Leadership is easy when conditions are perfect.This book is not written for those moments.

In the Black is about leadership when visibility is limited, information is incomplete, pressure is unavoidable, and responsibility does not disappear. It is about what holds when plans break, certainty evaporates, and people look to you anyway.

Drawing from real-world experience in disaster zones, high-risk security operations, combat training environments, and decades of building and leading companies, David Burnell examines leadership as it actually exists—not as theory, trend, or performance.

These are not tactics.They are not motivational slogans.They are principles forged under pressure.

Through lived narratives from post-tsunami Japan, humanitarian operations in Haiti, force-on-force training environments, and the boardrooms of growing companies, Burnell explores what pressure reveals about leaders—and what effective leaders transmit to the people around them.

Inside this book, you will encounter:

* Why stress exposes leadership rather than creates it

* How affirmation stabilizes teams under cognitive overload

* When deliberate stillness is the most responsible action

* Why movement without purpose creates chaos

* How comfort zones quietly become ceilings

* Why leadership is transmitted, not possessed

* What leadership costs internally—physically, mentally, and spiritually

* Why true success often looks like “nothing happened.”

This is a book for leaders who carry weight.For those who make decisions without applause.For those responsible for outcomes they cannot fully control.

In The Black, there is no promise of certainty.It offers something more durable: clarity under pressure.

Find this and other episodes from the Echo Valor Podcast by searching “Echo Valor Podcast” on your favorite podcast platform. You can also discover original music by searching “Echo Valor Music” on your favorite streaming platform, and explore books and written works by searching “David Burnell” on Amazon to visit his author page.

Leadership is not something leaders keep—it’s something they pass on.

In the final episode of IN THE BLACK, David Burnell explores how leadership functions under pressure not as authority, but as transmission. Drawing from high-stress operational environments, this episode examines how calm, clarity, and intent move through teams—and how leaders shape outcomes by regulating the environment rather than controlling it.

Leadership Is Transmitted, Not Possessed closes the series by reinforcing a central truth: under pressure, teams synchronize with their leaders. What is passed forward—calm or chaos, clarity or confusion—determines performance.

This episode ties together the series’ core principles and leaves listeners with a durable framework for leading in the face of uncertainty, in business and beyond.

Find this and other episodes from the Echo Valor Podcast by searching “Echo Valor Podcast” on your favorite podcast platform. You can also discover original music by searching “Echo Valor Music” on your favorite streaming platform, and explore books and written works by searching “David Burnell” on Amazon to visit his author page.

Comfort feels safe—until pressure arrives.

In this episode of IN THE BLACK, David Burnell explores why comfort zones quietly limit growth and why preparation—not confidence—determines performance under stress. Drawing on stress inoculation training models, this episode explains how deeply ingrained fundamentals enable individuals and teams to adapt when conditions change.

Comfort Zones Are Ceiling Tiles challenges the belief that stability comes from staying comfortable and reframes deliberate challenge as a leadership responsibility. This episode is especially relevant for business leaders seeking resilience, adaptability, and sustained performance in uncertain environments.

Find this and other episodes from the Echo Valor Podcast by searching “Echo Valor Podcast” on your favorite podcast platform. You can also discover original music by searching “Echo Valor Music” on your favorite streaming platform, and explore books and written works by searching “David Burnell” on Amazon to visit his author page.