In Think Outside the Building, Rosabeth Moss Kanter explains how advanced leaders can change the world one smart innovation at a time.

Kanter introduces an especially appropriate extended metaphor: “Castles are representations of institutions…[they] are any set of institutional structures that loom large and feel permanent. Castles are monuments to the past and to past thinking, museums of preservation. They are establishments harboring the establishment, the elite of business and society.

“Knowing the nature of castles helps challengers develop a plan of attack orf a mode of change…The best way is to go around it or underneath it. Instead of rushing the front door, look below. Sneak around the back, and befriend disaffected but talented occupants on lower floors or underground who might leave ti join you.Hold private meetings downstairs toi strategize, invisible to the upstairs occupants. Find the secret backstairs passageways. Burrow underneath, expand the tunnels, and exploit weaknesses until eventually the foundations crumble. Then pry open the windows to let in fresh air and fresh thinking.”

Her strategic thinking is worthy of Achilles and Sun Tzu.

Think Outside the Building was published by PublicAffairs (January 2010)

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Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. She is also the Founding Chair and Director of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative, an innovation that helps successful leaders at the top of their professions apply their skills to national and global challenges in their next life stage. A collaboration across all of Harvard, the Advanced Leadership Initiative aims to build a new leadership force for the world.

To learn more about her and her work, please click here.