A step-by-step guide to the 10 essential and practical skills a business needs to innovate and thrive in uncertain times The reinvented world of business will profoundly impact America's leaders and workers in the decade ahead. Companies capable of transforming their organizations during this period of "Great Disruption" will thrive in the reinvented world however, the reverse holds true as well. Innovation in a Reinvented World reveals how transformation occurs when business leaders and their organizations apply these 10 Essential Elements, providing both a road map and definitive blueprint for companies of any size looking to bridge the old world with the new world of business. Discusses the "new courage" required for innovating in a reinvented world Looks at 10 Essential Elements winning companies count on today Innovation in a Reinvented World helps executives and leadership teams navigate and manage their organizations' inflection points in designing, building, and sustaining innovation—even through the post-recession playing field.

Sometimes radical yet always applicable, Brick by Brick abounds with real-world lessons for unleashing breakthrough innovation in your organization, using LEGO--which experienced one of the most remarkable business transformations in recent history--as a business model. As LEGO failed to keep pace with the revolutionary changes in kids' lives and began sliding into irrelevance, the company's leaders implemented some of the business world's most widely espoused prescriptions for boosting innovation. Ironically, these changes pushed the iconic toymaker to the brink of bankruptcy, showing that what works in theory can fail spectacularly in the brutally competitive global economy. It took a new LEGO management team--faced with the growing rage for electronic toys, few barriers to entry, and ultra-demanding consumers (ten-year old boys)--to reinvent the innovation rule book and transform LEGO into one of the world's most profitable, fastest-growing companies. Along the way, Brick by Brick reveals how LEGO: - Became truly customer-driven by co-creating with kids as well as its passionate adult fans - Looked beyond products and learned to leverage a full-spectrum approach to innovation - Opened its innovation process by using both the "wisdom of crowds" and the expertise of elite cliques - Discovered uncontested, "blue ocean" markets, even as it thrived in brutally competitive red oceans - Gave its world-class design teams enough space to create and direction to deliver built a culture where profitable innovation flourishes Whether you're a senior executive looking to make your company grow, an entrepreneur building a startup from scratch, or a fan who wants to instill some of that LEGO magic in your career, you'll learn how to build your own innovation advantage, brick by brick.

Understand the barriers to change and cultivate a reinvention mindset that will make you impervious to disruption In our world of incessant change, we are all threatened by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—at the individual and organizational levels. Undisruptable will give you a new lens through which to consider change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. You’ll be inspired to consider the big questions of today: What does the future hold? What does the exponential growth of technology mean for the world of work? What does a changing job market mean for future generations? What do waves of disruption mean for business leaders? Society is evolving at breakneck speed. What does this mean for all of us? Read Undisruptable to bridge the chaos and build the resilience you need to move forward. While we cannot see into the future, there are repeatable patterns that we can understand. Undisruptable demystifies the principles of change through a blend of analogies, innovation frameworks and exemplars of change such as Fujifilm and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first step to becoming undisputable is to realize that evolution is a natural part of life, and nature provides many examples. Undisruptable will help you to: Understand the principles of change Overcome the barriers to change See change as an opportunity and not an obstacle Utilize simple frameworks and examples to guide you on your transformation By the end of this book, you will have the essential tools and techniques to foster a reinvention mindset that will help you and your organization to become Undisruptable. This book is part of a 3-part series. Part 2 looks at the biases and mental obstacles that prevent change. Part 3 examines the best ways to communicate change within an organization. PRAISE FOR UNDISRUPTABLE “Aidan McCullen has lived a fascinating life of major change. In his book, ‘Undisruptable’; he brings us a method for making sense of the external world, and an accessible and visual approach to letting go of the past, and welcoming the future with a mindset of permanent reinvention. It is a timely, thoughtful book, well worth reading.” – Dee Hock, founder and CEO Emeritus of VISA and author of One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization “As the poet Paul Valery said, 'the future is not what is used to be'. Organizations across the board must come to grips with permanent reinvention as their needed way of being. Aidan McCullen's gifted storytelling will inspire you and get you on your way to permanent reinvention.” – Mark Johnson, co-founder Innosight and author Lead from the Future “This book teaches the mindset—the lens of clarity—that we all must develop in order to be undisruptable in a future of chilling disruption.” – Bob Johansen author Full-Spectrum Thinking, Distinguished Fellow, Institute for the Future “The snake may slough off its tail, but there's nothing to be sloughed off with this book. Former professional rugby player Aidan McCullen knows how not to be defeated by victory. He knows how to disrupt himself. He knows what it means to be Undisruptable.” – Whitney Johnson, author of Disrupt Yourself “Aidan McCullen shows us how to embrace a mindset of permanent reinvention. By reading this book, you will learn how to shed o

“A fascinating story of regeneration. Using a social history perspective over different periods, it offers a wonderful case study of urban reinvention.” —Shiri M. Breznitz, Economic Geography Formerly prosperous cities across the United States, struggling to keep up with an increasingly global economy and the continued decline of post-war industries like manufacturing, face the issue of how to adapt to today’s knowledge economy. In Invention and Reinvention, authors Mary Walshok and Abraham Shragge chronicle San Diego’s transformation from a small West Coast settlement to a booming military metropolis and then to a successful innovation hub. This instructive story of a second-tier city that transformed its core economic identity can serve as a rich case and a model for similar regions. Stressing the role that cultural values and social dynamics played in its transition, the authors discern five distinct, recurring factors upon which San Diego capitalized at key junctures in its economic growth. San Diego—though not always a star city—has been able to repurpose its assets and realign its economic development strategies continuously in order to sustain prosperity. Chronicling over a century of adaptation, this book offers a lively and penetrating tale of how one city reinvented itself to meet the demands of today’s economy, lighting the way for others. “This is an important, pioneering book that contributes to our unique understanding of how one place, San Diego, has achieved what most places want: the capacity to evolve and meet the challenges of a constantly changing global economic environment. Walshok and Shragge help us understand why some places thrive while others wither.” —David B. Audretsch, author of Everything in Its Place

The inspiration for this timely book is the pressing need for fresh ideas and innovations in U.S. higher education. At the heart of the volume is the realization that higher education must evolve in fundamental ways if it is to respond to changing professional, economic, and technological circumstances, and if it is to successfully reach and prepare a vast population of students—traditional and nontraditional alike—for success in the coming decades. This collection of provocative articles by leading scholars, writers, innovators, and university administrators examines the current higher education environment and its chronic resistance to change; the rise of for-profit universities; the potential future role of community colleges in a significantly revised higher education realm; and the emergence of online learning as a means to reshape teaching and learning and to reach new consumers of higher education. Combining trenchant critiques of current conditions with thought-provoking analyses of possible reforms and new directions, Reinventing Higher Education is an ambitious exploration of possible future directions for revitalized American colleges and universities.

Inspires you how to develop an innovative mindset, start innovation in practice, ideate new ideas, create a culture for innovation and how to implement innovation projects.

Participatory Budgeting—the experiment in democracy that could redefine how public budgets are decided in the United States. Democracy Reinvented is the first comprehensive academic treatment of participatory budgeting in the United States, situating it within a broader trend of civic technology and innovation. This global phenomenon, which has been called "revolutionary civics in action" by the New York Times, started in Brazil in 1989 but came to America only in 2009. Participatory budgeting empowers citizens to identify community needs, work with elected officials to craft budget proposals, and vote on how to spend public funds. Democracy Reinvented places participatory budgeting within the larger discussion of the health of U.S. democracy and focuses on the enabling political and institutional conditions. Author and former White House policy adviser Hollie Russon Gilman presents theoretical insights, indepth case studies, and interviews to offer a compelling alternative to the current citizen disaffection and mistrust of government. She offers policy recommendations on how to tap online tools and other technological and civic innovations to promote more inclusive governance. While most literature tends to focus on institutional changes without solutions, this book suggests practical ways to empower citizens to become change agents. Reinvesting in Democracy also includes a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that come with using digital tools to re-engage citizens in governance.