The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation

The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation

by Josh Linkner
Released May 2014
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780470923436

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Book description

Companies, communities, and individuals fall for many reasons, but one of the most common—and easily avoidable—is the failure to reinvent. When people and organizations rest on prior successes rather than driving purposeful transformation, they discover too late that they have lost their market position altogether to competitors and external forces.

The most successful companies, brands, and individuals make reinvention a regular part of their business strategies. Transformation demands an ongoing process of discovery and imagination, and The Road to Reinvention lays out a systematic approach for continually challenging and reinventing yourself and your business. Venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur Josh Linkner identifies six elements in any business that are ripe for reinvention and shares examples, methods, and step-by-step techniques for creating deliberate, productive disruption.

Throughout The Road to Reinvention, Linkner also explores the history—the great rise, unprecedented fall, and now rebirth—of his beloved hometown, Detroit. First rising to greatness as the result of breathtaking innovation, Detroit had generations of booming growth before succumbing to apathy, atrophy, and finally bankruptcy. Now, the city is rising from the ashes and driving sustainable success through an intense focus on reinvention. Linkner brings an insider's view of this incredible story of grit, determination, and creativity, sharing his perspective on Detroit's successes and setbacks as a profound example of large-scale organizational and personal transformation.

Change is inevitable. You need to decide: Will you drive that change, or be driven away by it? Will you disrupt or be disrupted? By choosing to deliberately reimagine your own status quo, you can secure a strong future for both your company and your career.

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Chapter 1: Disrupt or Be Disrupted
    1. Make the Leap to Reinvention
    2. Learn the Lessons of the Fall
    3. Join Reinvention’s Rise
    4. Avoid the Riskiest Move of All
    5. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    6. Notes
  3. Chapter 2: Embrace the Reinvention Ethos
    1. Eight Principles That Define the Reinvention Ethos
    2. Put It All Together
    3. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    4. Notes
  4. Chapter 3: Cannibalize Your Own Product
    1. See with Your Customer’s Eye
    2. Launch a New Version
    3. Refocus to Reinvent
    4. Bet Your Assets
    5. Find the 10X Factor
    6. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    7. Notes
  5. Chapter 4: Retool Your Operations
    1. Clear Away Cannonballs
    2. Reinvent Your Market’s Model
    3. Innovate Your Operation
    4. Never Let Processes Grow Stale
    5. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    6. Notes
  6. Chapter 5: Create Vivid Experiences
    1. The Five Senses Test
    2. Make Wishes Come True
    3. Avoid the Curse of Inconsistency
    4. Get Inspired: From Geeks to Dolls
    5. Make ‘Em Feel—and Buy!
    6. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    7. Notes
  7. Chapter 6: Tell a Memorable Story
    1. Reinvent Your Story’s Purpose
    2. Be a Firebrand
    3. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    4. Notes
  8. Chapter 7: Overhaul Your Culture
    1. Hit the Cultural Reset Button
    2. Learn the Six Rules of Creative Cultures
    3. Change the Guard
    4. Follow the Power of Rituals
    5. Lead Without Title
    6. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    7. Notes
  9. Chapter 8: Reimagine Your Customer
    1. Accept the Death of One Size Fits All
    2. Disrupt Distribution
    3. Innovate Now, before It’s Too Late
    4. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    5. Notes
  10. Chapter 9: Transform Your Career
    1. Create Plan Z
    2. Draw Up Your Personal Reinvention Plan
    3. Explore the Many Flavors of Reinvention
    4. Face Down Inevitable Obstacles
    5. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    6. Notes
  11. Chapter 10: Forge Your Legacy
    1. Choose: Giver or Taker?
    2. Be → Do → Have
    3. Decide How You Want to Be Remembered
    4. Expand Your Scorecard
    5. Trouncing Your Obstacles
    6. Detroit: Catalyst for Change
    7. Notes
  12. Conclusion
  13. Acknowledgments
  14. About the Author
  15. Index
  16. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation
  • Author(s): Josh Linkner
  • Release date: May 2014
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780470923436