UA’s MBA director publishes first book

Adam Stoverink, director of Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, is a published author for the first time.

Stoverink said the new business book “Unbreakable: Building and Leading Resilient Teams” is a practical guide for leaders who strive to build teams that are prepared for the many adversities they will inevitably face.

“It lays out a framework based on our research and is brought to life through compelling stories of real teams who overcame adversity — and a few that didn’t,” he said.

Stoverink joined the UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business in 2017 as an associate professor of management. He assumed his current role in May 2021. He has degrees from the University of Missouri, Saint Louis University and a Ph.D. from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

His co-author on the book is Bradley Kirkman, a professor of leadership at North Carolina State University. Kirkman earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina’s highly regarded Kenan-Flagler Business School and was Stoverink’s dissertation adviser at Texas A&M.

The book’s advance praises include this comment from Kirk Thompson, chairman of J.B. Hunt Transport.

“You only thought you knew what made teams resilient in the face of adversity. ‘Unbreakable’ will make you question some of your strongest assumptions regarding how to build resilience in teams and, as a result, unchain you from the stale leadership tactics that simply fall short.”

Stanford University Press of California will publish the book on Feb. 28. Before that, it’s available for pre-ordering (with a 30% discount) through the publisher’s website, Amazon.com or wherever books are sold.