Scramble: How agile strategy can build epic brands in record time

by Marty Neumeier

Marty Neumeier, author of THE BRAND GAP and other business bestsellers, has written a book that leaps off the shelf--right into your pounding heart.

One rainy night in December, young CEO David Stone is inexplicably called back to the office. The company's chairman tells him that the board members have reached the end of their patience. If David can't produce a viable turnaround plan in five weeks, he's out of a job. The problem is, he's already used every trick in the book and nothing has worked. His only hope is to try something new. But what?

The powerful tools at the center of the story are the five Qs of strategy and the five Ps of design thinking. These make up the basic principles of agile strategy--a faster, more collaborative approach to building a brand.

Whether you're a CEO, strategist, marketer, manager, designer, writer, researcher, or consultant, you'll find familiar challenges and recognizable faces here. You'll also discover the ability to see business in a new light--not as a static set of requirements, but as a living entity that responds to passion, purpose, and creative collaboration. Scramble is that rare book that everyone on your team will eagerly read, discuss, and put into action.

BONUS GUIDE: At the back of Kindle and paperback versions is a concise guide for applying the agile strategy principles in the story. Audiobook listeners can download the guide as a PDF.

Genres: Business, Design, Nonfiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Marty Neumeier is an author, designer, and brand adviser whose mission is to bring the principles and processes of design to business. His series of “whiteboard” books includes ZAG, named one of the “top hundred business books of all time,” and THE DESIGNFUL COMPANY, a bestselling guide to nonstop innovation. An online presentation of his first book, THE BRAND GAP, has been viewed more than 22 million times since 2003. A sequel, THE BRAND FLIP, lays out a new process for building brands in the age of social media and customer dominance. His most recent book, SCRAMBLE, is a “business thriller” about how to build a brand quickly with a new process called agile strategy. In 1996, Neumeier founded Critique magazine, the first journal about design thinking. He has worked closely with innovative companies such as Apple, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, HP, Adobe, Google, and Microsoft to help advance their brands and cultures. Today he serves as Director of Transformation for Liquid Agency in Silicon Valley, and travels extensively as a workshop leader and speaker on the topics of design, brand, and innovation. He and his wife divide their time between California and southwest France.

Reviews

[Daniel Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every bit of this. I want to be a part of it all. What a thrilling read. I did think the political overtones of a president hotel owner as a bad guy added very little. I’m not a massive Trump fan or massive hater… I just don’t want political theater in my management consulting reading.

[Zahra Dashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

همیشه شیفته‌ی آموزش از طریق قصه و داستان بودم، چون عمیقا معتقدم علاوه بر لذت درگیرِ داستان شدن، به خاطر ذات همدلی با شخصیت‌های داستان، مفاهیم مورد نظر عمیق‌تر در ذهن و جان خواننده جای می‌گیرد. تقلا از این جنس کتاب‌هاست.
داستان با دیدار دیوید با سغراط (املایش همین است و با سقراط فرق دارد) که راننده‌ی اوبر (نوعی تاکسی اینترنتی) است شروع می‌شود. مقصد بیگ اسکای، شرکتی است که دیوید یک سال و چند ماه گذشته مدیر عامل آن بوده و حالا، به خاطر شرایط سیاسی کشور، دچار بحران مالی شدید شده است و دیوید مضطربانه به دیدار اندی، رئیس هیئت مدیره، موسس و مدیر عامل سابق شرکت می‌رود.
سغراط راننده‌ی اوبر، مثل خیلی راننده تاکسی اینترنتی‌های خودمان، برای کمک خرج در اوبر مشغول است و همزمان که همسر و پدر دو دختر نیز هست دانشجوی مدیریت اجرایی نیز هست.
دیوید که برخلاف سغراط تنهاست، اول نسبت به مصاحب سغراط با بی‌حوصلگی واکنش نشان می‌دهد اما کم کم به خاطر تنهایی و فشار مشکلات کاری، ارتباط دوستانه‌ای با او پیدا می‌کند.
دیوید در مهلتی کوتاه باید بتواند طرحی برای خروج از بحران به هیئت مدیره بدهد. در فراز و نشیب این مدت کوتاه، او متوجه اشتباهات رویکردش با کارکنانش، به ویژه مدیرانش می‌شود و در کنار آن‌ها در حل این مشکلات رشد می‌کند و رشد می‌دهد.
مارتی نیومایر، نویسنده‌ی کتاب، در خلال کشاکش این ماجرا، ما را قدم به قدم با دیوید آموزش می‌دهد و ما همراه با دیوید و تیمش، چگونگی حل بحران با نوآوری داشتن را از طریق استراتژی چابک می‌آموزیم.
نیومایر در انتهای کتاب، ضمیمه‌ای با عنوان راهنمای استراتژی چابک آورده و تمام آموزه‌های دیوید و یارانش را به صورت شسته رفته و طبقه بندی شده، جهت ارجاعات آتی برای خواننده آورده است.
داستان تقریبا الگوی سفر قهرمان را دارد، و دیوید قهرمان این سفر است. این الگوی همیشه موفق، اغلب انتخاب بسیار مناسبی برای این سبک کتب است و تقلا هم کاملا در این قالب نشسته است.
داستان خطی پیش می‌رود اما این قضیه از جذابیت و کشش آن کم نکرده است. حداقل من تا جایی که معذورات زندگی اجازه می‌داد یک نفس می‌خواندم. قطعا یک شاهکار ادبی نیست، اما به طرز قابل قبولی از تکنیک‌های نویسندگی و نگارش داستان استفاده شده است و مولفه‌های جذابیت داستان را دارد.
داستان خوش‌خوان با زبانی روان است. ترجمه که توسط سوگل نوروزی طلب انجام شده، کاملا خوب و بدون ابهام است.
اگر در فضای کسب و کار فعال هستید، یا رهبری تیمی را بر عهده دارید یا احتمالا خواهید داشت یا اگر قصد دارید آموزش را با داستان ترکیب کنید و داستان‌هایی از این قبیل بنویسید به نظر من این کتاب یک گزینه‌‌ی جذاب و مفید برای شما خواهد بود.
این کتاب جذاب و دوست داشتنی را نشر آرایاناقلم چاپ و منتشر کرده است.

[Minter Dial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scramble is not your average business book. Marty Neumeier has created a "business thriller" to show how an agile strategy can be put into place. The characters, setting and business case are all fictional. Yet, many of the scenes (internal wrangling, etc) rang true for me, in thinking of my past corporate life. The principles of the agile strategy process are woven throughout. If at times the concealment of the business book is less subtle, it's a worthy read. Marty knows how to tell a story and his sense of humour is ever present.

[Braulio Miki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining but a bit shallow.

[Cesar Palerm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Scramble, and loved it!

It certainly lives up to its classification as a thriller. Most importantly, it beautifully illustrates the process and application of agile strategy. The thriller format also brought to life the context in which these types of activities take place. Having been involved with change strategies in the past the story ringed true, and it provided a nice context to illustrate what agile strategy is about. As someone who had already been learning about both strategy and design thinking the marriage of the two seems obvious after reading Scramble.

There is a fabulous guide to agile strategy at the end of the book. Having it right after the story helps bring everything together nicely, and makes it easy to review the concepts at a later point.

As an engineer I also learned a lot about branding; I must say before this book branding was always something nebulous. I can recognize a brand like anyone else, but this is the first time that I feel I understand what is truly behind a brand. As someone who believes in close collaboration across functions this better understanding will only help me in the future.

Besides reading the book, I recommend you listen to Marty's conversation with Mitch Joel.

The only downside for me is that now the rest of Marty Neumeier's oeuvre is in my "to read" list.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book might be one of the oddest and nerdiest books I’ve ever read. It’s a business book written in novelized fashion. Dubbed a “business thriller”—and for those familiar with Neumeier’s work, you can just imagine his delight at crafting the “only” of its kind—the high-stakes do-or-die gauntlet thrown by a board of directors has all the hallmarks of an intense heist. I mean, we’ve all been on the panic end of a business deadline.

Neumeier’s fiction is as economical as his nonfiction work, and he manages to tell a lean, well-paced story that does a better job of putting agile strategy, brand strategy and design thinking into an actionable example than any “how-to” book I’ve read. You’ll find yourself identifying with one or more of the archetypal team members and find yourself pulling for the pitcher-turned-architect-turned-CEO under fire, David Stone, to deliver when the chips are down.

Relatable and sometimes chuckle-worthy without the edge of parody and a really stellar teaching tool underneath a nifty plot. Like, I can’t recommend this to *everyone* because I recognize my own hardcore fangirling over Neumeier and his cannon of work heavily influences my delight with this book, but honestly. If you or your team have been given the dreaded “innovate” challenge and you don’t even know where to begin, start here.

[Sheldon Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard that this was a business book, but told as a fictional story, I was highly sceptical. However, I have great respect for the person that recommended it, so I gave it a shot.
Not only did I find myself way more invested in the story than I thought I would be, but it also served very well as to help explain the concepts of design thinking and agile strategy. I've worked in the tech field for a while but in a marketing capacity, so have been familiar with these concepts for innovation and product building and have always wanted to learn more about it and how to apply it to marketing and overall business. This book helped with that so much.
I already have 3 people in mind that I'm going to buy a copy of this for.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how fiction was used to explained concept like design thinking and agile strategy that are usual a bit too cloudy.
It was a fascinating and instructive read, it would be great if any book about methodology was as entertaing as this one.
The guide at the end of the book is really useful.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

[Moni P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agile, is a word that’s overused in today’s business environment and not many people know the deep meaning of it, or more importantly how to apply it in real business concepts.
In ‘Scramble’ Marty Neumeier does a great job about explaining the concept combining it with a ficticios storytelling.
The plot is intriguing, twisted and combined with small details that won’t allow you to put the book down.

[Emmanuella Ben-Eboh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and transformative

I really loved the design thinking frameworks (5Qs and 5Ps) he provided. They were very articulate and it was helpful to see how these parts played out in a real scenario. I see myself in David who started out as a creative but ended up in the business world. I recommend this to every current and aspiring CEO and innovators out there. This book went far beyond my expectations. Marty does a great job in making his ideology on agile strategy very digestible.

[Visitasian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marty Neumeier's business novel brings his two other books, The Brand Gap and Zag to life through the story of David Stone as CEO of Big Sky.

You get to experience David's frustration and revelations on his journey to create and deliver a strategy and in turn got me excited to apply the same processes in my teams.

If you're looking for a business strategy book that makes learning the processes a bit more memorable, look no further.

[Michael Doane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that could’ve been a blog post. Luckily the author includes the blog post it should’ve been at the end of the book. Pages 222-240: “8 steps to agile strategy.” This simple framework is complicated by a silly story about a CEO who has thirty days to turn his company around. It’s a perfect fantasy for any business self-help junkie looking for a reason to read fiction, but the tropes and stereotypes baked in didn’t land for me.

[Kerrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great concept for a book, the best way to learn is through stories. I've never read a business book before where I was actually invested in the plot. I half expected the "fiction" to be a mediocre veil for getting the concepts across but the story was written quite well and had some depth to it.

[Anelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful novel for brand strategists and other business people to be able to understand the creative process and why a business could not exist without a brand. It is also a great reminder of a very important idea that the brand is not what you say it is, it is what they say it is.
Beautifully written and a very easy to read book.

[Dani Rada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was the best way to start my journey in brand strategy. It's a book that shows you the big picture of the brand strategy and also gives you book recommendations for almost every stage of the process. It's like: This is the big picture and if you want to learn more, this is what I recommend doing.
For me, this book is a must and the first step into the Brand Strategy world.

[Mr. Hugo Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent business book in story format

A wonderful author and a wonderful business book in story format. Easy reading to lay out the concept of agile strategy, design thinking and even a brief demo of de Bono’s 6 thinking hats technique.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read: basically, how to come up with a radical new business idea and pivot a company fast. It has some believable, very human characters, and it presents the learnings efficiently and clearly.

[Merlin Zuni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cool format for this type of book. Neumeier just keeps getting better. impressive.

[Justin Henriksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the narrative storyteller's format of this book. It caught me unaware at first but refreshing all the same. I'd recommend it.

[Rasa]

The summary of agile strategy at the end of this book is great, the book itself to me was prolonged

[Guðbjörg Eggertsdóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant

Excellent approach and very useful. So much clarity a helicopter view. It is so useful to bring so many perspectives together.

[Michael Wolcott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the application of agile principles and the narrative nature of it all.

[Matias Koskinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An animated fable on the strategy design process. This book is excellent to understand agile strategy process through the eyes of a fictitious, but at the same time authentic, CEO who is facing a considerable challenge.

[Sondre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was more engaging than similar story driven educational books, like The New One Minute Manager. Also I believe it went in depth to the point where the key points were made really clear.