Josh Linkner urges you to join him on the “road to reinvention”

Linkner:AmazonHere is a brief interview that Amazon conducted with Josh Linkner, author of The Road to Reinvention, published by Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint. In his latest book, he explains how to drive disruption and accelerate organizational transformation. That is, take what “disciplined dreaming” creates to the next stage: actualization. It is imperative to understand that reinvention is a never-ending process, not an ultimate destination. Linkner’s primary objective is to help as many people as possible to master the skills needed when embarked on that challenging, sometimes perilous process.

Josh Linkner is a five star, world-class pragmatist with an imagination on steroids who is driven to understand what works, what doesn’t, and (especially) why, then share what he has learned with as many people as he can. In my opinion, this is his best work…thus far. I am eager to see where his insatiable curiosity and disciplined dreaming take him next. Meanwhile, I highly recommend his blog at which you can sign up for a free subscription to his weekly E-letter.

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You say that it’s necessary to disrupt your own status quo and reinvent—why?

Too often, companies that cling to previous successes and fail to reinvent are the ones that end up becoming dislodged by external forces, which can be competitors, market conditions, even customer fickleness. As leaders, we must embrace the responsibility of reinvention as a continuous process to ensure sustainable growth and success. If not, we run the risk of falling victim to the creativity and innovation of competitors.

Is there a best or worst time for a person or organization to approach reinvention?

The worst time is in response to a negative event, such as a major client loss, stock market decline, or new competitive attack. In fact, once companies embark on turnaround efforts—which are largely characterized by survival tactics such as cutting R&D and marketing—they are only able to regain a leadership position 10% of the time. The ideal time to reinvent is from a position of strength, at the height of success. It is much easier to use momentum and resources to reimagine what’s next than it is to react to problems or setbacks.

When creating deliberate disruption, how do you prevent your company or project from going off the rails, or going too far?

In the book, I cover a variety of ways to reinvent, test, and adapt. Great reinventions are not a bet-the-farm-at-once type risk. A systematic, disciplined approach to the necessary process of continuous reinvention helps prevent false starts and flameouts.

The Road to Reinvention features the story of Detroit. What are the greatest opportunities you see now in Detroit? And what’s the one thing you would want readers to know about your hometown?

Detroit was once a beacon of entrepreneurship and innovation in the U.S., but ultimately we let ourselves succumb to bureaucracy and entitlement. Our decline highlights the negative results of failing to reinvent. At the same time, right now we are in the midst of massive transformation, connecting back to our entrepreneurial roots. I firmly believe that the next five years will be studied for decades as the greatest urban reinvention in American history. New industries, people, and ideas are taking root. It’s an exciting time, and I share both the challenges and opportunities extensively in this book.

For someone starting a new company, app, or venture, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give?

Make sure you are bringing something to market that is disruptive and truly unique as opposed to a “me too” solution. Also, build an ongoing process of reinvention deep into the DNA of your organization to ensure you adapt to the dizzying rate of change that exits today. Bottom line: disrupt or be disrupted.

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To learn more about Josh and his work, please click here.

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