INFLUENCE OR FORCE, THERE IS NO THIRD OPTION
How power actually works when persuasion fails.
Silver or Lead is a field manual for operating when outcomes are decided under pressure. It examines the mechanics of influence, coercion, and control—and the moment every leader, organization, or institution is forced to choose between them. This is not theory. It’s a practical framework for understanding how decisions are shaped, how leverage is applied, and why hesitation is often more dangerous than action.
When belief holds, silver works. When it doesn’t, something else decides.
“At last, a marketing book that’s simple, easy to read, and amazingly accurate in its advice. You’ll enjoy it and be smarter for reading it.”
— Jack Trout, co-author of Positioning and Differentiate or Die.
WHEN INFLUENCE STOPS WORKING
Most leaders are trained to persuade. Few are trained to decide when persuasion fails. They assume more explanation will restore belief. They wait for consensus that never arrives. They mistake motion for progress and delay for caution. By the time they realize influence no longer works, the environment has already chosen for them.
This is the moment Silver or Lead exists for.
ONLY TWO WAYS POWER OPERATES
Power only functions in two modes. Silver operates through influence, persuasion, and belief. It works when people trust the system, accept the narrative, and play by the rules. Lead operates through structure, consequence, and control. It appears when belief collapses, time compresses, and outcomes must be forced. There is no hybrid. There is no safe middle.
Every decision environment eventually demands one or the other.
Now available on Amazon in hardcover or paperback.
THIS IS NOT THE BOOK YOU READ ONCE
Silver or Lead is not meant to be consumed and shelved. It’s meant to be used—when timing matters, when stakes rise, and when decisions cannot wait for comfort or consensus. That’s why it lives inside Hitman Ops. The manual is embedded in a private command platform designed to support judgment in real time, not reflection after the fact.
WHY HITMAN OPS
Inside Hitman Ops, Silver or Lead becomes a working system.
You get:
Immediate access to the field manual
Decision frameworks you can deploy under pressure
Tools designed to cut through noise and expose leverage
A system that evolves as conditions change
This is where doctrine meets execution.
No feeds.
No distractions.
Just clarity when it matters most.
BUILT FROM REAL CONDITIONS
Silver or Lead reflects how power actually behaves in high-consequence environments—where outcomes are public, time is limited, and mistakes compound. It was written for operators, executives, and leaders who cannot afford ambiguity when decisions are due.
GET ACCESS
Download Hitman Ops Includes the Silver or Lead Field Manual