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Adaptability: The Art of Winning In An Age of Uncertainty Paperback – April 3, 2012

by Max McKeown (Author)

3.5 29 ratings

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Adaptability is the key human trait. The ability to adapt faster and smarter than the situation is what makes the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. Our history is a story of adaptation and change. And in this time of brutal competition and economic uncertainty, it has never been more important to understand how to adapt successfully. In a series of powerful rules, Max McKeown explores how to increase the adaptability of you and your organization to create winning positions. Fascinating real-world examples from business, government, the military and sport bring the rules of adaptability to life - from the world s most innovative corporations to street-level creativity emerging from the slums. Adaptability is a powerful, practical and inspirational guide to success in uncertain times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a book for our times. The call for adaptability could not be clearer or more urgent. Whether we respond with clarity and purposefulness is up to us but Mckeown's book gives many clues and clear examples of those who have succeeded (and failed) to do exactly that."
George Kelsey, Chief of Innovation at RBS Group.

" Written by renowned strategy and innovation expert, Max McKeown, Adaptability draws on millions of years of evolution, to create a practical and strategic set of powerful rules which take adaption from coping, to a winning strategy. This crucial guide will help readers make the most of any situation."Franchise-Focus.com

"Strategy & innovation expert McKeown draws on millions of years of evolution, and comes up with a practical and strategic rules to take adaption from a coping to a winning strategy. The ability to adapt faster and smarter than immediate challenges distinguishes adapting to win from merely adapting to cope."Frank Dillon, Irish Times

"This versatile book is officially classified as a business title, but the author's ingenious approach makes it useful in all endeavors, even in correcting a personal outlook that may be self-defeating."

~Julia Ann Charpentier, Foreward Review

"The first rule of winning is that there is no one way to win--" success requires adaptation. It sounds simple, and McKeown, a consultant whose clients include Microsoft and Sony, deftly makes it so, expounding on relevant examples in confident, straightforward prose."~ Publishers Weekly

Review

"This is a book of our times and the call for adaptability could not be clearer or more urgent. Whether we can respond with clarity and purposefulness is up to us but Mckeown's book gives many clues and clear and helpful examples of those who have succeeded (and failed) to do exactly that. I came away from reading this with a sense of both urgency and hopefulness; and without doubt a more certain view that I can, and must, create more opportunities at work to adapt to the enormous changes facing our industry and economy. I love the idea of 'learning fast'!" ― George Kelsey, Chief of Innovation at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group

From the Author

What if you're wrong? After all, for the foreseeable future, the future will be unforeseeable. You can be certain only that there will be uncertainty. Events will overtake your plans, while the actions of others will demand adaptation. What if your beautiful strategy is failing to cope with reality?

'We didn't adapt fast enough' is a common enough explanation for poor performance and disastrous leadership. It's been used by leaders to explain opportunities lost through years of inflexibility and lack of imagination.

"There is no alternative" can become a popular rallying call. Leaders over-simplify by presenting only one choice as credible. As a result, clever thinking about alternatives dries up such that when unexpected change arrives the group can be left in a state of bewilderment, unsure and uncertain.

The most successful adaptors are curious. They know stability is a dangerous illusion. They reach out beyond obvious questions to non-obvious answers. They do not accept the choices they are given but actively seek better choices. They understand the value of Plan B. And Plans X, Y and Z.

Twitter was a Plan B produced by a struggling software company during an ad-hoc brainstorm in a playground near to their office. IKEAs flat pack furniture was a Plan B. Nokia's move into mobile phones was a Plan B. Nintendo's move into game consoles was a Plan B. Self-perpetuating cycles require intervention, some kind of breakthrough change of the pattern so it is allowed to gradually lose its negative impact. They need a plan B.

What happens if the assumptions in the plan are wrong? Managers are taught the value of being (or looking) organised. Leaders are taught the career value of being (or looking) in control. The danger is that following the plan too slavishly will lead you efficiently in the wrong direction. The right plan can be made wrong by events.

How do you free your radicals to challenge assumptions? Encourage your businesses misfits, mavericks, and malcontents to challenge conventional wisdom. Embrace the unacceptable wisdom of the radicals inside and outside your business. If assumptions are wrong, then the radical may be right. And since assumptions are usually wrong eventually, the radical will probably be right one day.

Evidence supports the idea that most successful entrepreneurs and leaders are fantastic at noticing opportunities. And the greatest opportunities come from reactions to unplanned events. So ask yourself: Does this problem let us start again and do it better? What can we do today that was impossible yesterday?

Blockbuster believed in Plan A and kept on renting out videos. Game believed in Plan A and kept on opening stores. The Easter Islanders believed in Plan A and kept on cutting down trees. General Motors believed in Plan A and kept on producing gas-guzzling automotive porn while Toyota worked on a fabulous Plan B. Borders believed in Plan A while Amazon were willing to be misunderstood as they worked tirelessly on a game changing Plan B.

Any fool can produce a plan. The genius is seeing how new events open up new possibilities. This kind of adaptability doesn't kick in automatically. So you need to increase recognition of the constant need to adapt, understanding of the adaptation needed and willingness to adapt as required. Understanding how to adapt is the essence of human progress. Plan B matters most.

From the Back Cover

Adaptability is the key human trait. The ability to adapt faster and smarter than the situation is what makes the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. Human history is a story of adaptation and change. And in this time of brutal competition and economic uncertainty, it has never been more important to understand how to adapt successfully.

About the Author

Max McKeown is an author, consultant and popular speaker. He has been strategic advisor to Microsoft, Virgin, the 2012 Olympics, Top Shop, Barclays and Vodafone on innovation, human potential, customer experience, marketing, team building and competitive advantage. He was elected to the Customer Service Hall of Fame on MSN Money and has been nominated as a Star of Human Resources by Personnel Today. He is a regular columnist and "thought leader" for Management-Issues, and he has authored several popular books including Adaptability, The Truth About Innovation and The Strategy Book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kogan Page; 1st edition (April 3, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0749465247
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0749465247
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.63 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,707,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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3.5 29 ratings

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Max McKeown

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Dr. Max Mckeown is the author of The Strategy Book, winner of the Commuter Read at the Chartered Management Institute Book of the Year and Amazon's Best Business Books. He is also author of The Innovation Book, The Innovator’s Book, Adaptability: The Art of Winning in an Age of Uncertainty, and four other books. He works as a strategic coach with Fortune 100 companies and is also a popular keynote speaker at conferences worldwide.

www.maxmckeown.com

www.twitter.com/maxmckeown

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Richard Platt

A Book Intended for Professional Strategists and Innovators

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2013

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If the essence of "Good Strategy" vs. "Bad Strategy" is about a diagnosis, and a coherent guiding policy that is followed up by action, then this is the book for you. No one else took to heart and mind what Dr. Rumelt, the one who defined Good vs. Bad strategy, except this author. Max McKeown is in my un-humble opinion the newest (and best) star author in the field of strategy, and he comes w/ a track record of some excellent tome's that help to establish that foundation.

The principles that Max has outlined here have practical application, which might seem like quite a statement to make, unless this was coming from someone who has actually applied the principles in this book in the context that Max has outlined / suggested, and as he intended.

You see I am a consultant, but not your typical one in the domain of innovation management, a part of my business is to assert into the marketplace to make things happen, for our clients and ourselves that is after we've made a diagnosis of where the weak points in what the opposition is doing or not doing. We actively act and operate as Innovation Activists / Market Insurgents & Challengers when the status quo is choking the innovation in a given market, then we will on our own, or working on behalf of a client, assert into the marketplace and shake things up, and unhinge the players, w/ new business models and new technologies and products that are new to market.
To do this effectively an innovation manager like myself, needs tools and guidelines to help direct traffic for me and my teams, I demand that my teams operate from principles, not random personality driven approaches or what any one person thinks is a good idea, I have responsibility and accountability to my teams and my clients to execute and do it right the 1st time. I am expected to hit, when and where I say I can hit, it is what we are paid to do, we don't have the luxury of hiding behind our decisions, we have to adapt to market conditions as they unfold, much like a fighter pilot locked in a dog fight has to. These principles give us additional insight and thoughtful points to stop, consider and ponder next steps &/or consequences that could be fatal to a project. An equivalent meaning is to NOT do the stupid move.

Max has done his homework, the principles are intended for all kinds of strategists, whether you are an Monday morning arm-chair quarterback, to the IP attorney, to the hungry M&A focused executive, to the Innovation Manager trying to figure out how to enable his firm to be adaptive in the marketplace. I am reminded of Colonel John Boyd - OODA Loop fame, and his last remaining acolyte, Chet Richard's and his book "Certain To Win" , if the Colonel and Chet are the architects of the blueprint of the future adaptable organization, then Max's book on "Adaptability: The Art of Winning in an Age of Uncertainty" is the teeth that gives you the reader the principles to help drive your business, your processes and most importantly your people to help guide them on what you expect,and what the organization needs.

We all have operated by values in our respective firms, but in my experience principles trump values and beliefs every time, I've seen a lot of people die for what they believe in, their values that they've staunchly defended beliefs, however I see a lot less dead bodies of those who operate from a principled standpoint, particularly the one's focused on winning in business and technology.

Read this, read it again, put it on the shelf, and refer to it often.

Richard Platt
Managing Partner - The Strategy + Innovation Group
(former)Intel Global Innovation Program Manager for Innovation

One person found this helpful

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Jennifer A Black

Don’t buy this book

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018

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Most poorly written book ever

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Robert Morris

Beyond "adapt or die"

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2012

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." Charles Darwin

Max McKeown presents his material within a three-part framework that focuses on these strategic objectives: How to recognize the need to adapt? (Chapters 1-6), How to understand necessary adaptation? (Chapters 12-17), and How to adapt as necessary? (Chapters 12-17). As Abraham Maslow suggests with his "Hierarchy of Needs" (usually portrayed in the form of a pyramid), man must first survive before giving thought to security; and only when secure can man consider "self-actualization" (i.e. personal fulfillment). McKeown's primary objective in this book is to help his reader to understand when, how, and why to adapt "faster and smarter than the [given] situation changes." He accepts Darwin's concept of natural selection but asserts, "Adapt or die is not the only choice. In the future, you can try to maintain what you already have, or you can attempt to transcend the constraints of your situation. We're part of a long chain of adaptive moves. Each move has changed the circumstances of our ancestors, until we arrived." How to learn how to adapt?

In response to that question, McKeown provides an abundance of information, insights, and counsel. Here are a few of the dozens of passages in his narrative that caught my eye:

o Why all failure is failure to adapt
o How to embrace "unacceptable wisdom"
o Why stability is a "dangerous illusion"
o Why learning fast is better than failing fast
o How to think better together
o Why hierarchy is "fossil fuel"
o How to "get your ambition on"

McKeown is well-aware of the importance of survival to countless individuals as well as to countless organizations and even countries throughout the world. However, his hope -- one that I share -- is that those who read this book will aspire to accomplishing more, much more than survival.

The key, in my opinion, is first developing and then applying a mindset that recognizes the need for adaptation, understands what adaptation requires, and possesses imagination and (yes) courage sufficient to separate thinking repetition -- perpetuating what James O'Toole so aptly characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom" -- from adaptive iteration. Change may be inevitable but progress is not. The need to adapt is inevitable but being able to do that effectively is not.

I introduced this brief commentary with a statement by Charles Darwin and now conclude it with another: "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed."

6 people found this helpful

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Therone Shellman

Everything Changes, & You Must Adapt or Fail to Be Relevant

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019

Adaptability, is filled with examples of how being prepared for change, and actually adapting to change is important in one's personal life, in business, and every other area of society.

Every now and then an avid reader comes across a book which reminds them of their personal lives, career or entrepreneur endeavors. I can honestly say I wish I read this book back in 2005 when I started my first publishing company Third Eye Publishing, and published my first book. Three years later I made some critical mistakes that this book would of saved from. The book has done more than this though. From where I stand right now, it has given me the confidence to look and think a whole lot broader in regards to change, and not just adjusting to what's going on. But also to be an agent in causing change.

I appreciate the work, and I hope many people besides those at the top in their industry take the time to read it.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Jamie G

Very Informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very good illustrations and examples throughout of how adaptation was used through a broad range of time in history to not only survive, but move beyond this to at times transcend certain situations.
Worth reading for sure if you want to know more about adapting & how this has been achieved in the past.

One person found this helpful

Khaja M. hashim

Adaptability: The Art of Winning in an Age of Uncertainty

Reviewed in India on April 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

It is a Great Book. I am already familiar with Adaptability. I just went through the book cursorily. I think it is a very useful book in the Digital age.

I am a sort Multidisciplinary Genius , working part time as a Visiting Consultant from Canada at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

I buy many books from Amazon, Flipkart and AA Husain in Hyderabad on N number of Topics.

I would like to recommend this book on Adaptability to one and all in India.

Thank you,,

Khaja (KJ) M. Hashim,P.Eng.
91-779-905-8032
91-984-905-1720
91-040-2473-0324

Giacomo

Too basic

Reviewed in Italy on February 9, 2013

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The concept behind it is very powerful and I agree on it. The book is too simplistic in my opinion, I'd have expected more from this author

Andy Green

Hopefully the next book will be better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2012

Verified Purchase

Max McKeown writes: the point is not to learn to fail, but to learn what works from failure.
I was really looking forward to this book as I feel the author has identifed what I regard as one of the key issues for innovation and creativity and have read his earlier readable introductions to innovation.

I have a bad habit of folding over the corners of books I read to indicate where I have made notes. A great book sees nearly every page with its corner folded down, here sadly there were very few of its pages folded back.

The book falls between the stools of telling its thesis through a number of core stories or being very process-led with numerous bullet point to do lists.

In being somewhere in between, it just falls short of being exceptional. I really do hope Max uses the principles of 'Adaptability' and grows from this experience.
An uncertain review I'm afraid for a book about uncertainty.

3 people found this helpful

Jonathan Gifford

Change the game

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

'All failure is a failure to adapt', says McKeown in his introduction to this book.

In the living world, if a species doesn't adapt to its environment, it dies and its precise genetic make-up leaves the gene pool. Organisms that evolve through chance mutation or through the evolutionary selection of existing advantageous adaptations manage to survive to reproduce another day. But, as McKeown points out, human beings have managed to add another layer of adaptation to the brute business of genetic inheritance. McKeown characterises these mechanisms as culture, science and technology: we learn and pass on tricks that help to us adapt to changing circumstances, regardless of our genetic make-up.

McKeown's introduction to 'Rule 1' (Play your own Game) says it all: 'If you are getting whipped playing by the existing rules, get used to losing or change the game. If you can't win by standing and fighting then run and hide. If you can't win by being big, be small. If you can't win by being small, be big. The first rule of winning is that there is no one way to win.' Organisations - especially corporations - need to remind themselves of this vital need for constant adaptation, argues McKeown. As another of his proposed rules for survival nicely puts it, `Stability is a dangerous illusion.' Or, as he quotes IBM CEO Virginia Rometty as saying: 'You may be only one mistake away from irrelevance.'

The problem is that most organisations are inherently conservative; they don't just resist change, they actively fight against it. McKeown offers three fundamental steps for survival that form the structure of this book: recognise the need for adaptation; understand what adaption is required; do what is necessary to adapt. Adaptability is stuffed full of examples, some familiar, some new, of organisations which failed to notice that they needed to adapt until it was too late, or nearly too late: the American car industry in the face of nimbler Japanese competition; the banking group UBS in the face of what had become an institutionalised pattern of irresponsible trading that led, apparently suddenly, to the loss of $2.5 billion by one employee. To quote another of McKeown's rules: 'Stupid survives until smart succeeds.' I also liked his comment - in the context of the US car industry thinking of a dozen reasons why Japanese car manufacturers might be selling more cars other than the simple fact that they were making cars that people preferred to buy: 'enthusiastic ignorance is the most dangerous behaviour to enlightened adaptation.'

There are four possible outcomes of adaptation, or failure to adapt, according to McKeown: collapse; survival; thriving; transcendence. Sometimes, he argues, we survive but continue in a pretty miserable existence. Sometimes we get it right and thrive. Sometimes, which is even better, we 'transcend' the situation: we escape the constraints of the existing situation and rise above it; we move from one way of living or working to a better way. This is what corporations should seek to achieve.

McKeown's aim is laudable: 'My interest is in understanding more about how social groups can move beyond the existing rules to find games that allow more people to win more often.' This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that expands intelligently on its premise, and which ranges impressively across all the fields of human endeavour in the search for illustrations of the essential need for adaptation: from the war in Iraq to making Levis with less water; from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to game theory; from the National Football League to Easter Islanders. McKeown may in fact, have been a little too generous in the illustrations of his central argument - at times the sheer profusion of examples makes the head spin a little - but this is a well-developed book with a consistent and well-argued theme. I agree wholeheartedly with McKeown that adaptability is one of the key blind spots of modern business: when organisations are successful, they tend to fight tooth and nail to maintain the circumstances that have made them successful. But circumstances change.

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