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Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders Hardcover – Illustrated, Feb. 25 2015
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- ISBN-100804788472
- ISBN-13978-0804788472
- Edition1st
- Publication dateFeb. 25 2015
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions15.24 x 2.21 x 22.86 cm
- Print length272 pages
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Review
"Three cheers!!! This book doesn't just tell you how. It shows you how to become a more effective leader in conditions of complexity and vulnerability―in other words, circumstances that we face all the time. Rather than a simple recipe that fits some adolescent dream of perfection, it's an invitation into lifelong learning that will transform you and your organization. Welcome! All aboard?"―William R. Torbert, Boston College and Principal, Action Inquiry Associates
"This book is a superb exploration of the ways that complexity calls on leaders to think, act, and engage differently. It will leave you with a few simple, yet powerful, habits that will change you as a leader . . . and a person. A landmark work!"―Michael Rennie, Global Leader, McKinsey & Company, Organization and Leadership Practice
"Garvey Berger and Johnston are superb teachers! Simple Habits for Complex Times is a perfect blend of 'story' and 'lesson.' You'll keep turning the pages and the pages will turn you into a better leader."―Robert Kegan, Harvard University and co-author of Immunity to Change
"Faced with dramatic change, leaders in all sectors must boldly think anew. As a woman from the global south, leading a large global non-government organization, I need new models and approaches to leading in this new world. Keith and Jennifer offer me stimulating and refreshing advice on how I can think and act differently to achieve enduring change."―Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International
"This is the perfect guide to corporate transformation. Changing consumption patterns are turning business models upside down. Garvey Berger and Johnston show you how to drain the swamp of ambiguity, squarely face unexpected challenges, and seize new opportunities."―Eric Passmore, Chief Technology Officer, Online Publishing and Media, Microsoft Corporation
"Berger and Johnston offer a refreshing and bold take on meeting the challenges of leadership, fearlessly slaying sacred cows of previous theories to illuminate a model for the emerging future."―Erica Ariel Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Winning From Within
"This is mandatory reading if you want a shot at navigating complexity with grace. Jennifer and Keith render complexity visible, accessible, and workable. We all know about the pressures of uncertainty and the rapid pace of change, but 'the how' of being a leader has been unfathomable―until now. "―Gayle Karen K. Young, Chief Talent and Culture Officer, Wikimedia Foundation
"Simple Habits for ComplexTimesgives us a glimpse into the future―providing practical approaches not only to cope with complexity, but to learn and thrive in it. Practicing these simple, counterintuitive habits will enable leaders to grow past their limits. If you're serious about maximizing your leadership potential, this is a terrific book."―Larry Clark, Vice President of Talent Management and Development, Comcast Cable
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Stanford Business Books; 1st edition (Feb. 25 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0804788472
- ISBN-13 : 978-0804788472
- Item weight : 499 g
- Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.21 x 22.86 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,476 in British & Irish Literary History & Criticism
- #1,684 in Organizational Learning
- #1,795 in English Literature Textbooks
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About the authors
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Jennifer Garvey Berger believes that leadership is one of the most vital renewable resources in the world. At a time when organisations are often forging the path rather than following the path of others, leadership is about creating the conditions for people to be their most creative, connected, intelligent selves. She is a founding partner and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, a consultancy that serves executives and executive teams in the private, non-profit, and government sectors around the world. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Novartis, Wikipedia, and Oxfam International. Jennifer designs and teaches leadership programs, coaches senior teams, and supports new ways of thinking about strategy and people with clients facing these dramatic shifts in complexity, volatility, and change in their workplaces and markets. She blends deep theoretical knowledge with a driving quest for practical ways to make leaders’ lives better.
Jennifer also supports leaders one-on-one as a leadership coach. She supports clients to find their current growing edge and then make choices about how they want to grow, and she teaches coaches around the world transformational and developmental coaching approaches in her Growth Edge Coaching certification series. Jennifer speaks at leadership and coaching conferences, and she offers occasional courses for coaches at universities all over the world like Harvard University, the University of Sydney, and Oxford Brookes University.
Jennifer holds a doctorate in adult development from Harvard University, where she studied under and worked with acclaimed developmental psychologist Robert Kegan. She was an Associate Professor at George Mason University before she left the academy on a mission to connect powerful research and the people doing real work in the world. Jennifer is an American by birth, a Kiwi by choice, and finds herself living now in London, far from her beach house on the Tasman Sea. Wherever she might call home, she loves laughing with her two nearly-grown children, rolling on the floor with her dog, and writing about leading, coaching, and living.
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Garvey Becker gently introduces abstract concepts and the hard realities of navigating business in a fast changing and emerging world through a diverse group of characters that we can easily identify with and remember. The new habits and shifts we ourselves need if we wish to lead in these changing and complex times are explored as the characters discuss and question them as the book unfolds.
I have followed the unique perspective that Garvey Becker offers into being human in the context of complex systems for a few decades and am still delighting and learning from her.



Der Stil ist erfrischend: zwei verwobene Geschichten dienen abwechselnd mit dem Lehrtext als Anschauung für das in der Lektion behandelte Thema.
Ich würde behaupten, dass es nicht von grosser theoretischer Tiefe ist. Die Ratschläge sind eher simpel: komplexe Probleme erfordern eine andere Herangehensweise als komplizierte Problem; man sollte sich bemühen das Problem aus verschiedenen Perspektiven zu betrachten, bereit sein die eigenen Gewissheiten in Frage zu stellen, und einfach mal Dinge auszuprobieren um festzustellen, ob sie sich bewähren. Aber es gibt jede Menge gute Tips, wie man das sinnvoll angeht und worauf man dabei achten sollte. So sollten Experimente "safe to fail" sein: die Rahmenbedingungen müssen so gewählt sein, dass es keine grösseren Probleme verursacht wenn ein Experiment katastrophal scheitert.
Es gibt auch einiges zu kritisieren an dem Buch: so gibt es keine Übungen, keine Kapitelzusammenfassungen oder ein klares, systematisches Konzept. Man könnte sagen, das Buch ist ein bisschen chaotisch. Aber das mag ich den Autoren verzeihen, da es leicht zu lesen ist und voller guter Tips.
Deshalb kann ich die Lektüre klar empfehlen. Wer möglichst viel daraus lernen will, der sollte sich selbst Notizen machen und sich an einer systematischen Darstellung des Inhalts versuchen.