If you only read one book on the future of work, Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work should be that book. The future of work swept in sooner than expected, accelerated by Covid-19, creating an urgent need for new maps, new mindsets, new strategies-- and most importantly, a trusted guide to take us on this journey. That guide is Jeff Schwartz. A founding partner of Deloitte Consulting’s Future of Work practice, Schwartz brings clarity, humor, wisdom, and practical advice to the future of work, a topic surrounded by misinformation, fear, and confusion. With a fundamental belief in the power of human innovation and creativity, Schwartz presents the key issues, critical choices, and potential pitfalls that must be on everyone’s radar. If you're anxious about robots taking away your job in the future, you will take comfort in the realistic perspective, fact-based insights, and practical steps Schwartz offers. If you're not sure where to even begin to prepare, follow his level-headed advice and easy-to-follow action plans. If you're a business leader caught between keeping up, while also being thoughtful about the next moves, you will appreciate the playbook directed at you. If you're wondering how Covid-19 will change how and where you will work, Work Disrupted has you covered. Written in a conversational style by Schwartz, with Suzanne Riss, an award-winning journalist and book author, Work Disrupted offers a welcome alternative to books on the topic that lack a broad perspective or dwell on the problems rather than offer solutions. Timely and insightful, the book includes the impact of Covid-19 on our present and future work. Interviews with leading thinkers on the future of work offer additional perspectives and guidance.Cartoons created for the book by leading business illustrator Tom Fishburne bring to life the reader’s journey and the complex issues surrounding the topic. Told from the perspective of an economist, management advisor, and social commentator, Work Disrupted offers hope--and practical advice--exploring such topics as: How we frame what lies ahead is a critical navigational tool. Discover the signposts that can serve as practical guides for individuals who have families to support, mortgages to pay, and want to stay gainfully employed no matter what the future holds. The importance of recognizing the rapidly evolving opportunities in front of us. Learn how to build resilience—in careers, organizations, and leaders—for what lies ahead. Why exploring new mental models helps us discover the steps we need to take to thrive. Individuals can decide how to protect their livelihood while businesses and public institutions can consider how they can lead and support workforces to thrive in twenty-first-century careers and work. "Jeff's marvelous book is a roadmap for the new world of work with clear signposts. His insights will help readers discover opportunities, take action, and find hope in uncertain times. The ideas are fresh, beautifully crafted, and immediately applicable. This is not only a book to be read, but savored and used." —Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Partner, the RBL Group; Co-author Reinventing the Organization

Thinkers50 Management Thinker of 2015 Whitney Johnson wants you to consider this simple, yet powerful, idea: disruptive companies and ideas upend markets by doing something truly different--they see a need, an empty space waiting to be filled, and they dare to create something for which a market may not yet exist. As president and cofounder of Rose Park Advisors' Disruptive Innovation Fund with Clayton Christensen, Johnson used the theory of disruptive innovation to invest in publicly traded stocks and private early-stage companies. In Disrupt Yourself, she helps you understand how the frameworks of disruptive innovation can apply to your particular path, whether you are: a self-starter ready to make a disruptive pivot in your business a high-potential individual charting your career trajectory a manager looking to instill innovative thinking amongst your team a leader facing industry changes that make for an uncertain future We are living in an era of accelerating disruption; no one is immune. Johnson makes the compelling case that managing the S-curve waves of learning and mastery is a requisite skill for the future. If you want to be successful in unexpected ways, follow your own disruptive path. Dare to innovate. Do something astonishing. Disrupt yourself.

Many companies make disruption their goal. They believe that if they develop the right innovation, they will disrupt their markets forever and drive the kind of growth worthy of a magazine cover story. But as bestselling author Charlene Li explains, that's not how disruption works. Disruption doesn't create growth; instead, growth creates disruption. Growth is always hard, and disruptive growth is exponentially harder. It requires companies to make tough decisions in the face of daunting uncertainties: Should we bet our company's future on next-generation customers or today's reliable ones? Should we abandon our current business model for an entirely new one? Making bold changes demands bold leadership and, often, massive cultural transformation. Over the years, Li has seen some organizations beat the odds and succeed at becoming disruptive: Adobe, ING Bank, Nokia, Southern New Hampshire University, and T-Mobile, among them. Their stories make it clear that organizations don't have to be tech start-ups or have the latest innovations to transform. What they need to do is develop a disruptive mindset that permeates every aspect of the organization. Li lays out how to do so by focusing on three elements: a strategy designed to meet the needs of future customers; leadership that creates a movement to drive and sustain transformation; and a culture that thrives on disruptive change. Drawing on interviews with some of the most audacious people driving disruptive transformation today, Li will inspire leaders at all levels to answer the call to lead disruptive transformation in their organizations, communities, and society.

Tech is changing the world, and large organizations are adapting on the fly. But why do most digital initiatives crash? Disruption in Action reveals how to take on digital and win. It tells seven company stories, covering the high-level strategy through to the operational nitty-gritty, all based on the authors' inside experience as Europe's leading digital transformation experts. They take a unique fictionalized approach to dig deep into not just the tech, but also the people side of change, which is always where the real complexity lies. Told with striking insights, practical lessons and sparkling wit, this is essential reading for any leader looking to understand digital and shape the future. Praise for Disruption in Action 'This outstanding book shows how companies can transform themselves to become future-ready.' - Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé 'If you want to see how to make disruption work, this book has many of the answers.' - Nancy McKinstry, CEO of Wolters Kluwer 'Tackles this most complex and relevant topic with tremendous in-depth knowledge.' - Dolf van den Brink, CEO of Heineken 'Reads like a novel, but with real situations and brilliant insights.' - Prabha Parameswaran, Group President at Colgate-Palmolive 'The most enjoyable business book I know and, at the same time, the most detailed display of real experience.' - Dick Boer, Former CEO of Ahold Delhaize 'Business wisdom is often best imparted in parables. Disruption in Action does just that ... The companies are fictional but their problems - and the authors' solutions - are very real.' - Martin Vander Weyer, Business Editor of The Spectator About the authors Alexandra Jankovich and Tom Voskes are co-founders of SparkOptimus, Europe's leading digital strategy consultancy. They regularly advise large multinationals such as Nestlé, eBay, Nike, Henkel, ING and many others on digital transformation. Over the past 12 years, they have gained unparalleled experience into the 'why' and 'how to' of digital. They are co-authors of the bestselling book Make Disruption Work (2018). Alexandra started at McKinsey & Company, then held a number of senior digital management positions across the US and Europe. She features in influential lists like TheNextWomen100 and the InspiringFifty, NL. Tom started in astrophysics, before also working at McKinsey & Company, and then heading marketing at Maxeda. He is co-author of '7 Key Principles to Govern Digital Initiatives' published by the MIT Sloan School of Management. Adrian Hornsby is an award-winning writer. Books include The Good Analyst, a ground-breaking study of social impact measurement, and The Chinese Dream, an investigation into the rapid urbanization of 400M people. His work in the theatre includes As Big As The Sky, an opera made with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and Dutch composer Arnoud Noordegraaf.

CEO and founder of Moves the Needle and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Entrepreneur Brant Cooper teaches leaders how to ensure their organizations are resilient, agile, and dynamic enough to endure long-term, weathering the storms of disruption and uncertainty. One thing in life is certain: change is constant. Thanks to the rapid pace of technological innovation in the digital age—and further accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic—massive structural change is happening on a greater scale than ever before. Faced with unprecedented complexity and uncertainty, most business leaders struggle to see the way forward. Company organization, systems, and management are still largely based on what was most effective in the Industrial Age. Disruption Proof offers a new approach that addresses our current reality. Through powerful case studies of notable corporations like Intuit, 3M, Cargill, and more, Cooper demonstrates how, with the right mindset and practical strategies, companies that focus on creating value for customers can thrive in the 21st century. Disruption Proof provides readers with detailed methods for progressing through four stages of implementation to embrace a new way of working company-wide, including how to: develop an understanding of customers and colleagues that lead to insights (empathy) run tests to challenge assumptions (exploration) leverage data and insights to breakthrough biases (evidence) balance operational execution with learning (equilibrium) manage behavior to match corporate values (ethics) By adopting these 5Es, company leaders can empower employees to become creative problem solvers, ensuring their company’s ability to navigate moments of crisis and find transformative opportunities. Cooper explains how reimagining work at every level is the key to organic and sustainable growth, and guides leaders to create lasting value in the world. With Cooper's action-oriented advice and tools, anyone can help steer their company towards durable success.

It used to take years or even decades for disruptive innovations to dethrone dominant products and services. But now any business can be devastated virtually overnight by something better and cheaper. How can executives protect themselves and harness the power of Big Bang Disruption? Just a few years ago, drivers happily spent more than $200 for a GPS unit. But as smartphones exploded in popularity, free navigation apps exceeded the performance of stand-alone devices. Eighteen months after the debut of the navigation apps, leading GPS manufacturers had lost 85 percent of their market value. Consumer electronics and computer makers have long struggled in a world of exponential technology improvements and short product life spans. But until recently, hotels, taxi services, doctors, and energy companies had little to fear from the information revolution. Those days are gone forever. Software-based products are replacing physical goods. And every service provider must compete with cloud-based tools that offer customers a better way to interact. Today, start-ups with minimal experience and no capital can unravel your strategy before you even begin to grasp what’s happening. Never mind the “innovator’s dilemma”—this is the innovator’s disaster. And it’s happening in nearly every industry. Worse, Big Bang Disruptors may not even see you as competition. They don’t share your approach to customer service, and they’re not sizing up your product line to offer better prices. You may simply be collateral damage in their efforts to win completely different markets. The good news is that any business can master the strategy of the start-ups. Larry Downes and Paul Nunes analyze the origins, economics, and anatomy of Big Bang Disruption. They identify four key stages of the new innovation life cycle, helping you spot potential disruptors in time. And they offer twelve rules for defending your markets, launching disruptors of your own, and getting out while there’s still time. Based on extensive research by the Accenture Institute for High Performance and in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, investors, and executives from more than thirty industries, Big Bang Disruption will arm you with strategies and insights to thrive in this brave new world.