Extraordinary Outcomes - by Iris R Firstenberg & Moshe F Rubinstein (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Extraordinary Outcomes presents an innovative approach to thinking and planning, giving leaders a playbook for dealing with uncertainty. Written by internationally recognized authorities on problem solving and creativity in organizations, this book provides an alternative outlook on business strategy and people management for leaders navigating uncertain waters, where the future is anything but guaranteed. The framework is the result of research in multiple fields and the authors' experiences with individuals, teams, and organizations, with examples from real-world situations that illustrate the concepts and dynamics at work to give readers deeper insight. The focus is on conquering uncertainty - eliminating it where possible, reducing it where it can be reduced, and embracing it when it's inevitable.

Traditional ways of thinking and planning do not work in the face of an uncertain future. Frequently there are just no guarantees, nothing written in stone, and even a fortune-teller couldn't accurately predict the outcome. Extraordinary Outcomes helps leaders prepare for that, with strategies geared toward preparedness and embracing uncertainty.

• Learn why skills and talent are only two pieces of a bigger puzzle
• Discover how to better galvanize the team, and keep them motivated long-term
• Connect to a purpose that inspires enthusiastic engagement
• Conquer uncertainty, and develop a strategy for dealing with mistakes

No one likes to be caught off guard, and the consequences can be severe at the organizational level. Leaders can't be psychic, but they can plan for possible outcomes and always have a solution at the ready. For those who like to have an answer for everything, Extraordinary Outcomes provides a roadmap toward an uncertainty-proof strategy for doing business.

From the Back Cover

The future is not as straightforward as it once was, and it has rapidly become clear that the traditional ways of doing business are rapidly becoming obsolete. Leaders are ready and willing to change over to the new approaches, but what exactly are those approaches? In a world of rapid change, where uncertainty is the norm, can we ever know what really works? The short answer is, yes we can, but it requires a thorough understanding of what uncertainty really means to us on a daily basis. Extraordinary Outcomes is a remarkably lucid account of how we work with, rather than against, constant change.

Using uncertainty to your advantage requires becoming resilient enough to weather whatever storms might come. As this book shows, sometimes we even need to embrace the uncertainty. For leaders, this means building flexible teams and bringing out the best in each individual. Unpredictable environments and project failures--once universally dreaded--have become status quo across sectors and industries.

The framework in Extraordinary Outcomes takes a novel approach to this novel situation, suggesting that we can harness the unpredictable and use change as a catalyst for innovation. But this could take some significant adjustment to the way we view reality. Thankfully, internationally renowned management gurus Iris Firstenberg and Moshe Rubinstein have made this paradigm-shift easy with a clearly organized, concise framework for leading teams to success.

Through research and real-world cases, Extraordinary Outcomes presents five key competencies for an uncertain world. This approach is unique because the authors take nothing for granted. Where many management books simply present lists of steps, expecting readers to blindly believe that the steps will work, Extraordinary Outcomes makes clear sense of the world we live in. This easy read leaves readers with the sense that the fog has been cleared away, and that there are good reasons for following the authors advice.

Extraordinary Outcomes will help you establish a big-picture view of your organization and your purpose. The practical, day-to-day steps follow seamlessly as the book provides concrete strategies for building team alignment, encouraging positivity, creating agility, and learning from setbacks. Extraordinary Outcomes shows that adapting to an uncertain future might be just the thing we need to drive success.

About the Author

IRIS R. FIRSTENBERG, PHD, is a professor at UCLA in the Department of Psychology and the Anderson School of Management. She has previously coauthored two books, including The Minding Organization. Iris also teaches corporate seminars on leadership development and innovative thinking.

MOSHE F. RUBINSTEIN, PHD, is an authority on organizational problem solving and an emeritus professor at the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science. He has written ten books, including Patterns of Problem Solving.