Synopses & Reviews
Operating in a time of rapid and seemingly relentless change, today's healthiest organizations have the ability to continuously renew themselves and thrive in a challenging environment. They are the ones that know how to harness the turbulence all organizations encounter and use it as a catalyst for creativity and innovation. They are the companies that will succeed in the long term. And your company can be among them.
As an expert on corporate change and advisor to leading organizations around the world, author Stanley Gryskiewicz has spent nearly thirty years observing and evaluating a variety of corporate cultures. Those that are most effective, he's found, are invariably those in which creativity and innovation are allowed to flourish. Over the years, Gryskiewicz has witnessed and often helped devise the many strategies and processes companies have employed to deliberately establish energetic, creative cultures. And now he's distilled the most successful of those approaches into a dynamic process of cultural change he calls Positive Turbulence.
Positive Turbulence begins with the recognition that change is inevitable. It then provides ways to keep change manageable and apply it to an organization's strategic advantage. Asserting that creativity need not be random, Gryskiewicz outlines a proactive process for bringing new information into an organization, making sense of it, and translating it into novel ideas that are both useful and actionable. Along the way, he relates specific strategies that individuals, teams, and organizations can use to increase their receptivity to Positive Turbulence and employ it effectively.
The author illustrates his points with a variety of examples from history, from organizations large and small, even from jazz groups. He also provides real-world examples of how Norfolk Southern, Hallmark, and 3M have each used Positive Turbulence to build continuous renewal into their cultures. In short, Gryskiewicz gives you all of the information you need to institute Positive Turbulence at your company-a process that will help ensure its vitality in a hypercompetitive, rapidly changing world.
Review
"...vitally important issues that need to be studied more closely..." (Long Range Planning)
Review
"In this highly readable, soundly practical book, Gryskiewicz distills the wisdom gained in his twenty-five years of working with the world's most creative organizations. The lesson is this: Managers can enable and even direct the seemingly random activity that often precedes creative breakthroughs and, in doing so, they can increase the probability of big hits." —Teresa M. Amabile, MBA Class of 1954 Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean, Director of Research, Harvard Business School
"We are constantly told that the very survival and future success of our business corporations depends on how fast and how efficient we seek out viable opportunities—and we are reminded that this is a continuous process. This book tells us how to do it and do it in a way that taps into the full innovative and creative capabilities of all employees. Stan Gryskiewicz's work adds a distinctly human dimension to the whole renewal movement." —Gerry Rooney, former director of executive development, World Bank
"Stan is an acknowledged pro at skillfully weaving practical business solutions with creative processes. In Positive Turbulence he takes us beyond just using the potential of the enormous change all around us into deliberately unsettling our comfort zones to inspire new opportunity. This is required reading for organizations looking to break out of the pack." —Walter Elcock, merger transition executive, Bank of America
"To present, in a clear and comprehensive manner, the complexity ofmanaging corporate renewal in times of crises and chaos requires the experience and insightfulness of both an analytic and creative mind. Dr. Stan Gryskiewicz unites those qualities and has eloquently described the powerful tool of creating Positive Turbulence. This book is a must read for survival and success in the 21st century!" —Patrick Colemont, M.Sc., co-founder, European Association for Creativity and Innovation
"With Positive Turbulence, Stan Gryskiewicz gives us the wisdom of his career-long work in applied creativity. What he knows is well worth knowing. For anyone with a team, an opportunity and a corporate playing field, his book is a gift." —Frank P. Bordonaro, Ph.D, chief learning officer, The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Synopsis
Can your company manage -- even encourage -- turbulence in ways that actually strengthen its competitive stance? Absolutely. In this work, top organizational psychologist Stanley Gryskiewicz argues that challenges to the status quo can be catalysts for creativity, innovation, and renewal and shows leaders how they can keep their company on the competitive edge by embracing a process he calls Positive Turbulence. Developed through the author's work with many of the world's leading companies over the course of thirty years, Positive Turbulence delivers proven methods for creating an organization that continuously renews itself through the committed pursuit of new ideas, products, and processes.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-190) and index.
About the Author
STANLEY S. GRYSKIEWICZ is vice president of global resources and senior fellow, creativity and innovation, at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. A leading authority on innovation, creativity, and corporate change, he has worked with a number of international clients including the Japan Management Association and the World Bank.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgements.
The Author.
Introduction.
1. The Case for Positive Turbulence.
2. The Dynamics of Positive Turbulence.
3. Strategies for Increasing Receptivity to Positive Turbulence.
4. Strategies for Developing Positive Turbulence in Teams.
5. Strategies for Managing Positive Turbulence.
6. Positive Turbulence in Action.
Appendix A: Selected Resources.
Appendix B: Targeted Innovation.
References.
Index.