A LEADERSHIP MEMOIR & PLAYBOOK
Build People First
Real stories. Real tools. One leader's journey from building a business to building a school no one expected to succeed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jack E. Hunter has spent nearly three decades leading in both business and education building a transportation company from a single client to an acquisition, then rising to Chief Operating Officer, before returning to the classroom.
As a principal, he took over a failing school and, in five years, helped turn an F-rated building into a nationally recognized model. He later founded Toledo Pre-Medical & Health Science Academy from the ground up in urban Toledo, earning a five-star rating on Ohio's official state report card, the state's highest performance rating every year since it opened.
Jack now writes, speaks, and consults on the same idea that has run through every school and business he's built: leadership isn't measured by what you accomplish. It's measured by who you become capable of leading after you.
THE MEMOIR
I Build People
Lessons on Leadership, Legacy, and the People Who Build Us
Jack Hunter took over a failing school and, in five years, turned an F-rated building into a nationally recognized model — not with a new program, but with a simple belief: leadership isn't measured by what you accomplish. It's measured by who you become capable of leading after you.
From a 250-square-foot transportation office to the principal's office of a school no one expected to succeed, I Build People is the story of what happens when a leader stops trying to have every answer and starts building the people who do.
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THE COMPANION WORKBOOK
Build People First: The Leadership Playbook
A Companion Workbook to I Build People
I Build People told the story. This companion workbook is where you put it into practice ten chapters of reflection, assessment, and action that mirror the book chapter for chapter, plus a complete Leadership Resource Library:
coaching question banks, meeting frameworks, a staff recognition system, and a year-long One Degree Better™ challenge. Work through it on your own, with your leadership team, or as a full district book study.
WORK WITH JACK
Bring This to Your District
Jack works with schools, districts, and organizations that want to build the same culture of leadership described in I Build People — through keynote talks, staff development days, and ongoing leadership coaching.
A common starting point: read one chapter a month as a staff, complete the matching Playbook chapter individually, then use one Leadership Team activity from the Resource Library at your monthly meeting. Used that way, the book, the Playbook, and a visit from Jack become a complete leadership development system your district can put to work immediately.
© 2026 Jack E. Hunter. Build People First