Elaine’s Literary Salon: Meet the authors behind the books

Meet the Author: Dr. C. Victor Herbin III (aka: Dr. Vic) is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, leadership advisor, and the founder of Organizational Arrogance™ — a leadership development brand built on more than two decades of service at the highest levels of government and the military. Through books, assessments, and keynote programs, Dr. Herbin helps leaders see how a sense of superiority within leadership shapes behavior, decision-making, and culture. His programs equip leaders to recognize, diagnose, and interrupt these patterns before they become systemic. Learn more: bookdrvic.com

About Organizational Arrogance: The most dangerous threat to your organization isn’t external. It’s cultural—and it already has a seat at your table.

A concern gets brushed aside. A dissenting view is labeled “resistance.” A mistake becomes a reason to discredit rather than develop. Over time, superiority quietly replaces curiosity, and the best ideas in the room never reach the table.

That culture has a name. Dr. C. Victor Herbin III gave it one.

Drawing on more than two decades of military leadership—including three combat deployments, Pentagon service, and battalion command—and years of rigorous doctoral research at Regent University, Dr. Herbin delivers the first empirically validated framework for identifying, measuring, and reversing the quiet cultural pattern dismantling promising organizations across government and industry: Organizational Arrogance.

Inside this field manual for modern leaders, you will discover:

• The ODD Framework — the three behavioral dimensions that define arrogant cultures: Overconfidence, Dismissiveness, and Disparagement
• The OA Cultural Escalation Model — a five-stage diagnostic revealing exactly how individual superiority hardens into cultural entrenchment
• The Organizational Arrogance Scale — the first validated instrument (Cronbach’s alpha .922) designed to measure the presence, frequency, and intensity of arrogant behaviors within organizational culture
• Practical interventions rooted in emotional intelligence, organizational humility, and behavioral discipline to interrupt arrogant patterns before they become irreversible

This book will not tell you what you want to hear. It will tell you what your team already knows—and has stopped saying out loud.

For the senior executive wondering whether the metrics are masking something deeper. For the middle manager who can feel the energy in the room has changed. For the HR leader, executive coach, board member, or organizational development consultant who has watched arrogant cultures dismantle great organizations from the inside out—Organizational Arrogance is the diagnosis, the framework, and the roadmap home.

The only question is whether the leader holding this book is ready to do the work.

Click here to buy Organizational Arrogance.

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com

Find more of Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.

Elaine’s Literary Salon is located at Elaine’s Restaurant, 208 Queen Street, Alexandria VA

About Elaine’s Restaurant:  A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selections is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are inspired by exquisite food from Alexandria, Egypt — a blend of Middle Eastern and French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12, growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was the former home of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins for 38 years. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.