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Adaptability: The Art of Winning In An Age of Uncertainty
Adaptability is the key human trait. The ability to adapt faster and smarter than the situation is what makes the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. Our history is a story of adaptation and change. And in this time of brutal competition and economic uncertainty, it has never been more important to understand how to adapt successfully. In a series of powerful rules, Max McKeown explores how to increase the adaptability of you and your organization to create winning positions. Fascinating real-world examples from business, government, the military and sport bring the rules of adaptability to life - from the world s most innovative corporations to street-level creativity emerging from the slums. Adaptability is a powerful, practical and inspirational guide to success in uncertain times.
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2012
11 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Max McKeown
37 books30 followersMax McKeown is an English writer, consultant, and researcher specialising in innovation strategy, leadership and culture. He has written six influential books and conducts research with Warwick Business School. He is a fellow of the RSA.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 14, 2012
Goodread's first-read giveaway.
Rating: 1/5
A quick read, standard content about adapting to situations, changing mindsets, breaking rules etc., accompanied by various anecdotes picked up from different places, different fields. Okay yet incoherent and not interesting enough, in short. IMHO, the author could have done way better. For instance, each chapter could have a flow of ideas that adds on to each other, with the anecdotal examples serve as milestones, both for explanation and summary. That, for one, seems better than heaping examples one after another, while repeating the same chapter title over and over again, which makes the prose monotonic and boring.
Rating: 1/5
A quick read, standard content about adapting to situations, changing mindsets, breaking rules etc., accompanied by various anecdotes picked up from different places, different fields. Okay yet incoherent and not interesting enough, in short. IMHO, the author could have done way better. For instance, each chapter could have a flow of ideas that adds on to each other, with the anecdotal examples serve as milestones, both for explanation and summary. That, for one, seems better than heaping examples one after another, while repeating the same chapter title over and over again, which makes the prose monotonic and boring.
October 4, 2012
Won this from the Goodreads First Reads Program and while it had some interesting points and information, it was a slow read. I'm unsure how one could give this amount of information without being overwhelming, yet I wished half way through that I was done. Non-fiction is a difficult genre as one is usually limited to reality on some level, but perhaps the message of adaptability would have been heightened if it had been more succinct and efficient.
July 2, 2012
Very well written, easy to digest, great examples of human and animal adaptability that can be applied to business
May 2, 2019
A book about looking ahead to your advantage, and planning ahead to avoid being affected by sudden changes in business. It is a great book about changing with the times and adapting to customers' needs as they are not static. A good advice is the term HAHAs which refers to High Adaptability, High Achievement people, who look at the bright side of life even as things seem to be falling apart, and remain determined to achieve their goals.
October 23, 2018
What kind of nonsense book is this? The author seems like he’s pounding redbulls as he writes it from a private plane to San Francisco.
March 19, 2012
This is a review from Publishers Weekly:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
"The first rule of winning," McKeown writes, "is that there is no one way to win--" success requires adaptation. It sounds simple, and McKeown (The Truth About Innovation), a consultant whose clients include Microsoft and Sony, deftly makes it so, expounding on relevant examples in confident, straightforward prose.
Case studies range from a fascinating investigation of ants, who "create complex societies with simple rules," to quantum game theory, which reveals "the danger of clinging onto stability at all costs." "Actions are relative to circumstance," and sometimes success depends on "Embrac[ing] unacceptable wisdom," as opposed to going with the status quo.
Focusing on discerning adaptation, the author also highlights what not to do, as when Tropicana rebranded in 2009 and panicked after sales plummeted 20%. Within two months, they had reverted to their original packaging. McKeown maintains that the most successfully adaptive companies (and individuals) are those that, in some ways, never grow up--opting instead to feed off new creative energies and ideas.
Though this treatise is grounded in diverse, concrete examples, McKeown's advice is germane enough to appeal to anyone stuck in a rut--from entrepreneurs to established companies."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
"The first rule of winning," McKeown writes, "is that there is no one way to win--" success requires adaptation. It sounds simple, and McKeown (The Truth About Innovation), a consultant whose clients include Microsoft and Sony, deftly makes it so, expounding on relevant examples in confident, straightforward prose.
Case studies range from a fascinating investigation of ants, who "create complex societies with simple rules," to quantum game theory, which reveals "the danger of clinging onto stability at all costs." "Actions are relative to circumstance," and sometimes success depends on "Embrac[ing] unacceptable wisdom," as opposed to going with the status quo.
Focusing on discerning adaptation, the author also highlights what not to do, as when Tropicana rebranded in 2009 and panicked after sales plummeted 20%. Within two months, they had reverted to their original packaging. McKeown maintains that the most successfully adaptive companies (and individuals) are those that, in some ways, never grow up--opting instead to feed off new creative energies and ideas.
Though this treatise is grounded in diverse, concrete examples, McKeown's advice is germane enough to appeal to anyone stuck in a rut--from entrepreneurs to established companies."
October 14, 2012
Good book! Great information! Adaptability really is a huge factor in success. Everything is always changing and people, systems, ideas, and things have to adapt to move forward. Lots of examples and stories to bring home the points. I will definitely use the information and strategies in my business as well as in my personal life. It's a book I will share with my friends, family, and other entrepreneurs I know!
March 25, 2016
good read on adapting to win.
May 3, 2017
A great book to give you hope about all kinds of failure you might be going through. The writer gave clear steps and adaptation methods with some really good examples and stories to learn from.
However, the writer's way of writing is pure scientific which made reading this book a little boring for me.
However, the writer's way of writing is pure scientific which made reading this book a little boring for me.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews