Innovation in a Reinvented World: 10 Essential Elements to Succeed in the New World of Business

Preface

I learned to perfect the art of reinvention by working in the trenches for some of the most successful companies in the world in a variety of frontline, management, and leadership roles.

An inflection point moment came for me in 1996, when Dr. Andrew Grove, Chief Executive of Intel Corporation at the time, published his book Only the Paranoid Survive, about managing the complexity of business and the strategic inflection point. About the same time, I was mentoring and training a small group of Intel engineers on how to see around corners, a process that would one day become my personal inflection curve model for reinventing your career.

It would be another decade—and a Great Recession—before I would connect the dots between the two intersecting points. My trigger point was the negative hype portrayed in the media of U.S. companies no longer innovating. It motivated me to share a different reality—stories of businesses and individuals successfully navigating the rough economic waters—and to ask the question, “How are they applying these ten essential elements for success in the new world of business?” This book, Innovation in a Reinvented World, is the culmination of more than 25 years of practical experience—my successes and setbacks, some great mentors along the way, and expertise that came from the willingness to roll up my sleeves, dig deep, and get the job done.

Fortunately, I'm not alone.