Bill Taylor

In this era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, size doesn’t matter. It’s a world where the smart take from the strong and the most urgent work for every organization and leader is the work of making meaningful, deep-seated change. When customers have higher expectations than ever, and digital technologies and new business models create more choices than ever, then familiar ways of working and competing become less effective than ever. That means even the most successful companies have to rethink and reimagine every aspect of how they do business and deliver results. One challenge is originality—not to be the best at what others already do, but to be the only one who does what you do. Another challenge is people and culture—in a world transformed by technology, infusing your organization with a deeper sense of humanity. A third challenge is rethinking the logic of risk—recognizing that in an environment of constant disruption, “playing it safe” may be the most dangerous course of all. Armed with challenging ideas and in-depth case studies, Bill Taylor shows how organizations and leaders can unleash long-lasting, positive change in turbulent, fast-moving times.

As the world is being remade before our eyes, the leaders who make a difference are the ones who can reimagine what’s possible at their organization and in their field, and who can turn bold strategies into relentless execution. And they’re not just CEOs; they’re executives running business units, managers in charge of key departments, engineers or marketers running project teams, entrepreneurs building a company from scratch. Regardless of their formal role or title, high-impact leaders make sure their expertise doesn’t get in the way of innovation. They champion provocative thinking that energizes their colleagues, and create organizations where people get the chance to be at their best every day. Put simply, the best leaders are the most insatiable learners and the most authentic mentors. Bill Taylor offers hands-on thinking gleaned from the extraordinary leaders he’s studied over the last 25 years—leaders who are as competitive as they are human, and as creative as they are consistent.

Business today is about distinctive competitive strategies, game-changing technologies, and creative social media and marketing. But the most successful organizations, those built on fierce execution and nonstop innovation, work as distinctively as they compete. The first question great organizations can answer is: What separates us from our rivals in the marketplace? But the next question is: What holds us together as colleagues in the workplace? In an era of brash ideas and disruptive business models, organizations that create the most extraordinary value are the ones that generate the most widely shared sense of commitment, connection, and compassion among colleagues. Whether you’re in a fast-moving digital field or a more traditional, slow-to-change industry, your organization can’t be exceptional unless it embraces cutting-edge technologies and also puts a sense of humanity back into the business. Bill’s reveals how some of the world’s most high-performing and creative workplaces engage their people to unleash and sustain a culture of fierce execution and nonstop innovation. The lessons and case studies are a cutting-edge agenda for recruiting, evaluating, organizing, and retaining talent.

Big Data. Cloud Computing. AI. The business, work, and society. Companies use digital tools to reach more people in more places more quickly than ever. Social media and peer-to-peer communications reshape how brands communicate with customers and how colleagues collaborate with one another. Startups unveil new business models that shift the economics and overturn the logic of long-established industries. While technology is driving dramatic change, what customers, partners, and employees truly value is a deeper and more authentic sense of humanity—organizations that create experiences that are as memorable as they are efficient, leaders who recognize that disruptive technologies are at their most powerful when they are embedded in a culture of collaboration and trust. Bill Taylor draws on cutting-edge insights about technology and timeless truths about culture to show engineers, project leaders, and marketers the inexorable connection between technology and humanity – and why the most effective IT leaders are the most human leaders.