The Upside of Turbulence
Seizing Opportunity in an Uncertain World
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The Upside of Turbulence is an enlightening look at the inherent paradox of how to strategize and plan in a turbulent business world where the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself. In this book, based on a decade of research, historical case studies, and intensive work with established enterprises and start-ups, Donald Sull, named an “up and coming thinker” by the Financial Times, lays out the fundamental logic of opportunity and provides a series of practical steps to translate insight into action.
This book provides a playbook for turning uncertainty into competitive advantage:
Active Inertia: Discover why successful, established enterprises often accelerate their own decline in the face of turbulence—and how to break the cycle.Seizing Opportunity: Learn the fundamental logic of opportunity in an uncertain world, moving from spotting chances to taking decisive action.The Agility Loop: Master a practical framework, inspired by military strategy, to make sense of chaos, make choices, and make things happen faster than your rivals.Business Case Studies: Go inside the rise and fall of giants like U.S. Steel, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Honda with research-backed analysis you can apply to your own business.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sull (Why Good Companies Go Bad), professor at the London Business School, inveighs against the business world's terror of change and habitual response of accelerating activities that have worked in the past, a dynamic he terms "active inertia." Sull demonstrates how turbulence his term for rapid and unpredictable changes that influence a firm's ability to create value provides opportunity for growth (his odd analogy describes how Italians originally thought tomatoes were poisonous; only when they were willing to experiment did they discover the root of their distinctive cuisine). Noting the "exceptionally turbulent" times we live in, Sull offers practical suggestions (and work sheets) to enhance a company's agility and ability to improvise. "Our theories about the future," he reminds us, "remain subject to revision or rejection in light of new knowledge that might arise in the future. All our theories will let us down; we just don't yet know how or when." With success stories from such companies as Microsoft and Carnival Cruise Lines, much of the information within is sound, but the lofty tone might make this a tough sell in an already shell-shocked marketplace.
