experience, market research, and strategy, Sylver walks you through three stages of leading innovation: Suiting Up, Free Fall, and Safe Landing. Seventeen tools are shared in this playbook, each designed to help you to navigate the messy humanness of innovation with confidence, while you build trust and lead with clarity, resilience, and impact.

The biggest roadblocks in innovation aren’t technical—they’re human. Through real-world stories and actionable strategies, Leading Through Free Fall teaches you how to tame uncertainty, embrace resistance, and turn roadblocks into breakthroughs—so both your teams and projects thrive.

Reviews

In the face of rapid change and internal resistance, Leading Through Free Fall provides a powerful framework for unlocking progress. Brianna Sylver shows you how to reframe roadblocks, align teams, and lead transformation efforts that stick—by focusing on the human dynamics at the core of innovation.

Vijay KumarN author, 101 Design Methods

This book fills a significant gap in practice—how do innovation leaders prepare the organization and set the conditions for success? The advice is clear, grounded, and practical. Innovation leaders of all levels will benefit from it. It’s the total package.

Kim Erwin Director, Equitable Healthcare Lab, Institute of Design, Illinois Tech; author, Communicating the New

In a culture that glorifies visionary leaders, Brianna Sylver brings something rarer: clarity, candor, and a deeply human approach. Her framework doesn’t just guide innovation—it steadies leaders through the stunning discomfort of innovation, making the journey more intentional, strategic, and real.

Priscilla McKinney CEO, Little Bird Marketing; author,Collaboration Is the New Competition

Brianna Sylver is the founder and president of Sylver Consulting, a globally recognized innovation research and strategy firm. Operating at the nexus of Market Research (MR), User Experience/Design (UX), and Strategy, Sylver Consulting empowers Fortune 1000 organizations and city governments to navigate change and future-proof their offerings. Under Brianna’s leadership, the firm consistently uncovers actionable insights, paving clear pathways to sustainable growth and transformation.

Brianna is a dynamic speaker and prolific writer, frequently addressing topics such as the convergence of market research and user experience, best practices in creating and fostering innovation cultures, and reimagining civic and social systems. She has earned accolades from esteemed organizations, including the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), HSM Management (Brazil), and the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA). She lives in Evanston, Illinois.

ISBN 978-1-77458-595-5
$21.95 CAD • $17.95 USD
Published AUgust 18TH, 2025

5.5 x 8.5 • 256 Pages
PAPERBACK, EBOOK, AUDIOBOOK