Synopses & Reviews
Getting stuck is an integral part of business because the most ambitious and rewarding work is often the hardest to undertake. The challenge is knowing how to get unstuck. In this dynamic and pragmatic handbook, Keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro share the insights, methods, stories, and best practices of the extraordinary leaders they have worked with at business giants such as IBM, Sony, Disney, HP, and Nike.
In immediately accessible terms, they identify the symptoms of being stuck, introduce readers to the Serious Seven states of stuckfrom Overwhelmed to Exhausted to Aloneand offer dozens of in-the-moment tools, techniques, and examples to generate immediate ideas, whether you need to back up in order to move forward, motivate a struggling team, change your goals, or inspire yourself with a clearer picture of where youre headed.
With a handy trim size, a vivid two-color interior, and memorable images that speak louder than words, Unstuck is a book for anyone who wants to get themselves or their team motivated and moving in the time it takes to fly from New York to D.C. Designed to be flipped through, read in chunks, and returned to again and again, Unstuck is an innovation in business literature.
Review
Unstuck takes all that's tough about leading change, breaks it down, and serves it up in a way that makes you want to take action. Right now. (Paul Pressler, CEO, Gap Inc.) He may be the most influential consultant youve never heard of. Hes certainly one of the most creative. And his new ideas about strategy are powering a number of high-profile change efforts. (Fast Company) One of the pioneers working on technologys cutting edge. (The Wall Street Journal) A wonderfully engaging and playful look at leading change. Packed with practical guidance on how to restore momentum to your teams and organization. Hard to put down! (Jay Conger, author of Winning 'Em Over) A new manifesto from two of our most original, most amazing thinkers (and more important, practitioners). You can and must get unstuck. Right now. (Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside) However 'stuck' or 'unstuck' you might feel at any given moment, participating in Keith and Sandra's insightful and creative book is like having your own professional but personal breakfast club. In just a few minutes I got more than enough good ideas to last a long time. (David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything)
Synopsis
- For a free excerpt, visit www.unstuck.com
Synopsis
For anyone who feels "stuck," this dynamic handbook identifies the symptoms and offers dozens of in-the-moment tools, techniques, and examples to get moving again.
About the Author
Keith Yamashita is cofounder of Stone Yamashita Partners, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. He has worked with leaders at Hewlett-Packard, Apple, PBS, Sony, IBM, Nike, the World Bank, and others, and has been featured in
Fast Company, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, and
Harvard Business Review.
Sandra Spataro, Ph.D., a former executive at Oracle, has worked as a management consultant and is a professor at the Yale School of Management.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS 4 The story of UNSTUCK.
6 -Step 1: Admitting youre stuck.
(Or how to recognize the symptoms.)
8 Be honest. How is it really going?
16 Now, go forward by zooming out.
18 Learn to fix the system, not just the symptom.
20 See the system.
22 Do any of these systems give you insight into your own?
26 Just how stuck are you?
28 -Step 2: Diagnosing why youre stuck.
(Or how to get at the root causes.)
30 The Serious Seven
32 Overwhelmed
34 Exhausted
36 Directionless
38 Hopeless
40 Battle-torn
42 Worthless
44 Alone
46 Which of the Serious Seven apply to you?
48 -Step 3: Getting unstuck.
(Or what you can do right now.)
51 Have a moonshot.
52 Trust is a bank account. Invest often.
54 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING EXHAUSTED
55 More heart, less intellect.
57 Talent? What talent?
60 Futurecast.
63 I just have no cred.
65 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING DIRECTIONLESS
67 Why cant we get anything done?
68 All for one? One for all?
69 Teamwork is great, but only if you need it.
71 Groupthink. Yep. Yep.
74 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING ALONE
75 Let your soul be your guide.
77 Give the movement a name.
79 CASE STUDY: NEVER LETTING A TEAM FEEL WORTHLESS
80 Take over the TV station.
83 Put your idea down in words.
85 Revive the team. Bring in new brainiacs.
86 Favor plainspeak over breathy bravado.
91 CASE STUDY: NEVER FEELING HOPELESS
92 Host a summit.
94 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING DIRECTIONLESS
95 Write a headline from the future.
99 The meeting has gone ballistic.
100 Build a haven for radical thinking.
102 Deliver on your vision in 360°.
105 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING BEING BATTLE-TORN
107 Commit to a world-stage event.
109 Politics. Politics. Politics.
110 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING WORTHLESS
111 Praise, praise, and more praise.
112 Before any idea can become brilliant, it must first be heard.
113 Go where the unofficial power lies.
115 Invent a prototype of the end state.
118 Control the language. Control the debate.
121 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING OVERWHELMED
123 Make every cell the holder of the genetic code.
125 Take the time to chart a path to your North Star.
126 CASE STUDY: EASING TENSION OF A BATTLE-TORN TEAM
127 Haves. Have-nots.
128 Build a living lab.
131 Deliver the tough message.
133 Embrace thine enemy.
135 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING EXHAUSTED
136 Strong network. Weak network.
139 Find the quiet rock star.
140 Create a mind map to see the differences in peoples views.
144 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING OVERWHELMED
145 Start with the control points of the system.
147 Startle people.
149 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING ALONE
151 Make your brand a manifestation of your companys purpose.
152 Tick. Tick. Tick.
153 Be clear about which mode you are in.
156 CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING FEELING HOPELESS
157 Decide.
158 Try it againthis time with more bravery.
161 Digging deeper.
162 Paths to try.
166 Notes: Paths that worked for me.
172 Sources.
176 Be kind. Now that youre unstuck, help someone else.
178 Thank yous.