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Houston, We Have a Problem: NASA and Open Innovation (A)
by Michael L. Tushman Kerry Herman Hila Lifshitz-AssafJeff Davis, director of Space Life Sciences Directorate at NASA, has been working for several years to raise awareness amongst scientists and researchers in his organizations of the benefits of open innovation as a successful and efficient way to collaborate on difficult research problems regarding health and space travel. Despite a number of initiatives, SLSD members have been skeptical about incorporating the approach into their day-to-day research and work, and have resisted Davis's and his strategy team's efforts. The (A) case outlines these efforts and the organization members' reactions. The (B) case details what Davis and the SLSD strategy team learned, and how they adapted their efforts to successfully incorporate open innovation as one of many tools used in collaborative research at NASA.
Houston, We Have a Solution: NASA and Open Innovation (B)
by Michael L. Tushman Kerry Herman Hila Lifshitz-AssafJeff Davis, director of Space Life Sciences Directorate at NASA, has been working for several years to raise awareness amongst scientists and researchers in his organizations of the benefits of open innovation as a successful and efficient way to collaborate on difficult research problems regarding health and space travel. Despite a number of initiatives, SLSD members have been skeptical about incorporating the approach into their day-to-day research and work, and have resisted Davis's and his strategy team's efforts. The (A) case outlines these efforts and the organization members' reactions. The (B) case details what Davis and the SLSD strategy team learned, and how they adapted their efforts to successfully incorporate open innovation as one of many tools used in collaborative research at NASA.
How
by Dov SeidmanThe flood of information, unprecedented transparency, increasing interconnectedness-and our global interde¬pendence-are dramatically reshaping today's world, the world of business, and our lives. We are in the Era of Behavior and the rules of the game have fundamentally changed. It is no longer what you do that matters most and sets you apart from others, but how you do what you do. Whats are commodities, easily duplicated or reverse-engineered. Sustainable advantage and enduring success for organizations and the people who work for them now lie in the realm of how, the new frontier of conduct. For almost two decades, Dov Seidman's pioneering organi¬zation, LRN, has helped some of the world's most respected companies build "do it right," winning cultures and inspire principled performance throughout their organizations. Seidman's distinct vision of the world, business, and human endeavor has helped enable more than 15 million people do¬ing business in more than 120 countries to outbehave the competition. In HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything, Dov Seidman shares his unique approach with you. Now updated and expanded, HOW includes a new Fore¬word from President Bill Clinton and a new Preface from Dov Seidman on why how we behave, lead, govern, operate, consume, engender trust in our relationships, and relate to others matters more than ever and in ways it never has before. Through entertaining anecdotes, surprising case studies, cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, and reveal¬ing interviews with a diverse group of leaders, business executives, experts, and everyday people on the front lines, this book explores how we think, how we behave, how we lead, and how we govern our institutions and ourselves to uncover the values-inspired "hows" of twenty-first-century success and significance. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this insightful book: Exposes the forces and factors that have fundamentally restructured the world in which organizations operate and their people conduct themselves, placing a new focus on their hows Provides frameworks to help you understand those hows and implement them in powerful and productive ways Helps you channel your actions and decisions in order to thrive uniquely within today's new realities Sheds light on the systems of how-the dynamics between people that shape organizational culture-andintroduces a bold new vision for leading and winning through self-governance The qualities that many once thought of as "soft"-values, trust, and reputation-are now the hard currency of success and the ultimate drivers of efficiency, performance, innova¬tion, and growth. With in-depth insights and practical advice, HOW will help you bring excellence and significance to your business endeavors- and your life-and refocus your efforts in powerful new ways. If you want to stand out, to thrive in our fast changing, hyper¬connected, and hypertransparent world, read this book and discover HOW.
How "American" Is Globalization?
by William H. MarlingWilliam Marling's provocative work analyzes—in specific terms—the impacts of American technology and culture on foreign societies. Marling answers his own question—how "American" is globalization?—with two seemingly contradictory answers: "less than you think" and "more than you know." Deconstructing the myth of global Americanization, he argues that despite the typically American belief that the United States dominates foreign countries, the practical effects of "Americanization" amount to less than one might suppose. Critics point to the uneven popularity of McDonalds as a prime example of globalization and supposed American hegemony in the world. But Marling shows, in a series of case studies, that local cultures are intrinsically resilient and that local languages, eating habits, land use, education systems, and other social patterns determine the extent to which American culture is imported and adapted to native needs. He argues that globalization can actually accentuate local cultures, which often put their own imprint on what they import—from translating films and television into hundreds of languages to changing the menu at a McDonalds to include the Japanese favorite Chicken Tastuta.Marling also examines the unexpected ways in which American technology travels abroad: the technological transferability of the ATM, the practice of franchising, and "shop-floor" American innovations like shipping containers, bar codes, and computers. These technologies convey American attitudes about work, leisure, convenience, credit, and travel, but as Marling shows, they take root overseas in ways that are anything but "American."
How 30 Great Ads Were Made: From Idea To Campaign
by Eliza WilliamsThis book takes readers behind the scenes in the world of advertising, showcasing 30 phenomenally successful campaigns from the last decade. Fascinating not only for industry professionals but for anyone with an interest in how ads are made.Technical information on how the ads were developed is accompanied by anecdotes from the creatives, directors and clients, with accounts of how the ads were made and the problems encountered along the way. Each campaign is illustrated with imagery showing the stages it went through in development – including sketches and early ideas that may have been abandoned, storyboards, animatics and photos from shoots, as well as shots of the final ads. In addition to offering an insight into the working practices within advertising, the book also demonstrates how the industry is currently experiencing a period of rapid change, and shows the different skills that are now required to work in advertising.
How 30 Great Ads Were Made: From Idea to Campaign
by Eliza WilliamsThis book takes readers behind the scenes in the world of advertising, showcasing 30 phenomenally successful campaigns from the last decade. Fascinating not only for industry professionals but for anyone with an interest in how ads are made.Technical information on how the ads were developed is accompanied by anecdotes from the creatives, directors and clients, with accounts of how the ads were made and the problems encountered along the way. Each campaign is illustrated with imagery showing the stages it went through in development – including sketches and early ideas that may have been abandoned, storyboards, animatics and photos from shoots, as well as shots of the final ads. In addition to offering an insight into the working practices within advertising, the book also demonstrates how the industry is currently experiencing a period of rapid change, and shows the different skills that are now required to work in advertising.
How A Shy Guy Like Me Earned Over $1 Million in Network Marketing
by Joe BrownExplains the system the author developed that earned him a big incum in network marketing.
How AI Is Transforming the Organization (The Digital Future of Management)
by MIT Sloan Management ReviewA clear-eyed look at how AI can complement (rather than eliminate) human jobs, with real-world examples from companies that range from Netflix to Walmart.Descriptions of AI's possible effects on businesses and their employees cycle between utopian hype and alarmist doomsaying. This book from MIT Sloan Management Review avoids both these extremes, providing instead a clear-eyed look at how AI can complement (rather than eliminate) human jobs, with real-world examples from companies that range from Netflix to Walmart. The contributors show that organizations can create business value with AI by cooperating with it rather than relinquishing control to it. The smartest companies know that they don't need AI that mimics humans because they already have access to resources with human capability—actual humans.The book acknowledges the prominent role of such leading technology companies as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google in applying AI to their businesses, but it goes beyond the FAANG cohort to look at AI applications in many nontechnology companies, including DHL and Fidelity. The chapters address such topics as retraining workers (who may be more ready for change than their companies are); the importance of motivated and knowledgeable leaders; the danger that AI will entrench less-than-ideal legacy processes; ways that AI could promote gender equality and diversity; AI and the global loneliness epidemic; and the benefits of robot–human collaboration. ContributorsCynthia M. Beath, Megan Beck, Joe Biron, Erik Brynjolfsson, Jacques Bughin, Rumman Chowdhury, Paul R. Daugherty, Thomas H. Davenport, Chris DeBrusk, Berkeley J. Dietvorst, Janet Foutty, James R. Freeland, R. Edward Freeman, Julian Friedland, Lynda Gratton, Francis Hintermann, Vivek Katyal, David Kiron, Frieda Klotz, Jonathan Lang, Barry Libert, Paul Michelman, Daniel Rock, Sam Ransbotham, Jeanne W. Ross, Eva Sage-Gavin, Chad Syverson, Monideepa Tarafdar, Gregory Unruh, Madhu Vazirani, H. James Wilson
How Abstract Is It? Thinking Capital Now
by Rebecca Colesworthy and Peter NichollsSince the start of the financial crisis in 2008, the notion that capitalism has become too abstract for all but the most rarefied specialists to understand has been widely presupposed. Yet even in academic circles, the question of abstraction itself – of what exactly abstraction is, and does, under financialisation – seems to have gone largely unexplored – or has it? By putting the question of abstraction centre stage, How Abstract Is It? Thinking Capital Now offers an indispensable counterpoint to the ‘economic turn’ in the humanities, bringing together leading literary and cultural critics in order to propose that we may know far more about capital’s myriad abstractions than we typically think we do. Through in-depth engagement with classic and cutting-edge theorists, agile analyses of recent Hollywood films, groundbreaking readings of David Foster Wallace’s sprawling, unfinished novel, The Pale King, and even original poems, the contributors here suggest that the machinations and costs of finance – as well as alternatives to it – may already be hiding in plain sight. This book was originally published as a special issue of Textual Practice.
How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness
by Russ RobertsA forgotten book by one of history's greatest thinkers reveals the surprising connections between happiness, virtue, fame, and fortune.Adam Smith may have become the patron saint of capitalism after he penned his most famous work, The Wealth of Nations. But few people know that when it came to the behavior of individuals--the way we perceive ourselves, the way we treat others, and the decisions we make in pursuit of happiness--the Scottish philosopher had just as much to say. He developed his ideas on human nature in an epic, sprawling work titled The Theory of Moral Sentiments.Most economists have never read it, and for most of his life, Russ Roberts was no exception. But when he finally picked up the book by the founder of his field, he realized he'd stumbled upon what might be the greatest self-help book that almost no one has read.In How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, Roberts examines Smith's forgotten masterpiece, and finds a treasure trove of timeless, practical wisdom. Smith's insights into human nature are just as relevant today as they were three hundred years ago. What does it take to be truly happy? Should we pursue fame and fortune or the respect of our friends and family? How can we make the world a better place? Smith's unexpected answers, framed within the rich context of current events, literature, history, and pop culture, are at once profound, counterintuitive, and highly entertaining.By reinvigorating Smith's neglected classic, Roberts provides us with an invaluable look at human behavior through the lens of one of history's greatest minds.
How Are You Going to Pay for That?: Smart Answers to the Dumbest Question in Politics
by Ryan CooperA compelling alternative view of the relationship between our politics and our economy.Throughout America, structural problems are getting worse. Economic inequality is near Gilded Age heights, the healthcare system is a mess, and the climate crisis continues to grow. Yet most ambitious policy proposals that might fix these calamities are dismissed as wastefully expensive by default. From the kitchen table to Congress, debates are punctuated with a familiar refrain: “How are you going to pay for that?”This question is designed to shut down policy pushes up front, minimizing any interference with the free market. It comes from neoliberalism, an economic ideology that has overtaken both parties. Proponents insist that markets are naturally-occurring and apolitical—and that too much manipulation of the economy will make our society fall apart. Ryan Cooper argues that our society already is falling apart, and the logically preposterous views of neoliberalism are to blame. Most progressives understand this instinctively, but many lack the background knowledge to make effective economic counterarguments.How Are You Going To Pay For That? is filled with engaging discussions and detailed strategies that policymakers and citizens alike can use to assail even the most entrenched lines of neoliberal logic, and start to undo these long-held misconceptions. Equal parts economic theory, history, and political polemic, this is an essential roadmap for winning the key battles to come.
How Are You, Really?: Living Your Truth One Answer at a Time
by Jenna KutcherForget hustle harder. Forget a mandatory 5 a.m. wake-up. Forget outlining your life plan in six-month, one-year, and five-year spans. We're living in a cultural shift as we reframe our perspectives around the purpose of work, what work/life balance really means, and how we want to spend our time on this planet. In her first book, Jenna Kutcher—entrepreneur, photographer, influencer, teacher, mom, and host of the wildly popular Goal Digger podcast—shares her philosophy on how to live a life that exists outside the tired cliché of “having it all.” How Are You, Really? is about taking a moment to soak up the richness of our experiences and creating a life that makes room for more actual living. When Jenna Kutcher was 23, she left her corporate job, bought a camera on Craigslist for $300, and started her own business as a wedding photographer. From that single investment in herself, she built a successful company, a thriving podcast, and a beautiful brand. But her driving force has never been about working harder/smarter/faster/better. What Jenna Kutcher embraces is the simple notion that we, women especially, crave lives of fulfillment. Divided into three sections, How Are You, Really? is a guide to creating such a life.In Part One: Who You Are, Jenna uses stories from her childhood, some career false starts, her marriage and path to motherhood, and more to show how to crystallize your sense of your own identity. Because how can you know what you really, truly want out of your future if you don’t see yourself clearly in the present? In Part Two: Who You Have, and Who Has You, Jenna shows the benefits of a support system, how mentorship and kindness can come in surprising ways and from surprising sources, and how to build your own authentic community. In Part Three: What You’re Going to Do About It, Jenna guides you through illustrations from her career on how to turn your deepest dream into a life that brings success, joy, and—most importantly--the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. We all want, simply put, a life well-lived.So, ask yourself the question you’ve been avoiding.How are you, really?It’s time to find your answer, and start living.
How Asia Got Rich: Japan, China and the Asian Miracle
by Edith TerryWithin a few short months in 1997, Asian economies that had been considered not only healthy but "miraculous" suddenly fell off a precipice as investors withdrew massively first from Asian currencies and, in rapid order, from equity markets across the region. On October 27 1997, the turmoil in Asian markets spooked Wall Street in the largest single-day decline in history, a drop of 550 points. It was predicted that the Asian crash could drive the US trade deficit from $191 billion to $300 billion by 1998, creating huge new tensions in relations with some of the largest US trading partners. These wrenching changes, following a generation of success, raise numerous questions about the steps that led to the crisis, its likely outcome and the limits and constraints of "Asian capitalism". Edith Terry presents a blow-by-blow account of the crisis, beginning with the 1996 collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce. In her overview, she links the fall of the Asian miracle with the theme of globalization, arguing that the crisis demonstrates the urgency of dismantling restraints to trade, investment, and financial services, and that the United States should take leadership in pushing for new and sweeping reform through the World Trade Organization and in bilateral negotiations with its trading partners. The final section of the book deals with the rise of the "Asian miracle" - how the myth was created, who created it, why it succeeded for so long - and is informed by analysis of the Japanese prototype.
How Asia Works: Success and Failure In the World's Most Dynamic Region
by Joe StudwellIn the 1980s and 1990s many in the West came to believe in the myth of an East-Asian economic miracle. Japan was going to dominate, then China. Countries were called "tigers” or "mini-dragons,” and were seen as not just development prodigies, but as a unified bloc, culturally and economically similar, and inexorably on the rise.Joe Studwell has spent two decades as a reporter in the region, and The Financial Times said he "should be named chief myth-buster for Asian business.” In How Asia Works, Studwell distills his extensive research into the economies of nine countries-Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China-into an accessible, readable narrative that debunks Western misconceptions, shows what really happened in Asia and why, and for once makes clear why some countries have boomed while others have languished.Studwell’s in-depth analysis focuses on three main areas: land policy, manufacturing, and finance. Land reform has been essential to the success of Asian economies, giving a kick start to development by utilizing a large workforce and providing capital for growth. With manufacturing, industrial development alone is not sufficient, Studwell argues. Instead, countries need "export discipline,” a government that forces companies to compete on the global scale. And in finance, effective regulation is essential for fostering, and sustaining growth. To explore all of these subjects, Studwell journeys far and wide, drawing on fascinating examples from a Philippine sugar baron’s stifling of reform to the explosive growth at a Korean steel mill.Thoroughly researched and impressive in scope, How Asia Works is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of these dynamic countries, a region that will shape the future of the world.
How Asian Women Lead
by Jane HoranHow Asian Women Lead provides a vastly different picture than Western-focused leadership literature, highlighting obstacles Asian women face reaching the top, and looking beneath the corporate surface to show cultural and family perspectives.
How Barack Obama is Bankrupting the U.S. Economy
by Stephen MooreIn his first nine months in office Barack Obama has pursued the most aggressive government expansionist agenda since Franklin Roosevelt's new deal was launched in 1933. White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel summarized the Obama first-year game plan best: "An economic crisis is a terrible thing to waste." So far, we have seen multi-trillion dollar bailouts in housing, banking, insurance, and auto industries, the stimulus plan, cap and trade, a $1.2 trillion health care bill, and of course, the $4 billion cash for clunkers program. None of this has worked. Now, six months after the stimulus progam, we sit at 9.4% unemployment. Two million more Americans are jobless. The debt has exploded like a cork from a bottle of champagne. We are now told that the Obama agenda will cost $9 trillion in debt as it plans to spend $42 trillion over the next decade.In this riveting broadside, Stephen Moore explains this rotten story of Washington arrogance and malfeasance, and reveals exactly why Obamanomics failed.
How Basketball Can Save the World: 13 Guiding Principles for Reimagining What's Possible
by David HollanderA thought-provoking exploration of how basketball—and the values rooted in the game—can solve today&’s most pressing issues, from the professor behind the popular New York University courseNBA and WNBA superstars, Hall of Fame players, coaches, and leading cultural figures have all dropped by New York University Professor David Hollander&’s course &“How Basketball Can Save the World&” course to debate and give insights on how the underlying principles of the game can provide a new blueprint for addressing our diverse challenges and showing what&’s possible beyond the court.Now, in How Basketball Can Save the World, Hollander takes us out of the classroom to present a beautiful new philosophy with contributions by many of his past guests and based on values inherent to basketball, such as inclusion and the balancing of individual success with the needs of the collective. These principles move us beyond conflict and confusion toward a more harmonious and meaningful future:Positionless-ness: In basketball, players aren&’t siloed into just one position or responsibility. In life, we can learn to be more adaptive to the challenges we face by embracing a positionless mindset.Human Alchemy: We talk a lot about team chemistry, but team alchemy means the creation of something totally new—a team far greater than the sum of its parts.Sanctuary: Basketball offers players a critical space to feel safe, free, and expressive. Fostering similar spaces in the real world can encourage people to be their best, happiest, and most productive selves.Transcendence: Basketball is about defying gravity, becoming weightless, and flying higher than anyone ever has before. By seeking out this principle, we can elevate ourselves and those around us to a new plane of experience.Whether you&’re a seasoned veteran of the game or have never set foot on a court, How Basketball Can Save the World will empower you to become more resilient, tolerant, and wise in your relationship with yourself, others, and the world around you.
How Being Bold, Competitive or Demanding Can Inhibit Learning
by Chris Trimble Vijay GovindarajanChapters 7 and 8 show how the inevitable pressures associated with strategic experiments lead to well-intentioned actions that disable the learning process by altering aspirations, expectations, and judgments about performance. Chapter 7 reviews the history of Hasbro Interactive, an ambitious initiative that targeted the video game market.
How Being Reasonable, Inspiring, or Diligent Can Inhibit Learning
by Chris Trimble Vijay GovindarajanChapters 7 and 8 show how the inevitable pressures associated with strategic experiments lead to well-intentioned actions that disable the learning process by altering aspirations, expectations, and judgments about performance. Chapter 8 analyzes the development of a new services business at Capston-White (not its real name), a large information technology company.
How Big Banks Fail and What to Do about It
by Darrell DuffieA leading finance expert explains how and why big banks fail—and what can be done to prevent itDealer banks—that is, large banks that deal in securities and derivatives, such as J. P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs—are of a size and complexity that sharply distinguish them from typical commercial banks. When they fail, as we saw in the global financial crisis, they pose significant risks to our financial system and the world economy. How Big Banks Fail and What to Do about It examines how these banks collapse and how we can prevent the need to bail them out.In sharp, clinical detail, Darrell Duffie walks readers step-by-step through the mechanics of large-bank failures. He identifies where the cracks first appear when a dealer bank is weakened by severe trading losses, and demonstrates how the bank's relationships with its customers and business partners abruptly change when its solvency is threatened. As others seek to reduce their exposure to the dealer bank, the bank is forced to signal its strength by using up its slim stock of remaining liquid capital. Duffie shows how the key mechanisms in a dealer bank's collapse—such as Lehman Brothers' failure in 2008—derive from special institutional frameworks and regulations that influence the flight of short-term secured creditors, hedge-fund clients, derivatives counterparties, and most devastatingly, the loss of clearing and settlement services.How Big Banks Fail and What to Do about It reveals why today's regulatory and institutional frameworks for mitigating large-bank failures don't address the special risks to our financial system that are posed by dealer banks, and outlines the improvements in regulations and market institutions that are needed to address these systemic risks.
How Big Should Our Government Be?
by Jeff Madrick Jon Bakija Lane Kenworthy Peter LindertThe size of government is arguably the most controversial discussion in United States politics, and this issue won't fade from prominence any time soon. There must surely be a tipping point beyond which more government taxing and spending harms the economy, but where is that point? In this accessible book, best-selling authors Jeff Madrick, Jon Bakija, Lane Kenworthy, and Peter Lindert try to answer whether our government can grow any larger and examine how we can optimize growth and fair distribution.
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between
by Bent Flyvbjerg Dan GardnerThe secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious, complex projects on any scale—from home renovation to space exploration—by the world's leading expert on megaprojects.Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York's skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple&’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months.These are wonderful stories. But most of the time big visions turn into nightmares. Remember Boston&’s &“Big Dig&”? Almost every sizeable city in the world has such a fiasco in its backyard. In fact, no less than 92% of megaprojects come in over budget or over schedule, or both. The cost of California&’s high-speed rail project soared from $33 billion to $100 billon—and won&’t even go where promised. More modest endeavors, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life&’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg, dubbed &“the world&’s leading megaproject expert.&” In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors in judgment and decision-making that lead projects, both big and small, to fail, and the research-based principles that will make you succeed with yours. For example:Understand your odds. If you don't know them, you won't win.Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it's wrong. Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.Be a team maker. You won't succeed without an "us."Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can't, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.Know that your biggest risk is you.Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House, to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, to a home renovation in Brooklyn gone awry, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done—on time and on budget.
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between
by Bent Flyvbjerg Dan Gardner&“Why do big projects go wrong so often, and are there any lessons you can use when renovating your kitchen? Bent Flyvbjerg is the &‘megaproject&’ expert and Dan Gardner brings the storytelling skills to How Big Things Get Done, with examples ranging from a Jimi Hendrix studio to the Sydney Opera House.&”—Financial Times &“Entertaining . . . There are lessons here for managers of all stripes.&”—The EconomistA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Economist, Financial Times, CEO Magazine, MorningstarFinalist for the Porchlight Business Book Award, the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award, and the Inc. Non-Obvious Book AwardNothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York&’s skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple&’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months.These are wonderful stories. But most of the time big visions turn into nightmares. Remember Boston&’s &“Big Dig&”? Almost every sizeable city in the world has such a fiasco in its backyard. In fact, no less than 92% of megaprojects come in over budget or over schedule, or both. The cost of California&’s high-speed rail project soared from $33 billion to $100 billon—and won&’t even go where promised. More modest endeavors, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life&’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg, dubbed &“the world&’s leading megaproject expert.&” In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors in judgment and decision-making that lead projects, both big and small, to fail, and the research-based principles that will make you succeed with yours. For example:• Understand your odds. If you don&’t know them, you won&’t win.• Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it&’s wrong. • Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.• Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.• Be a team maker. You won&’t succeed without an &“us.&”• Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can&’t, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.• Know that your biggest risk is you.Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House, to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, to a home renovation in Brooklyn gone awry, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done—on time and on budget.
How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation—and How to Strike Back
by Ariel Ezrachi Maurice E. StuckeTwo market experts deconstruct the drivers and inhibitors to innovation in the digital economy, explain how large tech companies can stifle disruption, assess the toll of their technologies on our well-being and democracy, and outline policy changes to take power away from big tech and return it to entrepreneurs.Silicon Valley’s genius combined with limited corporate regulation promised a new age of technological innovation in which entrepreneurs would create companies that would in turn fuel unprecedented job growth. Yet disruptive innovation has stagnated even as the five leading tech giants, which account for approximately 25 percent of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, are expanding to unimaginable scale and power. In How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation—and How to Strike Back, Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke explain why this is happening and what we can do to reverse it.While many distrust the Big-Tech Barons, the prevailing belief is that innovation is thriving online. It isn’t. Rather than disruptive innovations that create significant value, we are getting technologies that primarily extract value and reduce well-being. Using vivid examples and relying on their work in the field, the authors explain how the leading tech companies design their sprawling ecosystems to extract more profits (while crushing any entrepreneur that poses a threat). As a result, we get less innovation that benefits us and more innovations that surpass the dreams of yesteryears’ autocracies. The Tech Barons’ technologies, which seek to decode our emotions and thoughts to better manipulate our behavior, are undermining political stability and democracy while fueling tribalism and hate.But it’s not hopeless. The authors reveal that sustained innovation scales with cities not companies, and that we, as a society, should profoundly alter our investment strategy and priorities to certain entrepreneurs (“Tech Pirates”) and cities’ infrastructure.
How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World
by Dambisa MoyoA New York Times bestselling author and veteran board member offers an insider's view of corporate boards, their struggles, and why they must adapt to survive. Corporate boards are under great pressure. Scandals and malpractice at companies like Theranos, WeWork, Uber, and Wells Fargo have raised justified questions among regulators, shareholders, and the public about the quality of corporate governance. In How Boards Work, prizewinning economist and veteran board director Dambisa Moyo offers an insider's view of corporate boards as they are buffeted by the turbulence of our times. Moyo argues that corporations need boards that are more transparent, more knowledgeable, more diverse, and more deeply involved in setting the strategic course of the companies they lead. How Boards Work offers a road map for how boards can steer companies through tomorrow's challenges and ensure they thrive to benefit their employees, shareholders, and society at large.