Shift Ahead: How the Best Companies Stay Relevant in a Fast-Changing World

"With the pace of change accelerating at such a dizzying speed, small errors in navigation can come with huge consequences. Businesses that have the skillset to course correct on the fly will be those that succeed." -- Thomas Friedman, columnist for The New York Times and bestselling author of The World is Flat and Thank You for Being Late In a world that's changing faster and more furiously than ever, the ability to shift focus is critical. Why is it that some organizations can continually evolve to meet the times and the marketplace, and others cannot? How do some businesses recognize the right moment to shift, and others, ruefully, only after it's too late? Shift Ahead offers a smart, calculated approach for spotting warning signs that it's time for reinvention and executing change while maintaining authenticity. Packed with fascinating interviews, the book explores success stories and cautionary tales of organizations that faced stiff competition, disruptive technologies, and declining customer bases. Examining the experiences of HBO, Adobe, BlackBerry, Hasbro, CNN, NYU, Microsoft, P&G, and others uncovers valuable lessons for charting a course ahead. "Relevance is about managing the tension between staying attuned to what your customers want, but also staying in tune with who you are as a company and where the world is going. Shift Ahead is an invaluable collection of ideas, tools, and case studies that will help you manage that tension and adapt to the emerging economy with both intelligence and speed." -- Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, GE "In this brilliant new book, Adamson and Steckel absolutely nail the key issues in moving organizations forward in the right directions and at the right pace. Based on thorough research and a fascinating set of interviews with business leaders from all walks of life, Shift Ahead is a highly entertaining and hugely informative playbook for the savvy top business executive."-- Kevin Keller, Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College "In today's rapidly changing multi-platform and digitally focused environment, it is more difficult than ever for brands to become--and remain--relevant to their consumers. Shift Ahead provides important perspective, offering valuable insight on brands that have successfully made this transition."-- Robert Pittman, Chairman and CEO, IHeartMedia, Inc.