Leading the Revolution

Gary Hamel, world-renowned business thinker and co-author of Competing for the Future, the book that set the management agenda for the 1990s, now brings us Leading the Revolution. An action plan—indeed, an incendiary device—for any company or individual intent on becoming and staying an industry revolutionary, this book will ignite the passions of entry-level assistants, neophyte managers, seasoned VPs, CEOs, and anyone else who worries that their company may be caught flat-footed by the future. Hamel argues that in an increasingly nonlinear world, only nonlinear ideas will create new wealth. To thrive in the age of revolution, companies must adopt a radical new innovation agenda. The fundamental challenge companies face is reinventing themselves and their industries not just in times of crisis—but continually. Based on an extensive study of gray-haired revolutionaries, including Enron, Charles Schwab, Cisco, Virgin, and GE Capital, Leading the Revolution explains the underlying principles of radical innovation, explores where revolutionary new business concepts come from, identifies the key design criteria for building companies that are activist-friendly and revolution-ready, and details the steps your company must take to make innovation an enduring capability. Packed with insight and practical advice, Leading the Revolution shows you how to get off the treadmill of incrementalism, save your company from becoming a “one-vision wonder,” harness the imagination and passion of every employee, develop new financial measures that focus energy on the challenge of creating new wealth, and create vibrant internal markets for ideas, capital, and talent. Drawing on the examples of activists who profoundly changed their companies with their bare hearts, Hamel outlines the practical steps anyone can take to lead a successful revolution in their own firm. Leading the Revolution is not a book for cozy corner-office types. It is for everyone who has the guts to act on the knowledge that our heritage is no longer our destiny. With an arresting four-color design and a compelling message that will set the new innovation agenda for the next century, this groundbreaking book from the premier business thinker of our time is a call to arms for the dreamers and doers who will lead us into the age of revolution.