The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunity in an Uncertain World

by Donald Sull

Overview

The Upside of Turbulence is an enlightening look at the inherent paradox of how to strategize and plan in a turbulent business world where the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself. In this book, based on a decade of research, historical case studies, and intensive work with established enterprises and start-ups, Donald Sull, named an “up and coming thinker” by the Financial Times, lays out the fundamental logic of opportunity and provides a series of practical steps to translate insight into action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061939761
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/06/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	657 KB

About the Author

Donald Sull is a professor of strategy and the faculty director of executive education at the London Business School. He received his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees from Harvard University, where he taught entrepreneurship. Prior to his academic career, professor Sull worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and as a management investor with a leveraged buyout firm. He blogs for the Financial Times (www.blogs.ft.com/donsullblog).

What People are Saying About This

Mohamed El-Erian

“It is a “must read” for all those that wish to understand the dynamics of managing through turbulence in order to capture the opportunities and limit the threats.”

Tom Stewart

“Like the agile organizations he describes in The Upside of Turbulence, Donald Sull leaps deftly among ideas and examples... Will help senior executives act and succeed in a world where the future is always foggy, plans are inherently unreliable, and opportunities and threats come seemingly out of nowhere.”

Editorial Reviews

Sull (Why Good Companies Go Bad), professor at the London Business School, inveighs against the business world's terror of change and habitual response of accelerating activities that have worked in the past, a dynamic he terms "active inertia." Sull demonstrates how turbulence-his term for rapid and unpredictable changes that influence a firm's ability to create value-provides opportunity for growth (his odd analogy describes how Italians originally thought tomatoes were poisonous; only when they were willing to experiment did they discover the root of their distinctive cuisine). Noting the "exceptionally turbulent" times we live in, Sull offers practical suggestions (and work sheets) to enhance a company's agility and ability to improvise. "Our theories about the future," he reminds us, "remain subject to revision or rejection in light of new knowledge that might arise in the future. All our theories will let us down; we just don't yet know how or when." With success stories from such companies as Microsoft and Carnival Cruise Lines, much of the information within is sound, but the lofty tone might make this a tough sell in an already shell-shocked marketplace. (Oct.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

Both of these titles explore the interconnected machinations of the business and personal worlds. Sull (management, London Business Sch.) offers the big picture, suggesting that turbulence creates new and often global opportunities, which individuals must be able to respond to proactively; however, his dependence on business case studies is hardly innovative. On the other hand, Joel (president, Twist Image), once referred to as a "rock star of digital marketing," offers more concrete suggestions for participating in an ever more connected world; of particular interest are his thoughts on transforming virtual relationships into face-to-face ones and dealing with the media.

Library Journal

It is a “must read” for all those that wish to understand the dynamics of managing through turbulence in order to capture the opportunities and limit the threats.” — Mohamed El-Erian, author of When Markets Collide

“Like the agile organizations he describes in The Upside of Turbulence, Donald Sull leaps deftly among ideas and examples... Will help senior executives act and succeed in a world where the future is always foggy, plans are inherently unreliable, and opportunities and threats come seemingly out of nowhere.” — Tom Stewart, author of Intellectual Capital

From the Publisher

It is a “must read” for all those that wish to understand the dynamics of managing through turbulence in order to capture the opportunities and limit the threats.

Mohamed El-Erian

Like the agile organizations he describes in The Upside of Turbulence, Donald Sull leaps deftly among ideas and examples... Will help senior executives act and succeed in a world where the future is always foggy, plans are inherently unreliable, and opportunities and threats come seemingly out of nowhere.

Tom Stewart