Roger L. Martin Book order

Although communicative and relational skills are currently in the greatest demand in organizations large and small, we are as educators, executives, and talent developers very far away from the kind of precision in identifying, measuring, selecting and developing these skills that we have achieved with cognitive and technical skills. At the same time, the relentless automation of swaths of human tasks has placed a sharp light on the 'quintessentially human skills' - those that cannot and in some cases should not be subject to algorithmic automation. This book aims to 'change the soft skills game' by introducing language for identifying and describing them, ways of measuring the degree to which a person possesses them and selecting those who possess them in the utmost from those less skilled, and ways of helping students and executives alike develop them, through a methodology that has been designed and practiced for the past ten years. We need a 're-set' in the way we think about human skill and in particular the ways we think about those human skills which cannot be sub-contracted to an algorithm running on silicon. This book aims to provide that re-set.

American democratic capitalism is in imminent danger. More than forty years ago, a dangerous decline began that has created an unprecedented state of economic disparity. While the rich are getting richer faster than ever, the middle-class family has fallen so far behind it would take three generations to recover – perhaps even longer in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moment to rethink our economy and embark on a journey to repair our broken system is now. Roger L. Martin – former Dean of the Rotman School of Management and the world’s #1 management thinker (Thinkers50) – believes the problem is that we view our economy as a machine that can be perfected by pursuing increasing levels of efficiency. In his new book When More Is Not Better, Martin argues that we have relentlessly pursued efficiency at the expense of resilience, turning efficiency into a destructive force that has produced an unequal society and a fragile economy. That fragility makes our economy more vulnerable to shocks and brutally undermines our capacity to deal with catastrophic events like the pandemic.In the book, Martin reveals the dark side of efficiency, providing evidence, rigorous economic analysis, and insight to demonstrate that our constant effort to make the economic machine more efficient means fewer bigger winners and plenty left behind.

A practical four-step methodology for any leader or manager facing a tough choice, and for creating integrative solutions to big, complex and pressing problems.

Moldoveanu and Martin draw upon case studies and interviews - as well as theories and models from cognitive psychology, epistemology, analytic philosophy, and semiotics - to offer a new conception of successful intelligence that is immediately applicable to business situations.

Explains how companies must pinpoint business strategies to a few critically important choices, identifying common blunders while outlining simple exercises and questions that can guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.

The book delves into the troubling state of American capitalism, highlighting its increasing volatility and declining investor returns. It examines the series of significant market crashes since the early 2000s, alongside a pattern of unethical executive behavior, including accounting scandals and the subprime mortgage crisis. The narrative underscores the urgent need to address these systemic issues to restore integrity and stability to the financial system.

Most companies today have innovation envy. They yearn to come up with a game—changing innovation like Apple's iPod, or create an entirely new category like Facebook. Many make genuine efforts to be innovative—they spend on R&D, bring in creative designers, hire innovation consultants. But they get disappointing results.Why? In The Design of Business, Roger Martin offers a compelling and provocative answer: we rely far too exclusively on analytical thinking, which merely refines current knowledge, producing small improvements to the status quo.To innovate and win, companies need design thinking. This form of thinking is rooted in how knowledge advances from one stage to another—from mystery (something we can't explain) to heuristic (a rule of thumb that guides us toward solution) to algorithm (a predictable formula for producing an answer) to code (when the formula becomes so predictable it can be fully automated). As knowledge advances across the stages, productivity grows and costs drop-creating massive value for companies.Martin shows how leading companies such as Procter & Gamble, Cirque du Soleil, RIM, and others use design thinking to push knowledge through the stages in ways that produce breakthrough innovations and competitive advantage.Filled with deep insights and fresh perspectives, The Design of Business reveals the true foundation of successful, profitable innovation.

'The Opposable Mind' promotes the idea that everyone can benefit from integrative thinking, which can be taught. The book reflects many actionable ideas, written in a tone that makes change seem easy.