Nimble: Make Yourself and Your Company Resilient in the Age of Constant Change

by Baba Prasad

Overview

"Nimble shows how we can anticipate and adapt to an increasingly chaotic world--and become better leaders, strategists, and innovators along the way."
--Adam Grant, bestselling author of Originals

Cutting-edge insights for succeeding in times of chaotic change

Today's world is best described by one word: turbulence. Every leader today knows they need to be nimble, agile and resilient--but how?

In this engaging and insightful new book, management strategist and Wharton Fellow Baba Prasad sheds new light on the subject, and offers practical advice for executives, entrepreneurs, and anyone else who'll need the skills to face the unpredictability, risk, and deep uncertainty that lies ahead.

Filled with vivid examples and insights from around the world and throughout history - from the Brazilian rainforest and the "frugal innovation" of 19th century Indian engineers to Ericsson, Lego, Burt's Bees, and Zara--Nimble reveals what sets the most nimble leaders and organizations apart from the competition, presenting five types of agility that help individuals and companies not just survive but thrive in times of great change:

Analytical agility: Understanding the real problem
Operational agility: Driving leadership through action
Innovative agility: Finding creative solutions when you need them most
Communicative agility: Solving problems together
Visionary agility: Going beyond the here and now

It is possible to embrace change and uncertainty without sacrificing innovation and growth. Nimble shows you how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143131458
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/20/2018
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Baba Prasad (Prasad) is a leading thinker in the area of management strategy and leadership. He is President & CEO of Vivékin Group, a management consultancy that focuses on helping leaders and organizations become strategically agile. Prasad has a Ph.D. in Operations & Information Management from the Wharton School, where he has also been a Fellow since 1997. He teaches courses on strategy and innovation at various business schools. 
 
Prasad studied computer science and artificial intelligence and robotics at universities in India and the US. He has been a technology strategy consultant on Wall Street, and has served on the faculty in the business schools at Purdue University and the University of Minnesota.
 
Prasad lives across two continents and is a fitness enthusiast. He and his wife, Professor Leela Prasad of Duke University, also work in economically underprivileged schools in Hyderabad, India. They helped to set up “Aksharavani,” a school for children of migrant construction workers, in the city. They are currently making a documentary film titled Moved by Gandhi.

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Chapter 1
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Excerpted from "Nimble"
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Copyright © 2018 Baba Prasad.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction vii

1 Strategy and Leadership in Turbulent Times 1

2 Intelligence-Driven Agility 13

3 Analytical Agility: Understanding the Real Problem 39

4 Operational Agility: Driving Leadership through Action 63

5 Inventive Agility: Finding Creative Solutions When You Need Them Most 89

6 Communicative Agility: Solving Problems Together 111

7 Visionary Agility: Going Beyond the Here and Now 145

8 Working with the Five Agilities 173

9 Exercises for the Five Agilities 203

Conclusion 225

Acknowledgments 229

Notes 235

Index 243

About the Author 255

Editorial Reviews

11/27/2017
Prasad, a management consultant, delivers a solid if familiar guide to managing change in the swiftly shifting world of business. According to the introduction, it’s a “no-brainer” that today’s executives need agility in order to succeed, and Prasad sets out to help readers get comfortable with a nimble mind-set at work and at home. He begins by describing how his consultancy work has focused on finding “the equivalent of human intelligence in organizations” and making corporate operations and strategy more responsive to evolving challenges. As a key part of his management philosophy, he introduces five types of agility (operational, analytical, visionary, inventive, and communicative)and his MAST (map, assess, strategize, test) method for using them. The book’s strength lies not in its classification categories and acronyms but in its real-world illustrations—including NASA’s crisis management during the Apollo 13 mission and the rebuilding of an Indian dam—and emphasis on strict, honest self-evaluation. However, the topic of agility has been so thoroughly covered in other business books that it would take a truly revolutionary idea to change the conversation, and this effort comes across as merely another earnest discussion about how change is the only constant in the 21st century. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Nimble shows how we can anticipate and adapt to an increasingly chaotic world--and become better leaders, strategists, and innovators along the way."
--Adam Grant, Professor at the Wharton School and New York Times bestselling author of Originals
 
“You can't argue with the idea that enterprises of all sorts need to be nimble. The world is changing too fast, too suddenly, and in totally unexpected ways--lumbering momentum is no longer a guarantee of success in this business environment. Baba Prasad provides a powerful framework to make an organization--or a leader--agile, and illustrates it creatively with real-life business cases."
--Daniel H. Pink, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestselling author of To Sell Is Human and Drive
 
"The only constant in today's business world is change. In this essential book, Baba Prasad distills how leaders and organizations can embrace the constant pace of change to be more effective and accelerate growth. This book contains a wealth of wisdom for anyone interested in building a better business!"
--Tom Rath, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Are You Fully Charged
 
"Taking a radically different approach, this book demonstrates how five intelligences make us indomitable and enterprising, and at the same time, unselfish and giving leaders. Prasad's five intelligences framework helps build companies that are dynamic, resilient and visionary"
--Vijay Govindarajan, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Coxe Distinguished Professor at Tuck at Dartmouth and Marvin Bower Fellow at Harvard Business School
 
"In a volatile, uncertain and increasingly complex world, the ability for companies and individuals to excel at strategic and operational agility is quickly becoming a source of durable competitive advantage. Nimble serves as a guide for understanding the evolution of business practices that enabled success in their respective eras, and introduces a pragmatic framework for how those practices must evolve to compete and win in today's environment. Definitely a 'must read' for leaders of any sized organization or team."
--Brad D. Smith, President & CEO, Intuit
 
"Prasad unearths a fundamental truth posited by Darwin and connects it to business namely that agility and emotional intelligence are as vital to business as they are to human survival.  If we want to compete to win in the jungle of business we must gear up as emotionally intelligent and human-centered leaders of dynamic cultures that enable the realization of a strategically agile business model.  This is a powerful articulation of a new axiom that will define business strategy in the decades to come."
--John Replogle, CEO, Seventh Generation Products
 
"The one thing you need to understand to win in business today? Nimble. Do it, be it, and strive for it. Baba Prasad's latest book will show you how."
--Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Early Twitter Employee and Silicon Valley Innovator
 
"Baba Prasad drives the point that just having smart people is not enough for companies' success; rather a company culture that enables people to apply different intelligences will make them into agile entrepreneurs and empowered change agents and give greater success to the company over competitors. Very true indeed."
--Frans van Houten, President & CEO, Royal Philips NV
 
"In a world where turmoil is the only constant, Nimble charts a bold new path for leadership, strategy and innovation. This is a mindset-changing book for executives and students of business."
--Don Tapscott, best-selling author, most recently The Digital Economy, Anniversary Edition: Rethinking Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence
 
"Baba Prasad's breaking up of strategic agility into 5 distinct components that are applicable to both strategic development and execution will make this an extremely useful tool for strategy practitioners. Visionary agility needs to go hand in hand with operational agility."
--Jyoti Narang, former COO, Luxury Division, Taj Hotels

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