“McCann and Selsky make the case that mastering turbulence is an ‘ART’―a rich mix of agility, resiliency, and transformability. As resilience becomes the new sustainability, McCann and Selsky lead the way in showing why and how individuals, teams, organizations, and sectors must strike the right balance between being faster and becoming fitter, for instance, by shifting from competitive strategy and fastest growth to collaborative strategies and collective well-being. Mastering Turbulence is a must-read for anyone striving to navigate our hyperconnected world.”―Angela Wilkinson, director, Futures Directorate, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford University
“Turbulence in flight is the difference between falling and flying. We have come to fear turbulence in our quest to control and make our challenges seem manageable. McCann and Selsky demystify turbulence and gently guide us into a mindset to use it to help our organizations become more resilient, adaptive, and innovative.”―Richard Boyatzis, Distinguished University Professor,
Departments of Psychology, Cognitive Science and Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University; and coauthor of the international best-sellers, Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership
“This book integrates theory and practice beautifully. The concept of adaptation is linked rigorously to a theory of turbulent environments. The result is practical advice that has the ring of experience and truth.”―Larry Hirschborn, principal, Center for Applied Research (CFAR)
In today’s unrelenting environment of rapid and disruptive change there is a level of unprecedented turbulence that is challenging organizations more than ever before.
Based on over a decade of global research and consulting, Mastering Turbulence clearly shows that agility and resiliency (AR) are two of the most critical attributes for building and sustaining superior performance in the midst of increasing turbulence. Joseph McCann and John W. Selsky reveal that organizations need to develop agility and resiliency in tandem, so that an entire enterprise has “High AR”?not just greater agility or resiliency, but both high agility and high resiliency.
The authors outline a proven model that demonstrates how organizations can achieve High AR by developing five essential capabilities: Being Purposeful, Being Aware, Being Action-Oriented, Being Resourceful, and Being Networked. To be successful, these capabilities must be manifested across four levels: individual, team, organization, and larger ecosystem.
To achieve optimal agility and resiliency, the authors offer specific recommendations for sustaining a strategic perspective, fostering an adaptive design mindset, and building significant organization change expertise. To ensure that management initiatives are targeted well, McCann and Selsky include detailed descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the key players involved in building High AR throughout an organization. Mastering Turbulence also contains the most current concepts, practices, and examples from leading-edge organizations including Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, TECO Energy, Shell Oil, and Walmart.
Mastering Turbulence delivers a unique perspective that helps leaders make sense of the turbulent and dynamic world in which they operate. McCann and Selsky provide valuable, practical advice to individuals at all levels of an organization.
From the Back Cover
Mastering Turbulence
“Today’s fast-paced, complex, real-time information business world demands new thinking and skills for leading change. Our organization has benefitted from the practical ideas and approaches offered in Mastering Turbulence. We know firsthand that the case made for simultaneously developing individual leaders, their teams, and the entire organization is essential for high performance.”?John B. Ramil, president and CEO, TECO Energy
“Mastering Turbulence offers a brilliant synthesis of massive volumes and decades of work in a variety of fields, netting it out into a clearly articulated set of core capacities that organizations must have to succeed and thrive in the 21st century. McCann and Selsky provide an excellent overview of research and practice related to creating and sustaining enterprises that are at once agile and resilient, through the multiple lenses of the individual, team, organization, and ecosystem. I highly recommend Mastering Turbulence for practitioners working both inside and outside organizations, including organization development and HR professionals, change management consultants, and business leaders and managers who want to build more resilient and agile organizations.”?Jeana Wirtenberg, president and CEO, Transitioning to Green, LLC.; author, Building a Culture for Sustainability: People, Planet & Profits in a New Green Economy
“The increasing speed of disruptive changes at times makes it seem that success is simply a matter of dumb luck?yet, we know that some individuals, some teams, some organizations, and even some countries and industries come out on top of disruptive changes more often than others. Mastering Turbulence is the most thorough and useful dissection I’ve seen of the factors that lead to agility and resiliency?and ultimately to success. What’s more, they offer examples and insight to help leaders and leadership teams apply the concepts they outline.”?Alexis Fink, director, talent management infrastructure, Microsoft Corporation
About the Author
Joseph McCann is an internationally acknowledged scholar, consultant, author, and speaker. He is a former dean and professor of management at three business schools, and serves as executive editor of HR People & Strategy.
John W. Selsky is an associate professor of management at the University of South Florida, Lakeland, Florida. He is a well-published author in the areas of collaborative strategy in turbulent environments and cross-sector partnerships.
Both Drs. McCann and Selsky are graduates of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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